Copa America 2024: All You Need To Know About The Tournament And It’s Groups, Format, Location and Dates

Get ready with your burgers, hot dogs, and root beers because, for the second time ever, Copa America is happening in the United States.

You might be wondering, what exactly is Copa America?

It’s the oldest ongoing continental football tournament, boasting a lineup of some of the greatest football icons like Lionel Messi, Pele, Diego Maradona, and Neymar.

This summer, spanning across 12 American cities and 14 stadiums, South America’s top teams, including powerhouses like Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina led by Messi, will battle it out for the title of ‘Champions of South America (and Others)’.

To add more excitement, the United States, Mexico, and a selection of other North and Central American nations have also been invited to partake in the festivities.

Here, we’ve compiled everything you need to know about the tournament, covering the favorites, the format, and its 108-year history rich with brilliance and drama.

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Where the Copa America 2024 Is Being Played and Where Was It Held Previously

The last time the Copa America was held in the United States was in 2016 for the Copa America ‘Centenario’, celebrating the tournament’s 100th anniversary.

Though that tournament ended in disappointment for Messi, losing his chance at a first senior international trophy in a penalty shootout to Chile, it provided a memorable moment as he endeared himself to Argentinians by breaking down in tears on the pitch.

Since then, Messi has added a World Cup and a Copa America to his collection, so don’t expect a repeat of those emotions.

This year, the final will be hosted at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, home of the Miami Dolphins. The tournament will take place in 14 stadiums across 12 cities: East Rutherford, Orlando, Charlotte, Atlanta, Kansas City, Arlington, Houston, Austin, Glendale, Las Vegas, Inglewood, and Santa Clara.

Aside from 2016 and this year, Copa America has only ever been held in South America.

In 1984, CONMEBOL, South America’s football governing body, began rotating the right to host the tournament among its member nations, with the first rotation culminating in Venezuela in 2007.

The second rotation began in 2011, but hosting the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics proved too much for Brazil, which was scheduled to host Copa America in 2015. Chile eventually hosted that tournament, and Brazil took on the responsibility in 2019 and 2021.

Argentina has hosted the most editions, with nine, the most recent being in 2011. Paraguay, Colombia, and Venezuela have each hosted it only once.

How Many Times Has Each Nation Hosted The Copa America?

Format of The Copa America

This summer, the 16-team tournament will kick off with four groups of four teams each. After every team has played their group opponents once, the top two from each group will advance.

During the group stage, teams earn three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. If you dislike draws, you’ll be happy to know that the knockout stage requires a winner. If the scores are tied after 90 minutes, extra time will be played. If the tie persists after two 15-minute halves, the match will be decided by penalty kicks.

The knockout stage includes three rounds: the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final, one round fewer than the European Championship. In the quarter-finals, group winners will face runners-up from other groups. Winners of the quarter-finals will advance to the semi-finals, and successful teams there will compete in the final on July 14.

If this is your first Copa America, consider yourself fortunate; the format isn’t always like this.

In 2021, there were only 10 participants, divided into two five-team groups, each playing four group games. The top four teams from each group advanced to the knockout stage, eliminating only two teams in the group phase. This year marks only the second time there are 16 competing nations, with 12 being the most common number since guest nations were introduced in 1993.

Teams Taking Part in The Copa America 2024

1. Argentina (CONMEBOL)
2. Bolivia (CONMEBOL)
3. Brazil (CONMEBOL)
4. Chile (CONMEBOL)
5. Colombia (CONMEBOL)
6. Ecuador (CONMEBOL)
7. Paraguay (CONMEBOL)
8. Peru (CONMEBOL)
9. Uruguay (CONMEBOL)
10. Venezuela (CONMEBOL)
11. Jamaica (CONCACAF)
12. Mexico (CONCACAF)
13. Panama (CONCACAF)
14. United States (CONCACAF)
15. Canada (CONCACAF)
16. Costa Rica (CONCACAF)

Groups in The Copa America 2024

1. Group A: Argentina, Peru, Chile, Canada
2. Group B: Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, Jamaica
3. Group C: USMNT, Uruguay, Panama, Bolivia
4. Group D: Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, Costa Rica

Most Successful Nations in The Copa America

Uruguay are international football’s perennial overachievers, consistently performing well in tournaments despite having a population of only around 3.5 million.

They won the tournament’s first edition and went on to claim six of the first nine titles, totaling 15 overall, a record they share with Argentina.

Argentina also had most of their success before the tournament was renamed from the South American Football Championship in 1975, winning 12 of their 15 trophies before 1960. In 2021, however, they captured the trophy again, inspired by Messi, who was seven years old when Argentina last won the competition in 1993.

Over the past three decades, Brazil have been the dominant team in South America, winning five of their nine trophies since ending a 40-year drought in 1989. They were back-to-back champions in 1997, 1999, 2004, and 2007, driven by a golden generation of Brazilian talent, including Ballon d’Or winners Ronaldo (not the Portuguese superstar), Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, and Kaka.

Chile had a golden period in the mid-2010s, winning back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2016, their only wins in history. Paraguay and Peru have also won the tournament twice, while Bolivia and Colombia have each won once, both as host nations.

Ecuador and Venezuela are the only CONMEBOL nations that have never won the trophy. They have come relatively close, finishing fourth in the 1993 and 2011 editions, but have never reached the final.

Venezuela has a particularly unfortunate history. They hold the record for not winning a single match in 12 consecutive participations from 1975 to 2004 and are the only South American team to rank outside the top 10 in the tournament’s all-time rankings, surpassed by Mexico, a frequent guest nation.

Here is the information in a table format for the most successful and least successful teams:

Guest Nations of Copa America

Unlike UEFA, Europe’s governing body with 55 member nations that hold qualifiers for their 32-team tournament, CONMEBOL is FIFA’s smallest confederation, consisting of only 10 teams. Consequently, all South American teams automatically qualify for Copa America, and guest nations are typically invited from around the world to fill out the tournament.

In 1993, CONMEBOL decided to include a rotating cast of guest nations to the core 10 teams. This addition allowed for an extra knockout round, two additional games, higher viewing figures, and increased revenue.

Although it has not yet occurred, the inclusion of guest nations raises the possibility that a team outside of South America could win the continent’s premier sports tournament. Historically, Mexico has been the most likely to disrupt the status quo, having reached the final twice. The USMNT has also performed well, reaching the semi-finals in 1995 and 2016.

This Copa America 2024, the United States, Mexico, Panama, Canada, Jamaica and Costa Rica are the guest nations representing CONCACAF

Stars Who’ll Be Playing At The Copa America 2024

Yes, Messi will be playing. After completing his football bucket list by winning the World Cup in Qatar in 2022 and Copa America in 2021, the Inter Miami star has committed to his seventh Copa America this year.

Though he doesn’t need any more accolades, Messi will break the record for most appearances in the tournament when he steps onto the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta for Argentina’s first group game on June 20. This match will be his 35th, surpassing the record held by Chilean goalkeeper Sergio Livingstone. Additionally, if he scores five goals, he will break the goalscoring record of 17, jointly held by his compatriot Norberto Mendez and Brazil’s Zizinho, which has stood since 1953.

Brazil will be without Neymar, so Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr will lead the team’s attack. Fans can also look forward to seeing Premier League stars Alisson, Gabriel Martinelli, and Bruno Guimaraes representing the five-time World Cup winners.

Liverpool duo Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez are expected to shine for Colombia and Uruguay, respectively, while Moises Caicedo will be a key player for Ecuador.

The Favorites To Win Copa America 2024

Argentina, on an international tournament winning streak, are favorites to win again this summer in the United States. Despite being without Neymar, Brazil remains Argentina’s most obvious competitor, and it wouldn’t be surprising if they add to their nine Copa America trophies this year.

Uruguay, slightly behind the top two, also have the talent to go all the way. Outside of these three, Colombia stands out as a dark horse. The United States have the quality to potentially reach the semi-finals if they get a favorable knockout route, but the final might be a step too far for Gregg Berhalter’s young squad.