A beginner’s guide to Copa America 2024: Groups, format, location and dates

Uruguay's Luis Suarez takes a free-kick during the Conmebol Copa America 2021 football tournament group phase. AFP
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Updated 11 June 2024
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A beginner’s guide to Copa America 2024: Groups, format, location and dates

  • While Luis Suarez, Messis Miami's team-mate, was not named in the squad for Uruguay's 4-0 pre-tournament thrashing of Mexico
  • Despite being without Neymar, Brazil is Argentina's most obvious competitor

Grab your burgers, hot dogs, and root beers because, for the second time in its history, Copa America is being held in the United States.
But what is this Copa America, I hear you ask?
It's only the longest-running continental football competition, one that has played host to some of the greatest legends of the game including Lionel Messi, Pele, Diego Maradona, and Neymar.
This summer, across 12 American cities and 14 stadiums, South America's finest — including Brazil, Uruguay, and a Messi-led Argentina — will compete again to take the title of Champions of South America (and Others).
To round out the numbers, the United States, Mexico, and a few other North and Central American countries have been invited to join the fun, too.
Here, The Athletic has broken down everything you need to know about the tournament, from the favorites and the format to its 108-year history filled with brilliance and drama.
The last time it was held Stateside was in 2016 for Copa America Centenario, the tournament's 100th anniversary.
Though that tournament ended badly for Messi, losing out on a first senior international trophy in a penalty shootout to Chile, it provided the iconic moment where he endeared himself to the people of Argentina by breaking down in tears on the pitch.
He's since added a World Cup and a Copa America to his trophy cabinet, so don't bet on those theatrics again.
This year, the final will be held at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, home of the Miami Dolphins. It will be one of 14 stadiums used for the tournament across 12 cities: East Rutherford, Orlando, Charlotte, Atlanta, Kansas City, Arlington, Houston, Austin, Glendale, Las Vegas, Inglewood and Santa Clara.
GO DEEPER
Guide to the Copa America stadiums and host cities: Everything you need to know
Other than 2016 and this year, Copa America has only ever been held in South America.
In 1984, CONMEBOL, the football governing body in South America, began rotating the right to host the tournament among its members, with the first rotation culminating in 2007 in Venezuela.
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 the responsibility in 2019 and 2021.
Argentina has hosted more editions than any other country (nine times), most recently in 2011. Paraguay, Colombia, and Venezuela are the only CONMEBOL nations that have not hosted it more than once.
This summer, the 16-team tournament will begin with four groups of four teams. After each team has played their group opposition once, the top two will advance.
During the group phase, teams earn three points for a win, one for a draw, and zero if they lose. If you're anti-draw, we advise you to wait until the knockout stage, where there must be a winner. If the scores are tied after 90 minutes, extra time is used, and if the scores are still level after two 15-minute halves, the match will be decided using penalty kicks.
The knockout stage consists of three rounds: the quarter-finals, semifinal, and final, one fewer round than the European Championship. In the quarter-final stage, teams that finished top of their group will play against a team that finished second. If a team progresses past that stage, they will play the semifinal. If they're successful there, the July 14 final awaits.
If this is your first Copa America, count yourself lucky. It is not usually this way.
In 2021, there were only 10 participants, meaning two five-team groups, each playing four group games. The top four from each group made it to the knockout stage, thus eliminating only two teams in the group phase. This year is only the second time there have been 16 competing nations, with 12 being the most common since guest nations were introduced in 1993.
More on those later.
Group A: Argentina, Peru, Chile, Canada
Group B: Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, Jamaica
Group C: USMNT, Uruguay, Panama, Bolivia
Group D: Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, Costa Rica
Uruguay are international football, perennial overachiever, consistently performing well in tournaments despite a population of only around 3.5 million.
They won the tournament's first edition on their way to collecting six of the first nine and 15 in total, a record they share with Argentina.
Like Uruguay, Argentina had most of its success before the tournament changed its name from the South American Football Championship in 1975, winning 12 of their 15 trophies before 1960. In 2021, however, they got their hands on the trophy again, inspired by Messi, who was seven when Argentina previously won the competition in 1993.
Over the past three decades, Brazil has been the dominant team in South America, collecting five of their nine trophies since ending a 40-year drought in 1989. They were back-to-back winners in 1997, 1999, 2004, and 2007, off the back of a golden generation of Brazilian talent, including Ballon d'Or winners Ronaldo (not the superstar from Portugal), Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, and Kaka.
Chile had a golden spell in the mid-2010s, winning back-to-back trophies in 2015 and 2016, the only two wins in their history. Paraguay and Peru have also won it a couple of times, and Bolivia and Colombia have one each, both winning 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.
However, Venezuela has written history in a less desirable way. They hold the dishonor of 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 of the tournament's all-time rankings, surpassed by Mexico, a frequent guest nation.
Unlike UEFA, Europe's governing body, which has 55 member nations and holds qualifiers for their 32-team equivalent, CONMEBOL is FIFAs smallest confederation with 10 teams. As a result, all South American teams automatically qualify for the tournament, and guest nations are usually called from around the world to make up the numbers.
For the 1993 tournament, CONMEBOL decided to add a rotating cast of guest nations to the core of 10 teams. This allowed for an added knockout round, two extra games, higher viewing figures, and more money.
While it has yet to happen, the inclusion of guest nations opens the possibility that a team outside of South America could win the continent's premier sports tournament. Historically, the most likely to upset the apple cart has been Mexico, who have reached the final twice. The USMNT have done pretty well themselves, reaching the semifinals in 1995 and 2016.
Yes, Messi will be in action. Despite completing his football bucket list in 2022 by winning the World Cup in Qatar a year after winning Copa America, the Inter Miami star has committed to playing in his seventh this year.
Not that he needs any more accolades, but when Messi steps foot in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta for Argentina's first group game on June 20, he will break the record for the leading number of appearances in the tournament. The match will be his 35th, surpassing the total set by Chile goalkeeper Sergio Livingstone. If he scores five while he is there, he'll also break the goalscoring record of 17, jointly held by his compatriots Norberto Mendez and Brazils Zizinho. Both records have stood since 1953.
Brazil is without Neymar, so Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr will take the mantle as the team's attacking leader. But do not fear: Alisson, Gabriel Martinelli, and Bruno Guimaraes will be among those to represent the Premier League for the five-time World Cup winners.
Liverpool duo Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez should star for Colombia and Uruguay and Moises Caicedo will headline for Ecuador.
GO DEEPER
Champions League winner once more, Ballon d’Or favorite — this is Vinicius Jr’s time
Messi is among several stars based in the United States who will feature at Copa America this summer, though some squads are yet to be announced at the time of writing.
Orlando City stalwart Pedro Gallese is expected to star for Peru in goal, and 2023 MLS All-Star midfielder Jose Martinez will likely perform his role in the midfield engine room for Venezuela as he does for the Philadelphia Union.
While Luis Suarez, Messis Miami's team-mate, was not named in the squad for Uruguay's 4-0 pre-tournament thrashing of Mexico, Cristian Olivera (LAFC) and Orlando City pair Cesar Araujo and Facundo Torres are expected to fly the MLS flag for Uruguay at the tournament.
With all those MLS players being called up for international duty this summer, surely MLS Commissioner Don Garber will pause league play, right?
Right?
We can't afford (to shut the league down for Copa America), Garber stated in his league address on the eve of the 2023 MLS Cup final. If we have to shut the league down (and) lose games, it impacts our players, it impacts our partners, it impacts our fans, it impacts everything that MLS has to deliver for all of our stakeholders. That being said, we've got to manage through that process, be clever and creative, and figure out how to reconfigure the schedule with all these different events to make it work.
Nothing says serving your fans like forcing teams to field sides without their best players. For example, Miami will play the Columbus Crew, the MLS Cup holders, on July 20, one day before Copa America kicks off. For that game, Miami will be without Messi.
Almost every South American superstar has won Copa America, except for two of the greatest ever: Maradona and Pele.
Maradona appeared in three Copa Americas (1979, 1987, and 1989) but never got over the line. His best performance came in 1987 on home soil, where he scored three goals in four matches, including a brace in the second group game against Ecuador. That was only enough to get to the semifinal stage, losing 1-0 against eventual winners Uruguay.
Pele gave himself even less chance, appearing in just one Copa America in 1958. As a 19-year-old, he finished as top scorer with eight goals and won the best player award, but Brazil finished second to Argentina in a seven-team round-robin. Imagine if he'd have played as many as Messi.
Let's not go there.
Fox Sports holds the English-language rights in the United States and will broadcast every game from the tournament on its Fox, FS1 and FS2 channels.
The USMNTs opening group games against Bolivia and Panama will be broadcast on Fox at 6 pm ET, while their third group fixture against Uruguay will be on FS1. Every Brazil and Argentina game is on FS1, while Mexicos group ties will be split between Fox and FS1.
The UK broadcaster is yet to be confirmed, but BBC held the rights in 2021.
Argentina are on an international tournament winning streak and they are favorites to win again this summer in the United States. Despite being without Neymar, Brazil is Argentina's most obvious competitor, and there will be little surprise if they add to their nine Copa America trophies this year.
Uruguay is slightly behind the elite duo but has the talent to go all the way. Outside of those three, Colombia is the pick of the dark horses. The United States has quality and could reach the semifinals if a favorable knockout route presents itself, but the final might be a game too far for Gregg Berhalters young squad.
GO DEEPER
This summer on The Athletic: Tournaments, transfers and tours
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
US Men’s national team, Mexico Men’s national team, Canada, Brazil, Jamaica, Argentina, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Soccer, Copa America


Healy becomes first Irishman in 38 years to lead the Tour de France

Updated 19 sec ago
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Healy becomes first Irishman in 38 years to lead the Tour de France

  • The 24-year-old EF rider had already won stage six in Normandy, but here the smiley Healy confirmed his promise with a career-defining ride claiming the fabled yellow jersey
  • Healy’s performance even overshadowed that of stage winner Simon Yates, who sat on his wheel all afternoon as they crossed the ancient volcanoes that mark the region

PUY DE SANCY, France: Ben Healy became the first Irishman since Stephen Roche in 1987 to take the overall lead on the Tour de France on Monday with a relentless attack across eight gruelling hills in the Massif Central.

The 24-year-old EF rider had already won stage six in Normandy, but here the smiley Healy confirmed his promise with a career-defining ride claiming the fabled yellow jersey.

He becomes just the fourth Irishman to wear it following Shay Elliott, back in 1963, Sean Kelly in 1983 and Roche who went on to win an epic race 38 years ago.

Healy’s performance even overshadowed that of stage winner Simon Yates, who sat on his wheel all afternoon as they crossed the ancient volcanoes that mark the region.

Such was the Irishman’s effort as the escapees rushed through the grey-black volcanic rock villages that he was also awarded the combativity award for the most attacking rider of the day.

“Hats off to him, he’s the one that dropped everyone,” Yates said of Healy as the escape group was gradually whittled down from 30 to five.

The 2025 Giro d’Italia winner Yates attacked on the last of the day’s climbs, with Thymen Arensman of Ineos second and Healy coming third at the line 31sec adrift and having never relented on a punishing day.

Healy was born in Birmingham but chose to represent Ireland in his youth. He is also in the white jersey for the best young rider.

“The stage win I got and the yellow today both mean a lot to me,” said Healy, who had a tense wait at the line for Pogacar to cross 4min 51sec adrift and ceding the overall lead, likely for several days.

“This yellow is more for the team who worked so hard to put me here but the stage win possibly means more as it came first,” he said.

Race favorites Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard crossed the line together after eight climbs in the Massif Central where they were rarely a wheel’s length from each other.

Healy leads the Tour itself by 29sec from defending champion Pogacar, with Belgian Remco Evenepoel in third at 1min 29sec.

Denmark’s double Tour de France champion Vingegaard is fourth overall at 1min 46sec, and his Visma teammate Matteo Jorgenson sits fifth.

Third placed overnight, promising young French rider Kevin Vauquelin dropped a minute to finish the day in sixth place overall.

Recompense for the home nation on the national Bastille Day holiday came in the form of Lenny Martinez as he earned the King of the Mountains polka dot jersey with 27 points garnered on the day’s stage.

His grandfather Mariano Martinez won the polka dot jersey outright on the 1978 Tour.

Successive escape bids ensued from the off Monday as the 164 remaining riders raced out of Ennezat with top guns Pogacar and Evenepoel finally allowing one to get away over the ever-rolling terrain

Once they did, a gap over five minutes was established by a motivated group that rode so hard over the cattle dotted hills the sprinters were dropped to over 30 minutes at the finish line.

While Tuesday is a rest day, Wednesday’s stage 11 is another flat run with a sprinter expected to take the honors in Toulouse.


Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama says he’s been cleared to return following blood clot

Updated 32 min ago
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Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama says he’s been cleared to return following blood clot

  • It has been expected that the team anticipated Wembanyama would be able to start this coming season, though there was no official word until now
  • Wembanyama: I’m officially cleared to return. … I’ll finally be able to play a bit of basketball again

NEW YORK: San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama expects to play this coming season and has been fully cleared after dealing with deep vein thrombosis in his shoulder for the past few months, he told the French newspaper L’Equipe in remarks published Monday.

A person familiar with the situation later told The Associated Press that the Spurs have indeed received word that Wembanyama has been cleared to resume play and, barring anything unforeseen, will be able to fully participate in training camp when it opens this fall. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not revealed that detail publicly.

It has been expected that the team anticipated Wembanyama would be able to start this coming season, though there was no official word until now.

“I’m officially cleared to return. … I’ll finally be able to play a bit of basketball again,” Wembanyama told the French sports daily.

The fact that Wembanyama has been cleared suggests that his type of DVT was provoked, which would rule out a genetic predisposition to a clot returning. The Spurs have not disclosed specifics of Wembanyama’s shoulder issue, but there is a type of DVT that appears when a blood vessel in someone’s upper arm can be compressed by a rib (the top rib is removed in some cases to relieve the compression, if that is the cause) or a muscle. Such issues have proven to be treatable in the past.

Many other athletes have dealt with similar issues. Serena Williams came back to dominate women’s tennis after a clotting issue following the birth of her daughter; Williams needed four surgeries to address the matter. Basketball Hall of Famer Chris Bosh had to eventually retire from the NBA after he was diagnosed with multiple clots. In hockey, Tomas Fleischmann developed clots and went on to play for years afterward; Tomas Vokoun needed surgery to relieve his clotting problem and never played in the NHL again.

“I was afraid of not being able to play basketball anymore,” Wembanyama said in the interview. “I think that we all have thoughts sometimes. Irrational thoughts about the things we care about most. But this type of thinking also changes you as a person, for the better.”

Wembanyama was the league’s rookie of the year two years ago, Spurs guard Stephon Castle won that same trophy this past season, and the team has added another high pick — this year’s No. 2 selection, Dylan Harper — to a super-promising young core. Wembanyama was the front-runner to be defensive player of the year last season when he was diagnosed with the blood clot in his right shoulder in February.

“My injury was an adventure, obviously, but the hardest part is over,” he told L’Equipe. “I’m much better today, physically and mentally.”

Wembanyama was averaging 24.3 points, 11 rebounds, 3.8 blocks and 3.7 assists per game when he was shut down in February; the only other player in NBA history to finish a season averaging all that was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975-76.

There will be an obvious ramping-up period before Wembanyama is playing at full speed again, though there is plenty of time between now and training camp for him to get back to that level.

“I have to continue specific work on my shoulder and especially get back into everything related to my basketball habits,” Wembanyama said in the interview. “It’s been five months since I’ve played a 5-on-5 match. If I had to have a game tomorrow, it would be risky. There are plenty of reflexes to find, both conscious and linked to muscle memory.”

Wembanyama has traveled extensively in recent months and spent time last month at a Shaolin temple in Zhengzhou, China. The temple is a place that welcomes visitors who wish to study Chan meditation, Shaolin Kung Fu, traditional Chinese medicine and more.

Wembanyama told L’Equipe that he studied kung fu and Buddhism during his stay there, but added that he does not identify as Buddhist.

“We were initiated there to the life of a warrior monk, which combines Buddhism and intensive kung fu practice,” he said. “It was very hard. We discovered movements that we had never done in our lives. It was more than 1,000 kicks to do per day, jumps, balance exercises, stretching. ... We used muscles that we rarely used and which were quickly overloaded. I had some of the biggest aches and pains of my life.”


Chelsea’s Club World Cup triumph a ‘statement’, but what might be the cost?

Updated 15 July 2025
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Chelsea’s Club World Cup triumph a ‘statement’, but what might be the cost?

  • Maresca could not have asked for much more after arriving off the back of leading Leicester City to promotion

NEW YORK: For Chelsea, victory in Sunday’s Club World Cup decider completed a fine first season under Enzo Maresca, and also finally brought the curtain down on a marathon campaign that they must hope does not catch up with them down the line.
The Cole Palmer-inspired 3-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain at the MetLife Stadium outside New York was Chelsea’s 64th game of a season which lasted 11 months.
By any measure it was one of Chelsea’s best ever campaigns, with their Club World Cup triumph — placed on a par by Maresca to winning the Champions League — following victory in the UEFA Conference League and a fourth-placed finish in the Premier League.
Maresca, an ex-assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, could not have asked for much more after arriving off the back of leading Leicester City to promotion.
“It has been a fantastic season but I am especially happy for the players,” said the Italian, who has succeeded in putting together a coherent team out of the endless line of new signings being brought in by the club’s owners.
“We have said many times that talent alone is not enough. You need to find a way for them to all fit together.”
It all represents considerable progress from just two years ago, when the Stamford Bridge side finished in the bottom half of the Premier League.
Maresca incorporated more new faces during the Club World Cup, with Joao Pedro making a remarkable impact — the Brazilian forward cut short a holiday to complete a £60 million ($79 million) transfer from Brighton and Hove Albion, and went on to score twice in the semifinal against Fluminense and once in the final.
Liam Delap, Dario Essugo, Mamadou Sarr and Andrey Santos all joined up ahead of the month in the United States, while Jamie Gittens has since arrived from Borussia Dortmund and fellow winger Estevao Willian now joins from Palmeiras in Brazil.
Chelsea will hope those signings, added to a squad led by the likes of Palmer, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, can make a real push for the Premier League title off the back of their impressive triumph at FIFA’s new tournament.
“It’s a big statement,” captain Reece James told English media shortly after lifting the trophy alongside US President Donald Trump.
“I’m happy with how much the club has progressed and how next season you know we’ll be competing in the Premier League, to win the title and compete, and to go far in the Champions League as well.”
Chelsea have also pocketed a stunning $115 million in prize money from the Club World Cup, but what if there comes a point in 2025/26 when their exploits of this season catch up with them?
While Chelsea have been competing at the Club World Cup in draining weather conditions, Premier League champions Liverpool and runners-up Arsenal have enjoyed extended off-season breaks.
Manchester City were also at the Club World Cup but they went out over a week earlier.
Global players’ union FIFPro has been the leading voices expressing concerns about the demands on the game’s biggest stars in an ever-expanding calendar.
One of the safeguards it proposed in a study published before the tournament was a mandatory four-week off-season break, along with four-week retraining periods before returning to competition.
Chelsea’s off-season is drastically reduced, with their first match of the next Premier League campaign against Crystal Palace slated for August 17, exactly five weeks after the Club World Cup final. They have a friendly against Bayer Leverkusen on August 8.
“Tomorrow I have three weeks of holiay which is all I want right now because I have not stopped in 15 months,” said Maresca on Sunday.
It remains to be seen if Maresca and his players come back sufficiently refreshed before attacking a season in which they hope to go far in the Champions League, and which will end with the World Cup in North America.
PSG face an even tighter squeeze after a historic campaign for Luis Enrique’s team, capped by their triumph in the Champions League final.
Their first competitive match of next season will be the UEFA Super Cup against Tottenham Hotspur in Italy on August 13, exactly one month after their defeat in New York — a chance to win more silverware, but at what cost?


Jorge Jesus returns to Saudi Pro League with Al-Nassr

Updated 14 min 11 sec ago
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Jorge Jesus returns to Saudi Pro League with Al-Nassr

  • According to a club statement on X deal is for one year

Al-Nassr appointed Portuguese Jorge Jesus as coach on Monday, two months after he left their bitter Saudi Pro-League rivals Al-Hilal.
The 70-year-old won the domestic treble in his second stint with Riyadh-based Al-Hilal in the 2023-2024 season, but left the club in May after they lost in the AFC Champions League elite semifinals to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ahli.
“It’s official Mr. Jorge Jesus is the new coach of Al-Nassr” the Saudi club posted on X.
The former Copa Libertadores winner with Brazil’s Flamengo, who replaces Italian Stefano Pioli, has signed a one-year contract with Al-Nassr.
Nine-times Saudi champions Al-Nassr have extended the contract of 40-year-old five-times Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo until 2027.


Barca snap up Copenhagen’s Bardghji, sell Torre to Mallorca

Updated 14 July 2025
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Barca snap up Copenhagen’s Bardghji, sell Torre to Mallorca

  • Bardghji scored 15 goals in 84 games for Copenhagen after reaching the first team in the 2021/2022 season
  • He is Barcelona’s second signing of the summer after they brought in goalkeeper Joan Garcia from local rivals Espanyol

Barcelona signed right winger Roony Bardghji from FC Copenhagen and sold midfielder Pablo Torre to Mallorca, the La Liga champions said Monday.
The 19-year-old Sweden Under-21 international joined for around 2.5 million euros ($3 million), according to reports in Spanish media.
“(Bardghji) has signed for the next four seasons, until June 30, 2029,” said Barca in a statement, without specifying the cost of the deal.
Bardghji scored 15 goals in 84 games for Copenhagen after reaching the first team in the 2021/2022 season.
He suffered a severe knee injury in May 2024, which kept him out of action for nearly a year, with the youngster making his return in March 2025.
Bardghji becomes Barcelona’s second signing of the summer after they brought in goalkeeper Joan Garcia from local rivals Espanyol.
The Catalan giants also announced the sale of 22-year-old playmaker Torre to Mallorca for an undisclosed fee, estimated to be 5 million euros according to Spanish media, as well as a percentage of the profit on any future sale.
“Torre is a new Mallorca player for the next four seasons, until June 30, 2029,” said the island club in a statement.
“Torre arrives from Barcelona, where he moved in 2022 and with whom he won La Liga twice, two Spanish Super Cups and the Copa del Rey.”
The midfielder played a total of 27 times for Barcelona’s first team, scoring five goals.