Follow live reaction to the Copa America group stage draw, with Lionel Messi’s Argentina potentially facing Canada
Michael Dominski
December 7, 2023 at 10:58 PM EST
(Photo: Getty Images)
140 New Updates
Copa America 2024 draw results — group stage and bracket fixed
- Group A: Argentina, Peru, Chile, Canada or Trinidad & Tobago
- Group B: Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, Jamaica
- Group C: United States, Uruguay, Panama, Bolivia
- Group D: Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, Costa Rica or Honduras
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Copa America 2024 format: So how will it work?
The nations will be drawn into four groups of four teams each, and the teams in each group will play each other once.
The top two teams in those groups will advance to the quarter-finals, where each group winner will face a runner-up. The four winners of those games will advance to the semi-finals, and the winners of the two semi-finals will meet in the final on Sunday, July 14.
Ties (also known as 'draws' in the UK) are allowed in the group stage where the score after 90 minutes (plus stoppage time) will be final.
In the knockout phase, matches drawn after 90 minutes will enter a 30-minute extra-time period. If the score remains tied after 30 minutes of extra time, a penalty shootout will decide the winning team.
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I want to play a game
Sorry, that sounded a bit Jigsaw-esque, didn't it. But let's give you a brain-teasing quiz.
The last Copa America was in 2021, with Argentina beating Brazil 1-0 in the final thanks to a goal from Angel Di Maria.
But can you name the line-ups from that day? Extra points if you get the substitutes too.
The answers will be revealed in an hour...
What about the play-in round?
(Photo: Getty Images)
Canada face a nervous wait until March after they failed to qualify for the Copa America at the first attempt.
The four CONCACAF nations to have qualified already did so by winning their CONCACAF Nations League quarter-finals. The losers in those ties, including Canada, after being beaten on the away-goals rule by Jamaica, have dropped into the play-in series.
That ‘series’ will comprise of two one-off matches played on Saturday, March 23 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, with the winners taking the final two qualifying places at Copa America 2024. Those matches are:
- Canada vs Trinidad and Tobago
- Costa Rica vs Honduras
GO FURTHER
Canada’s most recent loss is a reminder of deeply-rooted issues
And what do the pots look like?
Pot 1: Argentina (1, and reigning world and Copa America champions), Brazil (3), USMNT (11), Mexico (12).
Pot 2: Uruguay (15), Colombia (17), Peru (26), Ecuador (36).
Pot 3: Chile (37), Panama (44), Venezuela (49), Paraguay (53).
Pot 4: Jamaica (55), Bolivia (85), Play-in 1 winner, Play-in 2 winner.
FIFA ranking in brackets
How do the pots for the draw work?
(Photo: Getty Images)
As the final two places will be taken by the winners of a play-in round, the pots for the draw have been confirmed.
USMNT supporters will be glad to see they will avoid both Argentina and Brazil in the group stage, as they are alongside them both in Pot 1.
The pots were decided based on the FIFA rankings before the November international fixtures. The four highest-ranked nations were placed into Pot 1, the next four highest-ranked into Pot 2 and so on.
The two play-in winners will be placed in Pot 4, regardless of their FIFA ranking.
So which teams have qualified so far?
(Photo: Getty Images)
The line-up currently looks like this:
- Argentina
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- Chile
- Colombia
- Ecuador
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Uruguay
- Venezuela
- Jamaica
- Mexico
- Panama
- United States
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How did qualification work?
(Photo: Getty Images)
As usual for Copa America, the 10 member nations of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) did not have to go through a qualification process for the tournament.
Those from the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), however, have had to earn their spots.
In November, USMNT, Jamaica, Mexico and Panama confirmed their places. The eagle-eyed among you will have spotted there are only 14 teams, not the requisite 16. That's because two more teams are yet to confirm their places. More on those in a moment.
GO FURTHER
When is the Copa America 2024 group stage draw? Date, teams, pots and format explained
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How to watch: Copa America 2024 draw
Viewers can tune in to the action, alongside this live blog of course, via the following channels.
U.S.: FS1 (TV), Fox Sports app, Fubo (streaming).
Canada: TSN3 (TV), Fubo (streaming).
Where does the draw take place?
(Photo: Getty Images)
It's happening at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida, a vast entertainment complex in downtown Miami.
The theatre there seats more than 4,500 people (4,569).
In the '80s it hosted Miss Universe, in the '90s it hosted gameshow Wheel of Fortune, in 2021 it hosted All Elite Wrestling, and now the great, good and not so good of football will descend on Magic City for the highly anticipated tournament draw.
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When do things get going?
Good question.
It all gets underway at 7.30pm Eastern Time (local time) on Thursday, which is 4.30pm Pacific Time, and 12.30am GMT, in the early hours of Friday morning, for the UK.
Hello and welcome to our Copa America 2024 draw live blog!
Hello, ola, and welcome everyone to The Athletic's live blog covering the draw for Copa America 2024.
We've got global footballing giants like Argentina and Brazil, hosts USA and several others waiting to discover their fates.
So now we head to the (currently) cloudy climes of Florida, ready to bring you all the latest news, views, analysis, action and reaction to the biggest international tournament in the Americas either side of the World Cup.
It's gonna be a thrill ride.
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