Team USA head coach Gregg Berhalter looks on prior to their September match against Oman at Allianz Field in St Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Getty Images)
The journey for the U.S. men’s national team in next year’s Copa America will begin with a match against Bolivia on June 23 in Arlington, Texas.
Teams in this year’s tournament, which will take place in the U.S., learned their group opponents on Thursday in the final draw, which was held in Miami.
The 16-team tournament will be played in 14 U.S. cities.
The Americans, the top seed in Group C, will also face Panama (June 27 in Atlanta) and conclude group play against Uruguay on July 1 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
Uruguay is considered the stiffest challenge in the group.
“We always knew it was possible,” USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter told the Fox Sports broadcast about drawing Uruguay in the group. “They’re the hardest team in pool 2. For me, it’s an opportunity and a good challenge for our group. We have to do a good job of setting up the first two games.
“In a way, we’re controlling our own destiny by playing them (Uruguay) last. The first two will be difficult games.”
The U.S. played Uruguay to a scoreless draw in an exhibition ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The Americans should be favored to win their first two games, facing the lowest-ranked team in South America (Bolivia, No. 85 in the latest FIFA Rankings) and Panama, a familiar team from the CONCACAF region.
“I think Panama is the most improved side in CONCACAF,” Berhalter said. “They beat us in Gold Cup, so it will be a challenge. For us, this is like a mini-World Cup.”
Panama beat the U.S. in penalty kicks in last summer’s Gold Cup semifinals.
“If there’s not pressure, you don’t get diamonds,” Berhalter said.
The top two teams in each group move on to the quarterfinals. If the U.S. advances, it will meet Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, Costa Rica or Honduras. By winning its group, the U.S. might avoid a quarterfinal against the Brazilians.
“You know what’s lurking around the corner in Group D, most likely, so you want to try to finish first,” Berhalter said. “Brazil is one of the favorites to win the tournament, so it’s going to be a real challenge in that next round, so you’d like to play them in the semifinals.”
The tournament will be the USMNT’s first big assignment since Berhalter was rehired and serves as one of the crucial tests that the program will have before the 2026 World Cup. With that tournament being played in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, those three nations will not have to go through the qualifying process.
Defending Copa America and World Cup champion Argentina (Group A) is the top seed in Group A and will face Peru, Chile and the winner of the Canada-Trinidad and Tobago playoff.
Argentina will open the tournament on June 20 against either Canada or Trinidad and Tobago at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Atlanta.
Mexico is the top team in Group B. El Tri will face Ecuador, Venezuela and Jamaica. The game against Venezuela (June 26) will be played at SoFi Stadium. Mexico was the top seed in Group B after winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
The final group is led by Brazil, which will be joined by Colombia, Paraguay and the winner of the Costa Rica-Honduras playoff. Brazil’s match against the playoff winner will be played on June 24 at SoFi Stadium.
The Copa America, the oldest continental competition in the world, is usually a tournament comprised solely of South American countries. Ecuador was in line to host the Copa América as part of the rotation by South American soccer’s governing body but declined. The event was moved to the U.S. and expanded to include six countries from North and Central America and the Caribbean.
The last time the tournament was played in the U.S. was in 2016, when the Americans defeated Ecuador in a quarterfinal, 2-1, then were eliminated with a 4-0 loss to Argentina. The U.S. also had a fourth-place finish in 1995.
Mexico’s best finish in the tournament was second place in 1993. In 2016, El Tri advanced to the quarterfinals.
Argentina and Uruguay have both won the tournament 15 times and Brazil is next with nine titles. No team from outside of CONMEBOL has ever won the tournament.
Led by captain Lionel Messi, Argentina won the 2021 Copa América in Brazil, 1-0, for its first continental title since 1993, then last year captured its third World Cup and first since 1986.
Matches for this tournament also will be played at Austin, Texas; Charlotte, North Carolina; Kansas City, Kansas; and Orlando, Florida.
The semifinals will be in New Jersey on July 9 and North Carolina the following day. The quarterfinals are in Houston on July 4, Arlington the next day and Glendale, Arizona and Las Vegas on July 6.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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Publish date : 2023-12-07 03:00:00
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