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The CONMEBOL Copa America, or Copa America for short, is widely considered the third biggest international competition behind the World Cup and the Euros. The latest competition winner was Argentina, a side who also won the latest World Cup and will be looking to retain this trophy.
As excitement builds and people all around the world eagerly await the beginning of this competition, we have created a guide for you so that you can get your fix of Copa America content and prepare yourself for the upcoming competition. We will delve into what Copa America is, predictions and much more in this fully comprehensive guide.
What is The Copa America
The Copa America is an international footballing competition consisting of the best footballing nations from South America. The competition is organized by CONMEBOL and takes place every 4 years. The first Copa America was held in Argentina in 1916 and was won by Uruguay. It has most recently been held in Brazil; however, Copa Americas have been held all over South America.
The 2024 Copa America will include 16 teams, 10 from CONMEBOL and 6 from CONCACAF. The 6 CONCACAF participants will qualify through the 2023-24 CONCACAF Nations League. The teams are then split into 4 groups, with the top 2 teams in each group advancing to the knockouts. There is then a quarter-final followed by a semi-final before the top 2 teams play each other in the final.
Where Will The Copa America 2024 Be Held
The 2024 Copa America was set to be held in Ecuador however, after declining to host the competition in 2022, it was instead announced as part of CONCACAF and CONMEBOL new strategic partnership that it would be held in the United States of America. The competition will be held across multiple states, and the stadiums they will use include:
- AT&T Stadium, which has a capacity of 80,000.
- Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which has a capacity of 71,000.
- Q2 Stadium, which has a capacity of 20,738.
- Bank of America Stadium, which has a capacity of 74,867.
- MetLife Stadium, which has a capacity of 82,566.
- NRG Stadium, which has a capacity of 72,220.
- SoFi Stadium, which has a capacity of 70,240.
- Levi’s Stadium, which has a capacity of 68,500.
- State Farm Stadium, which has a capacity of 63,400.
- Allegiant Stadium, which has a capacity of 61,000.
- Arrowhead Stadium, which has a capacity of 76,416.
- Children’s Mercy Park, which has a capacity of 18,467.
- Hard Rock Stadium, which has a capacity of 64,767.
- Exploria Stadium, which has a capacity of 25,500.
Copa America 2024 and Sports Betting
The 2024 Copa America is a great opportunity for sports betting fans and matched betting enthusiasts due to the high number of high-quality football matches involved. During the Copa America, you can place bets on a wide range of different betting markets, including who you think will win the tournament. In this section, we thought we would give it a go at predicting aspects of the upcoming Copa America.
Copa America 2024 Group Stage Predictions
The 2024 Copa America is, as we have mentioned, split into 4 groups. Group A consists of Argentina, Peru, Chile, and the winner of a playoff round between Canada and Trinidad and Tobago. We predict that, first of all, Canada will qualify; however, we do not think they will go far in the group. Argentina should be nailed on to qualify, given they are both the current Copa America and World Cup champions. The other spot for grabs is between Chile and Peru. This final spot could go either way; however, Peru might edge in front of their coastal rivals despite having a negative record against them.
In Group B, there is Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Jamaica. Mexico will comfortably qualify, given they are the current CONCACAF Championship holders and have a high-quality squad. Then, we believe Ecuador will finish as runners-up due to the high-quality players they have in their squad, such as Moises Caicedo, Piero Hincapie, Pervis Estupinan, and Enner Valencia.
We believe Group C is another easy group to predict as the teams in this group include the United States, Uruguay, Panama, and Bolivia. Uruguay is currently tied as the most successful nation in Copa America alongside Argentina with 7 titles, and they have a very high-quality squad. The United States also have a very strong squad and are hosts so they will have the home advantage throughout the competition.
Group D will feature Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, and one of Costa Rica or Honduras. Which team will enter Group D is difficult to predict; however, regardless of who goes through, along with Paraguay will have a very hard time overcoming Colombia and Brazil, who we think will qualify.
Copa America 2024 Finalist Predictions
The favorites going into every Copa America are Argentina and Brazil, and this is no different this time around as both teams have an unbelievable amount of quality and world-class players such as Messi, Neymar, Alvarez, Allison, Martinez, and Vincius Jr. However, as is the case in most knockout tournaments, there can always be surprises. The natural 3rd pick is Uruguay, which is usually successful in this competition alongside the host, the United States.
Copa America 2024 Player Predictions
When it comes to top goalscorers, we believe players will have a tough time trying to take the Golden Boot away from Lionel Messi, although there are a few Brazilian players who could step up and take it with some good performances. Other than that, stand-out strikers include Enner Valencia, Julien Alvarez, and Luis Diaz.
In the golden glove race, we see no other keepers with a better chance of winning it than Allison or World Cup golden glove winner Martinez.