By Samindra Kunti
January 25 – Hosts Brazil were handed a dream draw for the 2019 Copa America as they were paired with Peru, Venezuela and Bolivia in Group A. The Brazilians will kick off the three-week long tournament against Bolivia on June 14 in Sao Paulo.
The Copa America has not always been a priority for the Brazilian national team, but that will change this summer as they play on home soil and local fans will demand nothing less than a win in the continental championship. The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) retained Tite as head coach after the Russia World Cup despite a quarter-final exit against Belgium. He will be under pressure for Brazil to deliver their first continental title since 2007.
Brazil were handed a favourable group in a star-studded show in Rio de Janeiro where Zico, Cafu, Marta, Ronaldinho and others made guests appearances. The former Barcelona star presented the tournament’s ball ‘Rabisco’. Brazil will play Bolivia, Peru and Venezuela in Group A as Zico, Cafu, Marta, Ronaldinho and others made guests appearances.
Argentina were paired with Colombia, Paraguay and Qatar in Group B. The Qataris along with Japan are the two non-Conmebol teams to be invited together with Japan to the 12-team tournament. They play South Korea today for a place in the semi-finals of the Asian Cup.
The Argentineans have lost four of the last five Copa America finals, three of them penalty shout-outs, and the presence of Lionel Messi this summer remains a major questionmark. The team’s talisman hasn’t played for Argentina since they crashed out against France in Russia. The AFA’s chaotic administration has at times alienated Messi, but the return of Cesar Menotti as the director of the national teams may herald a new age for Argentina. Menotti led Argentina to World Cup victory in 1978.
In Group C, Uruguay, the tournament’s main favourites alongside the hosts, will face defending champions Chile, Ecuador and Japan. In 1989, when Brazil last staged the Copa America, Uruguay lost the final match to a goal from Romario. Chile won the past two competitions but were not seeded in the draw.
Brazil had been supposed to stage the tournament in 2015 but, overloaded with hosting the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, organisers asked for respite. Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre and Salvador will feature as host cities between June 14 and July 7. The Morumbi in the Paulista capital is the only stadium set to host matches that didn’t stage a game during the 2014 World Cup. The final will be played at the iconic Maracana stadium in Rio.
This will be the last Copa America to be played in an odd year. Starting in 2020, the tournament will be held in the same year as the European Championship and the newly elected president of the CBF Rogerio Caboclo has proposed that Brazil could chip in to partially stage the tournament. For two years, CONMEBOL has been negotiating with CONCACAF to bring the 2020 tournament to the United States (the tournament played its Centenario edition in the US in 2016), with 16 participating teams (ten from South America and six from CONCACAF), but that plan hit a road block this week over differing commercial interests.
“It’s hard to find a single host country for a big tournament in such a short time,” Caboclo told Globoesporte. “So, Brazil and Argentina would propose to organize the games of their groups in the first phase as seeds of their groups. Conmebol will study this possibility, among other possibilities, to take a decision at the next Council meeting. There may be more hosts, not a just a single hosts. There are several issues to be discussed.”
With the draw out of the way, organisers will put 228,000 tickets for the tournament on sale on Friday.
Groups:
Group A
Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Bolivia
Group B
Argentina, Colombia, Paraguay, Qatar
Group C
Uruguay, Chile, Ecuador, Japan
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1731646044labto1731646044ofdlr1731646044owedi1731646044sni@o1731646044fni1731646044