Copa America 2016 Preview: Groups, Schedules, Preparations for Summer Soccer Tournament
The centenario edition of Copa America in the U.S. this summer is hoping to gather football fans from around the globe. Copa America 2016 will see 16 teams competing against each other for the much-coveted Copa America title.
Mirror reports that the games will start on June 3 at 6:30 p.m. for the opening match between Colombia and US at the Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The tournament will extend until June 26.
The participating teams will be divided into four groups composed of four countries each. Below is the breakdown:
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Group A: USA, Colombia, Paraguay, Costa Rica
Group B: Brazil, Peru, Haiti, Ecuador
Group C: Uruguay, Mexico, Jamaica, Venezuela
Group D: Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Panama
USA is hoping to get past its opponent for Group A to bag the title this year, Sports Illustrated said. On the other hand, Brazil needs to prove that it can survive Group B eliminations and win even without some of its powerful players on the roster.
For Group C, the same report said that Mexico could dominate the teams but may face serious competition against Uruguay. Finally, Argentina is poised to rise above other Group D teams with Lionel Messi's help.
This will also be the first time that the competition will be held in a country outside South America, This Is Anfield noted. The number of teams has also been increased to 16 from the usual 12. Whoever emerge as the top two teams for each group will go straight to the quarterfinals. The losing eight teams, however, will immediately go home after they fail to seal a slot.
There will be 10 stadiums where the matches will be held located in various parts of the U.S. Some of these are the CenturyLink Field, Seattle in Washington, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough in Massachusetts, Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia in Pennsylvania and NRG Stadium in Houston, among others.
Last year, Chile emerged as the champions of the Copa America series. With the tournamnet celebrating its 100th anniversary, the organizers want to try a different venue and hold more competitions .
All teams are now doing final preparations for the games which will start on Friday. The country participants are expected to give their best to bag the Copa America title this year.
