On Friday, June 3, one of the best international soccer tournaments ever conceived gets underway. The United States takes on Colombia in the opening match of the Copa América Centenario, a twist on South America’s continental championship. All 10 members of South America’s soccer confederation are traveling to the USA to play in a tournament where they’ll meet the host country, Mexico, and four others from Central America and the Caribbean.
Copa América Centenario 2016: What new fans need to know
North and South America’s best teams face off to find out who reigns supreme on their half of the globe.
It’s going to be a blast. For the totally uninitiated, here’s what you need to know about the tournament.
What is Copa America?
It’s South America’s continental championship, It’s usually held once every four years in the years after the World Cup, but they’re playing a special even year one right now. The defending champion is Chile, who defeated Argentina in the final to win the tournament at home last year.
Why is it in the United States?
The very cool sporting reason is that it’s the 100th birthday of CONMEBOL, the organization that runs South American soccer. They thought it would be fun to celebrate their birthday with a special tournament like this one. But the real reason it exists is so that a lot of corrupt people could make money. Tons of North and South American soccer executives have been arrested after it was discovered that they created this tournament to get rich off illegal TV and marketing rights deals. That said, it’s going to be fun anyway.
Let’s be real: I’m only here for the USMNT. Are they any good?
No one has a good answer to this question. Jurgen Klinsmann’s team has struggled recently, failing to get to the final of the North American championship -- the Gold Cup -- in 2015. They then lost a playoff to get into the Confederations Cup against Mexico, and they’ve failed to win both of their early round World Cup qualifiers that were on the road. But some fresh young players like Christian Pulisic, Darlington Nagbe and Bobby Wood have given this team a spark, and they’re coming into Copa America off wins over Ecuador and Bolivia. It’s possible they’ve improved significantly in the last few months.
Is Lionel Messi in this?
He is! He’s expected to have a big tournament for Argentina.
How about Luis Suarez? Chicharito? Neymar?
Kind of, yes, and no. Suarez is injured and will miss Uruguay’s first game, at least. He might even miss all three of their group stage matches. “Chicharito” Javier Hernandez is expected to start at striker for Mexico. Neymar is not in this tournament, as Brazil has opted to rest him for the Olympics.
Who’s supposed to win?
No one knows, and that’s what makes this tournament so fun. Argentina is the favorite, but only slightly. Uruguay has a good enough team to win Copa America if Suarez gets fit. Defending champion Chile is still very good. And Mexico fans will be expecting their team to make a deep run.
I feel like I’ve got the basics down. Where can I learn more?
SB Nation’s Copa America guide, right here. We’ll also be updating it regularly with our coverage throughout the tournament.
How do I watch the games?
Most games, including Friday night’s opener, will be on Fox Sports 1. Occasional games will be on the Fox network and FS2. You can find listings right here.
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