Special Event: Copa América 2024: Group Stage
June 21, 2024 7:52 AM - Subscribe
Defending Champion Argentina (and winners of the 2022 World Cup) take on 15 teams from North and South America in an expanded Copa America.
What do we have to do for CONCACAF to regularly get invited to this thing! I think as long as it is wildly unlikely for the US to win, they should keep kicking CONCACAF a few invites. Our "Gold Cup" inevitably comes down to Mexico and the US every time, which is simultaneously very dull and uncomfortably hateful for everyone. And this probably boosts North American TV ratings a bit?
This is the first time I've had the Euros and Copa America overlap so precisely in scheduling. It's great to turn on the TV at any point in the day and probably find a game of international tournament soccer going.
posted by grandiloquiet at 1:06 PM on June 22 [2 favorites]
This is the first time I've had the Euros and Copa America overlap so precisely in scheduling. It's great to turn on the TV at any point in the day and probably find a game of international tournament soccer going.
posted by grandiloquiet at 1:06 PM on June 22 [2 favorites]
I haven’t seen anything specific but I’ve heard that CONCACAF and CONMEBOL are trying to collaborate more. While I hope that means trying to build the Copa America into a premier quadrennial event—it benefits North America in getting us to play games that matter against South America, while exposing South American teams to the much larger markets in North—the size discrepancies between the confederations makes it more challenging.
CONMEBOL has just ten countries, and they all get to play in every Copa; CONCACAF has over thirty, of varying size. So we either wind up with a situation where all ten South American countries get in and North America fights for the other six spots (or 14, if it gets expanded to 24 teams), or not every South American country can get in. And then you add in the fact that this year is happening only because Ecuador didn’t want to host, while the US is looking to gear up for ‘26. But in the meantime, I’m going to enjoy this year for what it is!
(I also wouldn’t rule out the USMNT’s chances as wildly unlikely—it’s Argentina or Colombia’s tournament to lose, but there’s a lot of soccer left to play. I suspect we’re going to limp into the knockouts with a win and two draws and then lose to Brazil or Colombia—and I’d rather we go 0-3 in group play than see that happen—but hope springs eternal, and this could be the year that we get and surprise everyone.)
posted by thecaddy at 1:39 PM on June 23 [1 favorite]
CONMEBOL has just ten countries, and they all get to play in every Copa; CONCACAF has over thirty, of varying size. So we either wind up with a situation where all ten South American countries get in and North America fights for the other six spots (or 14, if it gets expanded to 24 teams), or not every South American country can get in. And then you add in the fact that this year is happening only because Ecuador didn’t want to host, while the US is looking to gear up for ‘26. But in the meantime, I’m going to enjoy this year for what it is!
(I also wouldn’t rule out the USMNT’s chances as wildly unlikely—it’s Argentina or Colombia’s tournament to lose, but there’s a lot of soccer left to play. I suspect we’re going to limp into the knockouts with a win and two draws and then lose to Brazil or Colombia—and I’d rather we go 0-3 in group play than see that happen—but hope springs eternal, and this could be the year that we get and surprise everyone.)
posted by thecaddy at 1:39 PM on June 23 [1 favorite]
If the US finish second in the group, they ply Argentina in the quarterfinals 😭😭
posted by billsaysthis at 11:31 PM on June 25
posted by billsaysthis at 11:31 PM on June 25
No, we don't—that's the traditional way to set up knockouts but this Copa keeps groups A & B and C & D separate until the final. If the US finishes second we face the winner of Group D (most likely either Colombia or Brazil) and if we finish first we face the runner up in group D (most likely either Brazil or Colombia). I'm not sure whether it was set up this way more to benefit us or to benefit Argentina, honestly.
The other weird thing is that only the final will go to extra time—all the other knockouts, including the third-place game, will go straight to penalties if it's tied after 90 minutes. The Copa America would be a great place to test the proposed better overtime format (penalties after 90 minutes, and then 30 minutes of extra time with the penalty-winning team winnng in the event the game is still tied) but, alas, we're still waiting to see how that plays out.
posted by thecaddy at 8:08 AM on June 26
The other weird thing is that only the final will go to extra time—all the other knockouts, including the third-place game, will go straight to penalties if it's tied after 90 minutes. The Copa America would be a great place to test the proposed better overtime format (penalties after 90 minutes, and then 30 minutes of extra time with the penalty-winning team winnng in the event the game is still tied) but, alas, we're still waiting to see how that plays out.
posted by thecaddy at 8:08 AM on June 26
Ahhh yeah, that's the characteristically unpleasant CONCACAF match that I usually avoid watching...
posted by grandiloquiet at 4:57 PM on June 27
posted by grandiloquiet at 4:57 PM on June 27
Knowing that disappointment was coming did not make the disappointment any easier to bear.
Our players are so much more talented than 10 years ago, but the team cohesiveness is just not there. In 2014 we made it to the quarters of the World Cup; in 2016 to the third place game of the Copa America. There are folks saying that we have come a long way in the past six years but that ignores how far we’ve fallen in the past eight.
Ah well. Brazil-Colombia tonight should be a banger. Hope they have a competent ref!
posted by thecaddy at 5:09 AM on July 2
Our players are so much more talented than 10 years ago, but the team cohesiveness is just not there. In 2014 we made it to the quarters of the World Cup; in 2016 to the third place game of the Copa America. There are folks saying that we have come a long way in the past six years but that ignores how far we’ve fallen in the past eight.
Ah well. Brazil-Colombia tonight should be a banger. Hope they have a competent ref!
posted by thecaddy at 5:09 AM on July 2
I'm not inclined to give USMNT too much credit for past successes when I think a lot of them are thanks to having Tim Howard in goal...but it is weird to finally be in a position where USMNT have a lot of talented and seasoned players and don't seem to be doing any better than you would expect from a random USMNT performance throughout history. Berhalter is failing as a coach, but I don't have confidence that US Soccer would hire anyone better. They're....I'm trying to think of what I want to say here, and I keep coming back to "they're total clowns."
posted by grandiloquiet at 9:38 AM on July 2 [1 favorite]
posted by grandiloquiet at 9:38 AM on July 2 [1 favorite]
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posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 2:10 PM on June 21