RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil will be defending its Copa America title on June 13th next year in Medellin (Colombia) against Venezuela. The championship’s full schedule was released on Thursday, August 13th, by the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL). The championship should have been played between June and July 2020, but was deferred to 2021 due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The Brazilian team is in Group B, based in Colombia, in addition to the Venezuelans and the hosts, Peru, Ecuador, and Qatar, again invited. The current Asian champion was in Brazil for the 2019 edition. After its debut, Tite’s team will play twice in Cali and twice in Barranquilla. The four best teams in the group will move on to the quarter-finals.
Group A will be played in Argentina. The local team, which opens the Copa America on June 11th, 2021 against Chile in Buenos Aires, will play against Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, and Australia. The Oceanian nation, which competes in the Asian continent, has also been invited by CONMEBOL and will play the Copa America for the first time. Cordoba, La Plata, Mendoza, and Santiago del Estero are the other Argentine cities to host championship matches.
The South American organization has determined that the teams will be able to replace up to three players from the squad at the completion of group matches, in addition to substitutions due to injury. Colombia will host the match for third place (Bogotá) and the final (Barranquilla). In order to remain in the country, Brazil must finish first or second in the group. Should it come third or fourth, it will play the quarter-finals and (should it qualify) the semi-final in Argentina.
This is the first time that the Copa America will be played in two countries. Between 1975 and 1983, the championship was played in home and away matches. With 15 trophies, Uruguay is the top winner, followed by Argentina, with 14. Brazil claimed nine trophies, with the 2019 victory. Paraguay, Chile, and Peru total two trophies, while Colombia and Bolivia have won one. Only Ecuador and Venezuela have never won the championship.
Source: Agência Brasil
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