Brazil and Mexico are seeded teams that Copa Centenario organizers announced today would play in two of three scheduled tournament games at the Rose Bowl next summer; the nations’ opponents and the teams that will play the third game in Southern California will be announced early next year when the final draw is made.
Brazil, the seeded team in Group B, will open its group stage in Pasadena on June 4, and Mexico, the seeded team in Group C, will play at the Rose Bowl on June 9.
The United States and Argentina are the other two seeded teams in the tournament. Argentina earned the top seed of Group D from being the highest FIFA-ranked nation in the Americas, while the United States grabbed the Group A seed as the host nation.
The U.S. men’s national team will open the tournament in Santa Clara on June 3, with its other group matches coming in Chicago on June 7 and in Philadelphia on June 11.
Seattle, New York/New Jersey, Foxborough and Santa Clara will all host quarterfinal matches, with Houston and Chicago getting the semifinals.
From the press release:
The 2016 Copa America Centenario is the historic centennial edition of Copa America – the South American championship – and will be staged outside of South America for the first time. The tournament will feature six teams from the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football and all 10 teams from the South American Football Confederation.
From CONCACAF, host United States and Mexico are automatic qualifiers, while Costa Rica (2014 Central American Cup winner) and Jamaica (2014 CFU Caribbean Cup winner) qualified with regional championships last year.
The final two teams from CONCACAF will be determined in a double-header playoff set to be played Jan. 8, 2016, in Panama City. Trinidad & Tobago will face Haiti, and Panama squares off against Cuba with the winners qualifying for the Copa America Centenario.
The South American field for the tournament features Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. Uruguay has been crowned champion of the Copa America a record 15 times, while Chile won its first title at this past year’s edition, which it hosted.
Full details of the tournament are here.
