All you need to know—what the groups are like, who’s playing when, and where all the matches are, including the finals.

Akhil Arora, an avid football viewer and Copa América fan, who has been writing about the sport since 2010. He has reported live from Wembley and Wimbledon.

Copa America 2024 artwork with trophy and one player from the 16 teams
Photo: CONMEBOL

Three years ago, at the previous Copa América in Brazil, Leo Messi won his first trophy with Argentina, after losing two back-to-back finals to Chile on penalties in 2015 and 2016. That latter one was held in the United States—and eight years later, the 2024 Copa America returns to the US. Since then, Messi has also won the FIFA World Cup. Argentina are essentially in the same position that Spain—winners of Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup—found themselves at Euro 2012. Spain went on to win. Can Messi and Co. repeat that feat in 2023?

While all the eyes may be on them as they attempt to defend their crown, Argentina are just one of 16 teams at the 2024 Copa America. Who else is playing? And what’s the schedule like? The tournament kicked off Thursday and will go on for the next three and a half weeks. Here’s everything you need to know.

Copa América 2024 groups and teams

The Copa America was traditionally designed as a continental competition for the 10 members of CONMEBOL—Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol. In English, that’s the South American Football Confederation. In 1993, Mexico and the United States—from CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football)—were invited to round out the participants to 12.

Since then, every Copa América edition has had at least two guests. Costa Rica first played in the tournament in ’97, Japan played in ’99, and Jamaica made their debut in 2015. For CONMEBOL’s 100th year, it was further expanded to 16 teams, with six CONCACAF nations participating. In 2019, Japan returned alongside Qatar, while the COVID-affected 2021 edition had no guests.

In 2024, the Copa America returns to its 2016 state. We’ve all 10 CONMEBOL members alongside six CONCACAF teams. The 16 teams at the 2024 Copa América have been divided into four groups.

Group A: Argentina, Peru, Chile, Canada

Group B: Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, Jamaica

Group C: United States, Uruguay, Panama, Bolivia

Group D: Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, Costa Rica

When it comes to live FIFA rankings, Argentina (1st), Brazil (4th), the United States (11th), and Mexico (15th) are the top teams in each group. Colombia, ranked 12th, are the second-strongest team in any group. Uruguay, ranked 14th, aren’t far behind.

On paper then, Brazil vs Colombia and the US vs Uruguay are the matches to look forward to. When are those games?

Copa America 2024 schedule

Group stage

The group stage began on Thursday, June 20 and will conclude on Tuesday, July 2. Each team will play once against the other three teams in their group. With six matches in every group, there will be a total of 24 group stage fixtures as follows.

Copa America 2024 schedule — group stage in full
DateMatchTimeCityGroup
Thursday, June 20Argentina vs Canada8 pm EDTAtlanta, GeorgiaGroup A
Friday, June 21Peru vs Chile7 pm CDTArlington, TexasGroup A
Saturday, June 22Ecuador vs Venezuela3 pm PDTSanta Clara, CaliforniaGroup B
Saturday, June 22Mexico vs Jamaica8 pm CDTHouston, TexasGroup B
Sunday, June 23United States vs Bolivia5 pm CDTArlington, TexasGroup C
Sunday, June 23Uruguay vs Bolivia9 pm EDTMiami Gardens, FloridaGroup C
Monday, June 24Colombia vs Paraguay5 pm CDTHouston, TexasGroup D
Monday, June 24Brazil vs Costa Rica6 pm PDTInglewood, CaliforniaGroup D
Tuesday, June 25Peru vs Canada5 pm CDTKansas City, KansasGroup A
Tuesday, June 25Chile vs Argentina9 pm EDTEast Rutherford, New JerseyGroup A
Wednesday, June 26Ecuador vs Jamaica3 pm PDTLas Vegas, NevadaGroup B
Wednesday, June 26Venezuela vs Mexico6 pm PDTInglewood, CaliforniaGroup B
Thursday, June 27Panama vs United States6 pm EDTAtlanta, GeorgiaGroup C
Thursday, June 27Uruguay vs Bolivia9 pm EDTEast Rutherford, New JerseyGroup C
Friday, June 28Colombia vs Costa Rica3 pm MSTGlendale, ArizonaGroup D
Friday, June 28Paraguay vs Brazil6 pm PDTLas Vegas, NevadaGroup D
Saturday, June 29Argentina vs Peru8 pm EDTMiami Gardens, FloridaGroup A
Saturday, June 29Canada vs Chile8 pm EDTOrlando, FloridaGroup A
Sunday, June 30Mexico vs Ecuador5 pm MSTGlendale, ArizonaGroup B
Sunday, June 30Jamaica vs Venezuela7 pm CDTAustin, TexasGroup B
Monday, July 1United States vs Uruguay8 pm CDTKansas City, MissouriGroup C
Monday, July 1Bolivia vs Panama9 pm EDTOrlando, FloridaGroup C
Tuesday, July 2Brazil vs Colombia6 pm PDTSanta Clara, CaliforniaGroup D
Tuesday, July 2Costa Rica vs Paraguay8 pm CDTAustin, TexasGroup D

Copa America 2024 final, semis, and quarters

The top two teams in each group will qualify for the 2024 Copa América knockouts. These eight teams will naturally contest the quarterfinals. The winner of each group will play the runner-up of the following (or previous) group.

With the semi-finals, the tournament will move exclusively to the East Coast. The losers of the two semis will play a third-place play-off, while the winners will play for the trophy in Florida.

Because of how the system is set up, teams from Groups A/B cannot meet teams from Groups C/D in the semi-finals. That means Argentina vs Brazil or Mexico vs United States can only happen in a potential final.

Copa America 2024 schedule — finals
DateMatchTimeCity
Thursday, July 4Quarterfinal 1: A1 vs B28 pm CDTHouston, Texas
Friday, July 5Quarterfinal 2: B1 vs A28 pm CDTArlington, Texas
Saturday, July 6Quarterfinal 3: D1 vs C23 pm MSTGlendale, Arizona
Saturday, July 6Quarterfinal 4: C1 vs D26 pm PDTLas Vegas, Nevada
Tuesday, July 9Semi-final 1: QF1 vs QF28 pm EDTEast Rutherford, New Jersey
Wednesday, July 10Semi-final 2: QF4 vs QF38 pm EDTCharlotte, North Carolina
Saturday, July 13Third place8 pm EDTCharlotte, North Carolina
Sunday, July 14Copa America 2024 final8 pm EDTMiami Gardens, Florida
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