A History of the Copa America & Copa America 2024 Preview And Tips

Euro 2024 has been one of our key topics recently, but now let’s turn our attention to the Copa America.

With the Champions League Final now history, the focus is shifting to the two big summer international tournaments. Ahead of the Olympic Games.

The South (and now North) American version of the Euros is one of the oldest international tournaments. It also has a long and sometimes fractured history.

Originally for just the teams in South America, the first Copa America was held as far back as 1916, a full 44 years before the first European Championships finals. It also pre-dates the World Cup by 14 years.

Since then, 47 Copa America tournaments have been contested, with this summer’s event in the United States being the 48^th.

Of course, bet365 Sport will offer plenty of exciting betting opportunities on Copa America 2024 via its new Copa America-dedicated website pages!

Let’s learn more about this fantastic and exciting international tournament.

History of the Copa America 1916 to 2024

The table below shows all 47 previous Copa America tournaments with the year held, the number of teams competing and the teams that finished as winner, runner up, third and fourth (where possible).

Copa America – Winners & Runners Up

A total of eight teams have been victorious in the Copa America over the years and only one team from outside South America (CONMEBOL) have reached the final. Mexico, who did so on two occasions.

Argentina and Uruguay both hold the record for most number of wins with 15, although Argentina have appeared in 29 finals compared to Uruguay’s 21.

Brazil, surprisingly, trail their main South American rivals with just 9 wins and 12 runner-up performances at the Copa America.

The full list of winners and the number of times they have been runner-up, is outlined below.

Argentina will head to the United States in June as the defending Copa America Champions, having beaten Brazil in the last tournament’s final.

Only Ecuador and Venezuela of the 10 CONMEBOL teams have yet to win the Copa America. Several other teams have competed in the tournament over the years without winning it. They include:

• Honduras
• Mexico
• Canada
• Costa Rica
• Haiti
• Jamaica
• Japan
• Qatar
• United States
• Mexico

The 2024 Copa America will be only the second time 16 teams have competed in the tournament. The previous time was in 2016 when it was also held in the United States.

Copa America 2024 – Draw and Teams

The Copa America 2024 takes place in the United States from June 14^th and will feature 16 teams: 10 CONMEBOL teams from South America and six qualifiers from North and Central America.

A total of 14 venues will host the games, which will take place over a month. The final will take place in Miami, Florida, on July 14th.

Copa America 2024 – Venues

• AT&T Stadium (80,000) – Arlington, Texas.
• Mercedes-Benz Stadium (71,000) – Atlanta, Georgia.
• Q2 Stadium (20,738) – Austin, Texas.
• Bank of America Stadium (74,867) – Charlotte, North Carolina.
• MetLife Stadium (82,566) – East Rutherford, New York.
• NRG Stadium (72,220) – Houston, Texas.
• SoFi Stadium (70,240) – Los Angeles, California.
• Levi’s Stadium (68,500) – San Francisco, California.
• State Farm Stadium (63,400) – Glendale, Arizona.
• Allegiant Stadium (61,000) – Paradise, Nevada.
• Arrowhead Stadium (76,416) – Kansas City, Missouri.
• Children’s Mercy Park (18,467) – Kansas City, Kansas.
• Hard Rock Stadium (64,767) – Miami Gardens, Florida.
• Inter&Co Stadium (25,500) – Orlando, Florida

The draw for the tournament was made a while back, and the following groups were produced:

Copa America 2024 – Group Draw

The draw for the Group Stages was held on December 7 2023 and the 16 teams were seeded into four pots. The draw produced the following four groups for the initial group phase of the tournament.

• 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

The teams play each other once in the Group Phase. The top two teams from each group qualify for the quarterfinals.

From the quarterfinals onwards, each fixture is a one-leg knockout, with extra time and penalties used to decide the winner in the event of a tie.

The knockout phase is pre-determined, meaning that teams from Groups A and B cannot face a team from Groups C or D until the competition’s final.

Latest Copa America 2024 Betting Odds

World Champions Argentina are the 2.75 favourites with bet365 Sport to win the tournament. Brazil are the 3.25 second-favourites. Uruguay are 6.00, Mexico 12.00, Colombia and USA 13.00, and Ecuador 17.00.

The odds then drift markedly out to Chile at 29.00, Peru at 51.00, Venezuela, Paraguay, and Canada at 67.00, and Costa Rica at 81.00.

The three rank outsiders are Panama, Jamaica, and Bolivia, which all rank at 151.00.

Is a Lionel Messi-inspired Argentina win in Miami on the cards? The bookies certainly think so. However, I like the look of Uruguay, which for me is the value bet at 6.00.

Don’t Forget Euro 2024 Fans!

At the same time as the Copa America 2024, the European Championships are taking place in Germany. England and Scotland will be the two home nations battling 22 other teams and each other to become European Champions.

We’ve already brought you a preview of Euro 2024, but don’t forget that the bet365 Free Fantasy Euros game is also available on the Fantasy part of the bet365 site.

With newly designed sections for Euro 2024 and Copa America 2024, you can find a wealth of betting options easier than ever at bet365 Sport!