2024 Copa America: Canada face Messi, Costa Rica in Group D

As the United States prepares to host the 2024 Copa America, CONMEBOL has started making announcements about the details of the tournament.

In the summer of 2024, the United States will play home to the 48th edition of the event. Teams from CONCACAF will go head-to-head as Argentina seek to defend their championship.

Overall, North and South American soccer fans are poised for a spectacular summer.

With a few notable exceptions, the South American continental tournament is conducted every four years. This particular year will include six North American teams.

In a thrilling knockout international soccer event, sixteen countries will go head-to-head. There will most certainly be no shortage of famous faces. The likes of Christian Pulisic and Lionel Messi will be playing for their respective national teams.

The Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida, will host the Copa America Final in 2024 on July 14. On Saturday, March 23, the sixteen teams who will compete in the 48th Copa America were announced.

Canada and Costa Rica are the last teams to qualify for the world’s oldest national team event, winning the CONCACAF playoffs. This edition will also include four additional CONCACAF teams: Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, and the United States.

How Canada qualified for Copa America

Costa Rica beat Honduras 3-1 after falling in the first half, while Canada advanced with a 2-0 win against Trinidad and Tobago. Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas was the site of both contests on Saturday.

Canada will face off against Argentina, the reigning World Cup winner, in a highly anticipated encounter at the Copa America.

In a play-in encounter for the CONCACAF Nations League, a well-organized Trinidad and Tobago proved difficult to penetrate. Thus it took some time to get there.

As one of six CONCACAF visitor teams, the Reds advanced to the South American championship with a 2-0 victory thanks to goals scored in the second half by Cyle Larin and Jacob Shaffelburg.

After a driving run by Tajon Buchanan and a lay-off ball from Ike Ugbo, Larin scored his team’s first goal in the 61st minute by shooting past Denzil Smith in goal.

The striker has extended his lead atop Les Rouges’ all-time goalscoring rankings with 29 goals.

Then, just before the final whistle, Nashville star Shaffelburg scored the game-winning goal by shooting with his left foot.

Overall, the 96th-ranked Soca Warriors put up a strong fight in the face of a barrage of attacks from No. 50 Canada.

It all comes down to this: Canada will make their tournament debut on June 20 against Argentina in the first match of Group A. What’s more, Peru and Chile round up the group.

How Costa Rica qualified for Copa America

Costa Rica secured the last spot in the tournament with their victory against Honduras in the subsequent match. In a thrilling comeback, Los Ticos defeated Los Bicolors 3-1.

Now that they’ve made it to their sixth Copa America, they’ll play their first match in Group D on June 24 in Los Angeles against Brazil. Keylor Navas’s squad will share a group with Paraguay and Colombia.

After falling down to Michaell Chirinos’ strike in the 10th minute, Gustavo Alfaro’s youthful squad shown remarkable resilience by responding. They quickly equalized two minutes later, capitalizing on a mistake made by goalkeeper Jonathan Rougier.

Then, with a rocket into the top corner in the 56th minute, young Warren Madrigal put his team ahead. After that, in the 62nd minute, Jefferson Brenes scored a goal from beyond the penalty area to clinch the win and qualify.

Photo credit: IMAGO / Agencia-MexSport