Ready For Action

The scene is set for a fascinating tournament in Brazil.

Since 2007, the Copa America has held a clear place in the four-year cycle of national team football in South America, with the tournament serving as a warm-up for the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers and kicking off a new phase of competitive action.

With nothing but friendlies played since last summer’s World Cup finals, those who failed to make it to Russia will not have played for points since October 2017, and the 2019 Copa in Brazil would normally see the start of teams being whipped into shape ahead of the Qatar 2022 qualifying campaign.

However, with the next World Cup now kicking off towards the end of the calendar year, instead of the usual June/ July slot, things will be slightly different at this year’s Copa.

The road to Qatar does not get underway until next March, so after this Copa there will be three sets of FIFA dates later in 2019, then just two rounds of World Cup qualifiers before another Copa America in 2020.

Taking advantage of the switch from odd to even years, CONMEBOL has slipped in an extra Copa – which, bizarrely, will be shared between Argentina and Colombia, two countries at opposite ends of a large land mass – and it is this competition that will give coaches a last chance to fine tune their sides in preparation for the remaining 16 qualifying games for Qatar.