Neymar, Alexis and some of the world's biggest stars will be in action for South America's festival of football – but will Messi make the party?
Three years after celebrating its centenary in the United States, the Copa America is back in 2019. South America's proud footballing nations go head to head in what is the world's oldest international football tournament, which will this year be held in Brazil.
Brazil had originally been slated for hosting duties in 2015, but swapped that tournament with Chile due to the overlap with the World Cup and the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. The last time the Copa came to the nation was back in 1989, an edition won by the hosts thanks to the lethal combination of Bebeto and Romario up front for the Selecao.
Unlike the Centenary edition, which expanded to 16 teams, the 2019 Copa returns to the 12-side format that has been used since 1993, organised into three groups of four. As well as CONMEBOL's 10 member nations the Asian AFC contributed two participants, with Japan and Qatar entering the fray as guests.
With Thursday's draw we now know who will face whom in the group stage, which will kick off in Sao Paulo's Estadio Morumbi on June 14 with Brazil's clash against Bolivia. With some of the world's greatest players in action and a huge prize on offer, the Copa will doubtlessly be one of the highlights of the summer football calendar.
GettyGroup A | Brazil
This year's hosts have fared badly in the Copa America since their last win in 2007. Brazil have gone out in the quarter finals for three consecutive editions, with 2016's failure forcing out the unpopular Dunga and setting the stage for Tite.
Since that momentous move, all has changed. Brazil have re-established themselves as South America's premier team and will be hot favourites on home soil. No other competitor can match the Selecao's balance of talent across the pitch, from the excellent Alisson between the posts to the likes of Neymar, Roberto Firmino and Gabriel Jesus up front.
Neymar in particular will be the focus of all attentions. The PSG superstar suffered a mixed World Cup campaign tainted by accusations of diving, and was powerless to avoid another last-eight exit at the hands of Belgium. Despite having suffered another injury scare, if he makes it back to his best nothing but the trophy will be good enough.
AdvertisementCatherine Ivill/Getty ImagesGroup A | Peru
Ricardo Gareca's Peru were one of everybody's favourite plucky losers in the World Cup, playing some great football on their way to elimination in the group stage following narrow defeats to France and Denmark.
Now, buoyed by Gareca's decision to stick it out on the bench post-Russia, the Inca are in good shape and will be hopeful of matching the third-place finishes managed in both the 2011 and 2015 editions of the Copa America.
Tireless veteran winger Jefferson Farfan will be back for another run at glory, but Peru's real strength lies in youth. Renato Tapia, Edison Flores, Andy Polo and Miguel Araujo are all 24 and under and some of the brightest stars in the team's line-up.
Getty ImagesGroup A | Venezuela
So long the butt of South America's football jokes, in the last decade the baseball-mad nation has taken up the game with a passion. And while they may not yet be on the level of Argentina or Brazil, Venezuela are by no means far behind their more illustrious rivals.
Youth is the key for Rafael Dudamel, with a strong continengent from Venezuela's 2017 Under-20 World Cup runners-up expected to make the cut for Brazil.
Wuilker Farinez is one of the continent's finest young goalkeepers and Santos trickster Yeferson Soteldo can cause even the best of defences problems with his talents. Older hands like Salomon Rondon and Robert Rosales are there to lend experience, and, if Josef Martinez can take his Atlanta form over to the Vinotinto, they will be a fearsome prospect.
Group A | Bolivia
Formidable on home turf thanks to the dizzying altitude of La Paz, Bolivia are famously weak when they come down to sea level. The Verde last qualified for a World Cup in 1994, while since hosting the Copa America and finishing second in 1997 they have progressed past the group stages on just one solitary occasion.
Their prospects in 2019 do not look much more optimistic. Bolivia won just once last year, against minnows Myanmar, and anything better than a first-round exit would represent a huge feat for the side, particularly after being drawn alongside hosts Brazil, whom they will meet in the tournament's curtain-raiser.