Qatar assured of a bigger, better Copa America experience in 2020
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: World Cup 2022 hosts Qatar are assured of a bigger and better Copa America experience in 2020 as the new format ensures that each team will play five group matches in the next edition of the tournament which will be co-hosted by Colombia and Argentina.
The new format will have teams divided into two geographical groups with the northern countries – Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela – playing in Colombia and the southern teams — Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay – playing their matches in Argentina.
The two guest nations, Australia and Qatar, will be assigned to a region at a later date.
Asian champions Qatar did their reputation as an emerging football nation no harm in Brazil this time as they put up battling performances in a group also comprising Argentina, Colombia and Paraguay.
Qatar came back brilliantly from two goals down to hold Paraguay while they showed their fighting spirit in ample measures against Colombia and Argentina before narrowly going down.
Felix Sanchez had said that Qatar need more experience at the highest level and the next Copa will give him and his side exactly that.
There will be two groups of six teams playing each other once in a round robin format, meaning every team is guaranteed at least five matches, rather than the three they had in the current Copa edition in Brazil, where there were three groups of four teams.
Meanwhile, South American football's governing body CONMEBOL confirmed on Monday that joint-hosts Colombia will be the venue of the final and revealed the opening match will be played in Argentina.
Colombian President Ivan Duque announced last week that the final would be held in Colombia, with the mayor of Barranquilla revealing it would take place in that Caribbean port city.
"The 2020 Copa America will begin its new edition on June 12, 2020 in Argentina, and crown its new continental champions in Colombia" on July 12, said CONMEBOL in a statement.
It will be the first time in the 103-year history of football's oldest continental national teams competition that two countries host the tournament.
