The United States could be headed back to Brazil. According to a CBS Sports report, the USMNT, along with Mexico, are among the preferred teams that CONMEBOL will invite to the 2019 Copa America, set to take place in Brazil. The tournament expands from 12 to 16 teams in 2019, and CBS Sports also notes that CONMEBOL is also hoping to bring in Spain, Portugal, Japan and China as well to join Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia for the quadrennial tournament.
This would be a major test for the USMNT just a year after the 2018 World Cup, competing in a Copa America tournament that would feature 6 of the top 10 and 9 of the top 20 teams in the current FIFA World Rankings. If confirmed, it’s a major win for the United States as they seek to find more opportunities to play against the top teams in the world in an already full calendar.
As rumored a couple months ago, the United States is expected to host the 2020 Copa America as CONMEBOL seeks to align their confederation’s tournament on the same schedule as the Euros. Should the USMNT’s participation in the 2019 and 2020 versions of Copa America be realized, their summer calendar for the next five years will be stacked:
2017: World Cup qualifying, Gold Cup
2018: World Cup (if qualified)
2019: Copa America, Gold Cup
2020: Copa America
2021: World Cup qualifying, Gold Cup, Confederations Cup (if qualified)
USMNT fans should relish the many chances they will have over the next five years to see their team square off against some top teams. Couple that with June 2019 also seeing the USWNT competing in the Women’s World Cup, and you probably want to go ahead and make plans to take that month off now.