Copa America 2019: fixture, groups, schedule, squad

The 46th Copa América gets underway in Brazil on Saturday 15th of June, with 12 teams looking to be crowned the best team in South America (even though Japan and Qatar are participating).

The format (three groups of four) sees eight teams progress to the knockout rounds – the first and second from each group, plus the two third-placed teams with the best record.

A significant twist has been added to this addition of the tournament, as when we reach the knockout rounds, there is no extra-time. If the result is a draw after 90 minutes, the game heads straight to penalties, which more than likely favours the weaker teams, as they would only have to soak up pressure for 90 – and not 120 – minutes.

Chile are the reigning champions, having won the last two finals (2015 and 2016) against Argentina on penalties, both after goalless draws, but the firm favourites this year are hosts Brazil. At the other end of the spectrum, Japan and Qatar are the two invitees, as Japan prepare for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, and Qatar looking to improve ahead of hosting the 2022 World Cup.

The tournament will be played at six stadiums across Brazil, with the final set to be hosted at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro.

And there are plenty of storylines to sink your teeth into. With Cristiano Ronaldo lifting the inaugural Nations League title with Portugal this week, it’s Lionel Messi’s chance to respond as he attempts to finally hoist a major trophy with Argentina.

They haven’t won the Copa since 1993, and last time around the Barcelona superstar sensationally missed a spot kick in the final before announcing his retirement from the national team.

WHO’S THERE?

Group A: Brazil, Bolivia, Venezuela, Peru

Group B: Argentina, Colombia, Paraguay, Qatar

Group C: Uruguay, Ecuador, Japan, Chile

Full schedule (UK time)

Group stage

Saturday, June 15

Brazil vs Bolivia (1:30am)

Venezuela vs Peru (8pm)

Argentina vs Colombia (11pm)

Sunday, June 16

Paraguay vs Qatar (8pm)

Uruguay vs Ecuador (11pm)

Tuesday, June 18

Japan vs Chile (midnight)

Bolivia vs Peru (10:30pm)

Wednesday, June 19

Brazil vs Venezuela (1:30am)

Colombia vs Qatar (10:30pm)

Thursday, June 20

Argentina vs Paraguay (1:30am)

Friday, June 21

Uruguay vs Japan (midnight)

Saturday, June 22

Ecuador vs Chile (midnight)

Peru vs Brazil (8pm)

Bolivia vs Venezuela (8pm)

Sunday, June 23

Qatar vs Argentina (8pm)

Colombia vs Paraguay (8pm)

Tuesday, 25 June

Chile vs Uruguay (midnight)

Ecuador vs Japan (midnight)

Quarter-finals

Friday, June 28

QF1: Group A winner vs third in Group B/C (1:30am)

QF3: Group A runner-up vs Group B runner-up (8pm)

Saturday, June 29

QF2: Group B winner vs Group C runner-up (midnight)

QF4: Group C winner vs third in Group A/B (8pm)

Semi-finals

Wednesday, July 3

SF1: QF1 winner vs QF2 winner (1:30am)

Thursday, July 4

SF2: QF3 winner vs QF4 winner (1:30am)

Third-place play-off

Saturday, July 6

SF1 loser vs SF2 loser (8pm)

Final

Sunday, July 7

SF1 winner vs SF2 winner (8pm)

FULL SQUADS

ARGENTINA

Goalkeepers: Franco Armani, Agustin Marchesin, Esteban Andrada

Defenders: Nicolas Otamendi, Ramiro Funes Mori, Marcos Acuna, Nicolas Tagliafico, German Pezzella, Renzo Saravia, Juan Foyth

Midfielders: Angel Di Maria, Roberto Pereyra, Giovani Lo Celso, Leandro Paredes, Rodrigo De Paul, Exequiel Palacios, Guido Rodriguez, Ivan Marcone

Forwards: Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Paulo Dybala, Lautaro Martinez, Matias Suarez

BRAZIL

Goalkeepers: Alisson, Ederson, Cassio

Defenders: Dani Alves, Fagner, Alex Sandro, Filipe Luis, Thiago Silva, Miranda, Marquinhos, Eder Militao

Midfielders: Casemiro, Fernandinho, Arthur, Allan, Lucas Paqueta, Philippe Coutinho

Forwards: Everton, David Neres, Richarlison, Roberto Firmino, Gabriel Jesus, Willian

BOLIVA

Goalkeepers: Carlos Lampe, Ruben Cordano, Javier Rojas

Defenders: Marvin Bejarano, Diego Bejarano, Luis Haquin, Adrian Jusino, Mario Cuellar, Saul Torres, Roberto Fernandez, Jose Mario Carrasco

Midfielders: Alejandro Chumacero, Raul Castro, Erwin Saavedra, Leonel Justiniano, Samuel Galindo, Fernando Saucedo, Diego Wayar, Paul Arano

Forwards: Marcelo Martins, Gilbert Alvarez, Rodrigo Ramallo, Leonardo Vaca

CHILE

Goalkeepers: Gabriel Arias, Brayan Cortes, Yerko Urra

Defenders: Gary Medel, Gonzalo Jara, Mauricio Isla, Jean Beausejour, Paulo Diaz, Guillermo Maripan, Igor Lichnovsky, Oscar Opazo

Midfielders: Arturo Vidal, Charles Aranguiz, Pedro Pablo Hernandez, Erick Pulgar, Diego Valdes, Esteban Pavez

Forwards: Alexis Sanchez, Eduardo Vargas, Jose Pedro Fuenzalida, Nicolas Castillo, Junior Fernandes, Angelo Sagal

COLOMBIA

Goalkeepers: David Ospina, Camilo Vargas, Alvaro Montero

Defenders: Cristian Zapata, Santiago Arias, Davinson Sanchez, Yerry Mina, William Tesillo, Cristian Borja, Stefan Medina, Jhon Lucumi

Midfielders: Juan Cuadrado, James Rodriguez, Edwin Cardona, Wilmar Barrios, Mateus Uribe, Jefferson Lerma, Gustavo Cuellar

Forwards: Radamel Falcao, Luis Muriel, Roger Martinez, Duvan Zapata, Luis Diaz

ECUADOR

Goalkeepers: Alexander Dominguez, Pedro Ortiz, Maximo Banguera

Defenders: Arturo Mina, Roberto Arboleda, Pedro Pablo Velasco, Cristian Ramirez, Xavier Arreaga, Jose Quintero, Beder Caicedo, Gabriel Achilier

Midfielders: Romario Ibarra, Renato Ibarra, Carlos Gruezo, Jefferson Intriago, Antonio Valencia, Ayrton Preciado, Jefferson Orejuela, Andres Chicaiza, Jhegson Mendez

Forwards: Carlos Garces, Angel Mena, Enner Valencia

JAPAN

Goalkeepers: Eiji Kawashima, Ryosuke Kojima, Keisuke Osako

Defenders: Naomichi Ueda, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Tomoki Iwata, Ko Itakura, Daiki Sugioka, Teruki Hara, Daiki Suga, Yugo Tatsuta

Midfielders: Yuta Nakayama, Gaku Shibasaki, Shoya Nakajima, Takefusa Kubo, Tatsuya Ito, Koji Miyoshi, Kota Watanabe, Hiroki Abe, Taishi Matsumoto

Forwards: Shinji Okazaki, Daizen Maeda, Ayase Ueda

PARAGUAY

Goalkeepers: Antony Silva, Roberto Junior Fernandez, Alfredo Aguilar

Defenders: Gustavo Gomez, Ivan Piris, Bruno Valdez, Junior Alonso, Fabian Balbuena, Juan Escobar, Santiago Arzamendia, Ivan Torres

Midfielders: Oscar Romero, Richard Ortiz, Rodrigo Rojas, Miguel Almiron, Celso Ortiz, Matias RojasForwards: Oscar Cardozo, Hernan Perez, Derlis Gonzalez, Federico Santander, Cecilio Dominguez, Juan Iturbe

PERU

Goalkeepers: Pedro Gallese, Carlos Caceda, Patricio Alvarez

Defenders: Luis Advincula, Carlos Zambrano, Miguel Trauco, Aldo Corzo, Alexander Callens, Miguel Araujo, Anderson Santamaria, Luis Abram

Midfielders: Yoshimar Yotun, Christian Cueva, Edison Flores, Renato Tapia, Christofer Gonzales, Jesus Pretell, Paolo Hurtado

Forwards: Jefferson Farfan, Paolo Guerrero, Andre Carillo, Raul Ruidiaz, Andy Polo

QATAR

Goalkeepers: Saad Al Sheeb, Youssef Hassan, Mohammed Al Bakri

Defenders: Tareq Salman, Abdulkarim Hassam, Hamed Ismael, , Tameem Al-Muhaza, Assim Madebo, Salem Alhajri, Ahmed Fathy, , Pedro Correira, Al Mahdi Ali, Bassam Husham

Midfielders: Boualem Khoukhi, Karim Boudiaf, Ali Afif, Abdulaziz Hatim, Abdullah Abdul Salam

Forwards: Akram Afif, Hassan Al Haydos, Almoez Ali, Ahmed Al Aaeldin, Ahmed Moein, Abdulaziz Al Ansari

URUGUAY

Goalkeepers: Fernando Muslera, Martin Silva, Martin Campana

Defenders: Diego Godin, Jose Maria Gimenez, Sebastian Coates, Martin Caceres, Marcelo Sarrachi

Midfielders: Giovanni Gonzalez, Diego Laxalt, Lucas Torreira, Matias Vecino, Rodrigo Bentancur, Nahitan Nandez, Federico Valverde, Nicolas Lodeiro, Giorgian De Arrascaeta, Gaston Pereiro

Forward: Edinson Cavani, Cristhian Stuani, Maximiliano Gomez, Jonathan Rodriguez, Luis Suarez

VENEZUELA

Goalkeepers: Wuilker Farinez, Rafael Romo, Joel Graterol

Defenders: Roberto Rosales, Mikel Villanueva, Rolf Feltscher, John Chancellor, Yordan Osorio, Ronald Hernandez, Luis Mago

Midfielders: Tomas Rincon, Luis Manuel Seijas, Arquimedes Figuera, Jhon Murillo, Darwin Machis, Junior Moreno, Adalberto Penaranda, Yangel Herrera, Luis Gonzalez, Jefferson Savarino

Forwards: Salomon Rondon, Josef Martinez, Fernando Aristeguieta