Before hosting the World Cup in two years, the U.S. is getting an appetizer this summer.
Copa America, South America’s continental championship, will be played in America this summer for the first time in eight years, with North American teams invited to compete against the likes of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay.
Though teams from outside South America have regularly been invited to Copa America, none have ever won the tournament, with Mexico’s pair of final appearances in 1993 and 2001 accounting for the best result for a team outside the continent.
The U.S., Mexico and Canada, however, will be among the teams looking to change that this summer, starting on Thursday night.
The Post’s Ethan Sears breaks down five games to watch in the Copa America group stage:
Argentina vs. Canada (Thursday, 8 p.m., Group A, in Atlanta)
It’s rare in an international tournament that the opening match is not contested by the host nation, but that will be the case in Miami on Thursday, since Lionel Messi is an enterprise of his own.
Argentina opens its defense of the 2021 Copa title in Messi’s new home city against a Canada squad that has struggled since an insurgent campaign to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.
Under new head coach Jesse Marsch, though, the Canadians will have their eyes on qualification for the knockout stage, with the opener being an immediate litmus test.
Chile vs. Argentina (Tuesday, 9 p.m., Group A, in East Rutherford)
One of two group stage matches to be contested at MetLife Stadium should be one of the highlights of the early part of the tournament.
The last time Chile and Argentina faced off in New Jersey was in the 2016 Copa America final — a 0-0 draw that ended with the Chileans winning a penalty shootout to deny Messi’s Argentina a first major trophy.
Chile’s core is on the older side now and it will come as no surprise that Argentina will be considerable favorites in this game.
But this is a classic South American rivalry and a chance to catch Messi close to home, and that alone qualifies it for this slot.
Mexico vs. Ecuador (June 30, 8 p.m., Group B, in Glendale, Ariz.)
As the U.S. has risen to the top of North American soccer, so too has Mexico fallen off a perch it once dominated.
A failure to make it out of the group stage in the Qatar World Cup represented the worst result for Mexico at the tournament since they were banned from the 1990 edition, and the worst at a tournament in which they qualified since 1978.
Coach Jaime Lozano, a native of Mexico, comes into this tournament with the program under immense scrutiny despite winning the 2023 Gold Cup, and with a chance for his squad to prove itself in front of what will be a de facto home crowd in every game.
Mexico should get out of a group that also includes Ecuador, Venezuela and Jamaica, but this match against the Ecuadorians will be their biggest test of the three.
If they can win it — and likely win the group along with it — that would likely mean avoiding Argentina in the quarterfinals.
USA vs. Uruguay (July 1, 9 p.m., Group C, in Kansas City, Mo.)
There is not quite as much unease with the USMNT heading into this tournament as with Mexico, but compared to the optimism heading into the World Cup two years ago, Gregg Berhalter’s squad is very much at a crossroads.
Uruguay, a traditional South American powerhouse, will be the first major test of this Copa America for a squad that has yet to score a victory against such a team.
The result here will help set the tone for the discourse around the national team for the next couple years — though not as much as the ultimate outcome of this tournament — and is likely to decide the group winner.
Brazil vs. Colombia (July 2, 9 p.m., Group D, in Santa Clara, Calif.)
It’s a shame that Brazil-Colombia is the Group D finale and not the opener, since it’s possible that both teams will have secured advancement by the time they face off.
Still, this looks on paper like the best match of the group stage, and could determine the U.S. opponent in the quarterfinal should the Americans advance.
Brazil is in a particularly interesting spot coming into this tournament, with a new generation headlined by Vinicius Jr., Rodrygo and Endrick stepping into the spotlight.
A 1-1 draw against the USMNT in its last match before the tournament caused histrionics at home, with Brazilian legend Ronaldinho blasting the squad and saying he wouldn’t watch the Copa.
We’ll see whether he ultimately goes back on that promise.
