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The 44th edition of Copa America is a few days away and here is the low down on the format of the tournament. This edition will be hosted by Chile, and the 12 participating teams are divided into three groups of four teams each. The tournament includes teams from 10 member nations of CONMEBOL and two guest nations from CONCACAF – Jamaica and Mexico are taking part in the 2015 edition.
The winner of the tournament will qualify for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, the precursor to the FIFA World Cup. If either Mexico or Jamaica win Copa America, the best-placed CONMEBOL team will go to the Confederations Cup.
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How the group stage works
In the group stage, each team is scheduled to play three matches against the other teams in the same group. One major difference in the scheduling, when compared to other major tournaments, is that the last round of group stage matches will not take place at the same time.
The top two teams from each group qualify for the quarter-finals along with the two best third-placed teams. A win will earn a team 3 points, a draw would fetch 1 point and a loss would mean no points.
| Group A | Group B | Group C |
|---|---|---|
| Chile | Argentina | Brazil |
| Mexico | Uruguay | Colombia |
| Equado | Paraguay | Peru |
| Bolivia | Jamica | Venezuela |
How teams are ranked at the end of the group stage
The ranking of each team in each group will be determined as follows:
- Greatest number of points obtained in all group matches.
- Goal difference in all group matches.
- Greatest number of goals scored in all group matches.
If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings will be determined as follows:
- Greatest number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned
- Goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned
- Greater number of goals scored in all group matches between the teams concerned
- Drawing of lots by the CONMEBOL Organising Committee
The knockout stage involves one-off matches between the qualified teams, with penalty shootouts used to decide the winner if a match is still tied after extra time. The knockout stages will see four quarter-final matches, the two semi-finals, a third-place match (contested by the losing semi-finalists), and the final.
List of matches and dates can be checked here: Copa America Schedule
