Copa America Centenario

Zososoxfan

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I'm just happy this tournament will be in the US. It can definitely be messed up, but there will hopefully be a lot of talented teams and players competing. Really hoping Tampa gets games and if not (and more likely probably) Orlando.
 

dirtynine

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The host cities/venues are official. No real surprises.

Boston (Gillette Stadium)
Chicago (Soldier Field)
Houston (NRG Stadium)
Los Angeles (Rose Bowl)
New York (MetLife Stadium)
Orlando (Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium)
Philadelphia (Lincoln Financial Field)
Phoenix (University of Phoenix Stadium)
San Francisco (Levi’s Stadium)
Seattle (CenturyLink Field).

Similar to the FIFA World Cup, each venue will host matches on multiple days through the tournament. Most venues will host at least three games.
 

coremiller

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Orlando seems like a strange one. Orlando is the 20th biggest US metro area, the other nine hosts are all in the top 14. They don't have a fancy new stadium. The weather there is awful in the summer.

I see two obvious omissions. One is Dallas, which is a much bigger market than Orlando and has one of the biggest/fanciest stadiums in the country. Did they just not want two Texas venues (even through they have two California venues and Texas is huge)?. The other is D.C., but with three venues in the Northeast Corridor already included (NYC, Boston, Philly), maybe they wanted more geographic diversity. Still, if they wanted somewhere in the South, Atlanta or Miami would have seemed more natural fits from a market-size standpoint. Is it just because Orlando has an MLS team and hosted at WC94?
 

Titans Bastard

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Orlando seems like a strange one. Orlando is the 20th biggest US metro area, the other nine hosts are all in the top 14. They don't have a fancy new stadium. The weather there is awful in the summer.

I see two obvious omissions. One is Dallas, which is a much bigger market than Orlando and has one of the biggest/fanciest stadiums in the country. Did they just not want two Texas venues (even through they have two California venues and Texas is huge)?. The other is D.C., but with three venues in the Northeast Corridor already included (NYC, Boston, Philly), maybe they wanted more geographic diversity. Still, if they wanted somewhere in the South, Atlanta or Miami would have seemed more natural fits from a market-size standpoint. Is it just because Orlando has an MLS team and hosted at WC94?
I read that Miami didn't bid to host because of Orange Bowl renovation work that will be done during that time. I don't know why Orlando was selected over Atlanta, assuming Atlanta bid.
 

Soxfan in Fla

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Orlando's stadium is an absolute dump and located in one of the crappiest ghetto's in Orlando.

Tampa would have been a much better choice if they were going Florida.
 

Zososoxfan

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Sad about Tampa, but Orlando (and the Razor Blade) are certainly doable. When can we expect the schedule to come out and tickets to be available?
 

Awesome Fossum

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Would someone be generous enough to give me a quick rundown of a) the pros and cons of the US/Mexico/+ defecting to CONMEBOL permanently, and b) the odds of it happening?
 

Titans Bastard

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Would someone be generous enough to give me a quick rundown of a) the pros and cons of the US/Mexico/+ defecting to CONMEBOL permanently, and b) the odds of it happening?
Pros
- Higher quality, more interesting competition for club and country
- Regular participation in Copa America >>>>>>>>> regular participation in the Gold Cup

Cons
- Legitimate chance of not qualifying for any given World Cup
- Hellacious travel. Seattle-Buenos Aires is 1,000 miles farther than London-Tokyo. Even the best-possible-case travel scenario of Miami-Caracas is comparable to London-Saint Petersburg. Even regionalization of tournaments can't fully save you here.

Chance of it happening
Minimal. USA and Mexico have a cushy situation in CONCACAF. Mexico has it especially cushy, since they send club teams to Copa Libertadores. For all of the appeal, do the US and Mexico really want to give up a 95-98% chance of qualifying for the World Cup every time?

I'm not sure which bodies would need to approve such a move, but I would expect this would be very hard to pull off in the environment of FIFA politics. The loss of USA and Mexico would leave the Caribbean high and dry. But who cares about the Caribbean? FIFA does - the federations in the Caribbean Football Union have 3x as many votes as the US, Canada, Mexico, and Central America combined. The CONCACAF gravy train that flows from the money generated in the US and Mexico would end and that would be unacceptable to the Caribbean, who probably have enough sway in FIFA to block such a move.

The Central American countries probably wouldn't be happy about it either, unless they were taken too. And while CONMEBOL may well be interested in the prodigious soccer dollars of Mexico and the US, they'd have little interest in the likes of Honduras and Costa Rica, to say nothing of the rest of UNCAF.

So basically, don't hold your breath.
 

dirtynine

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The general trend seems to be more crossover competitions, while retaining separate federations. I'd be all for having one Copa in between World Cups with full participation by both federations, and going down to one Gold Cup every four years. That would rival the Euros for attention and help the US without having us risk our nice qualifying situation. Then the four year calendar would look like

summer 1: World Cup
summer 2: Gold Cup
summer 3: joint Copa America (and Euros)
summer 4: Concacaf Hex / Confed Cup
[repeat]

Similarly, I'd love it if the US sent a couple clubs to Libertadores every so often. As pointed out, the travel makes it almost nonsensical, but it would be great theater.
 

DJnVa

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Prelim tourney schedule: https://ca2016loc.app.box.com/s/2ia2r07k999oos3af8xc75lldgkgai6f

The top 4 seeds are:
Group A: USA (host)
Group B: Brazil
Group C: Mexico
Group D: Argentina

As the host nation, the United States earns the Group A seed, while Argentina, as the highest FIFA-ranked nation in the Americas (per December FIFA rankings), will be seeded top of Group D.

In celebration of the rich soccer tradition in the hemisphere and as the most decorated nations in the last 100 years in international competitions from their respective confederations, the national teams of Brazil and Mexico have also been awarded group seeds, and will head Groups B and C, respectively.
Of note: Brazil will play in Foxborough on June 12th. There will also be a Group D game (but not Argentina) there on June 10.

The United States will be visiting Santa Clara, Calif. (June 3) to kick-off the tournament, before visiting Chicago (June 7) and Philadelphia (June 11).
 

dirtynine

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If the pots go as suggested (Pot 2 the next best Conmebol teams, Pot 3 the next best Concacaf teams, and Pot 4 the remaining), wherever Costa Rica goes will be the group of death.
 

JimBoSox9

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If you're willing to put in about 20-25 hours of driving, it's possible to see all 4 #1 vs. #2 group matchups from June 3-6 on the west coast.

Fri 6/3 Santa Clara USA vs A2
Sat 6/4 Pasadena Brazil vs B2
Sun 6/5 Glendale Mexico vs C2
Mon 6/6 Santa Clara Argentina vs D2
 

Zososoxfan

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Prelim tourney schedule: https://ca2016loc.app.box.com/s/2ia2r07k999oos3af8xc75lldgkgai6f

Of note: Brazil will play in Foxborough on June 12th. There will also be a Group D game (but not Argentina) there on June 10.
Also, the group D winner will play the group C runner up at the Razorblade on Saturday June 18. If Argentina wins group D (which would be shameful shit if they didn't), I will almost certainly be there.

Also making a push for Argentina in Chi on Friday June 10.
 

coremiller

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Chile kind of got screwed in the seeding. They are the defending Copa America champion, and they are ranked ahead of Brazil in the most recent FIFA rankings. What has Brazil done lately?
 

Titans Bastard

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Haiti beat Trinidad & Tobago 1-0 and Panama beat Cuba 4-0 in the qualifying playoffs. The CONCACAF contingent is now set, also including USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Jamaica.
 

Zososoxfan

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Haiti beat Trinidad & Tobago 1-0 and Panama beat Cuba 4-0 in the qualifying playoffs. The CONCACAF contingent is now set, also including USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Jamaica.
It will be very interesting to me to see how those 4 stack up against CONMEBOL. None of them has the talent of ABC, but I could see one of those squads making a run to the semis and I'd expect at least 2 to make it out of the group stage.

It will also be very interesting to see how teams manage their squads vis-a-vis the Olympics. Martino said recently he doesn't think Messi will play in the Olympics, but Brazil should have Neymar since they're hosting.
 

ThePrideofShiner

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I got a presale code today, but can't afford to buy the venue pass. $305 + 19 handling for a three-game pass to Seattle. I didn't check the other venues because I don't live near them.

Are tickets similar elsewhere? I was hoping to grab a single ticket to one of the three games here, but with one being a quarterfinal and one being a Messi game I'm guessing they will be too spendy for me.
 

Tangled Up In Red

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No singles on sale yet in SF (Bay Area), only 4 game packs...
Not dropping coin on that, I'd rather StubHub a match I want.
 

JimBoSox9

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I got a presale code today, but can't afford to buy the venue pass. $305 + 19 handling for a three-game pass to Seattle. I didn't check the other venues because I don't live near them.

Are tickets similar elsewhere? I was hoping to grab a single ticket to one of the three games here, but with one being a quarterfinal and one being a Messi game I'm guessing they will be too spendy for me.
No singles on sale yet in SF (Bay Area), only 4 game packs...
Not dropping coin on that, I'd rather StubHub a match I want.
I would definitely take a presale code to get a SF pack, if they're going unused by one of ya'll.
 

candylandriots

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I got a presale code today, but can't afford to buy the venue pass. $305 + 19 handling for a three-game pass to Seattle. I didn't check the other venues because I don't live near them.

Are tickets similar elsewhere? I was hoping to grab a single ticket to one of the three games here, but with one being a quarterfinal and one being a Messi game I'm guessing they will be too spendy for me.
Tickets for two games in NY ran from $130-$1315 each. I picked up a couple for $240 each in the lower level at the corner. It's a group game and a quarterfinal.
 

Senator Donut

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I got a presale code today, but can't afford to buy the venue pass. $305 + 19 handling for a three-game pass to Seattle. I didn't check the other venues because I don't live near them.

Are tickets similar elsewhere? I was hoping to grab a single ticket to one of the three games here, but with one being a quarterfinal and one being a Messi game I'm guessing they will be too spendy for me.
The cheapest ticket at Gillette was also $305.
 

Infield Infidel

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here's the Elo rankings

Pot 1: Brazil 2, Argentina 3, Mexico 13, USA 26
Pot 2: Chile 5, Colombia 6, Uruguay 9, Ecuador 12
Pot 3: Costa Rica 23, Panama 40, Jamaica 60, Haiti 86
Pot 4: Peru 22, Paraguay 35, Bolivia 53, Venezuela 56

With the current rankings, it's impossible for the US (or Mexico) to be the top ranked team in its group. It is possible for the US to be the lowest ranked team in its group, if we drew Costa Rica and Peru. (Mexico is at least guaranteed to be second in its group.) Jamaica just beat us last year so the only minnow is Haiti in pot 3. While Peru and Paraguay are clearly the top two in Pot 4, by the rankings the other two teams are at least as good as Jamaica.
 

losangelessoxfan

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Titans Bastard (or anyone else really), what are your thoughts on the strength of the squads for this tournament? Do you think these South American teams will bring the big guns?
 

Dummy Hoy

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Titans Bastard (or anyone else really), what are your thoughts on the strength of the squads for this tournament? Do you think these South American teams will bring the big guns?
It's Fifa sanctioned so the countries can pull everyone. I'd imagine we see top squads.
 

Senator Donut

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It's Fifa sanctioned so the countries can pull everyone. I'd imagine we see top squads.
It's also an Olympic year so qualified nations will prioritize one over the other. With only three over age players allowed, there's little overlap, but I'd imagine Brazil would prefer its three best player to go Rio 2016 instead.
 

dirtynine

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Group A
United States
Colombia
Costa Rica
Paraguay

Group B
Brazil
Ecuador
Haiti
Peru

Group C
Mexico
Uruguay
Jamaica
Venezuela

Group D
Argentina
Chile
Panama
Bolivia
 

moly99

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It will be interesting to see how fans react if the USA doesn't get out of the group. Will fans see this as:

1) The USA was worst ranked team in its group, so it's no surprise we were eliminated early.
2) The USA is great, so if we crashed out early it's the fault of Klinsmann, MLS, the USSF, etc.
 
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SoxFanInCali

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The US is in by far the hardest group. Anyone who knows anything about the sport won't be surprised if they don't advance. Nobody connected with the team should take much abuse afterwards unless they pull a Brazil against Germany and give up while getting run out of the stadium.
 

nickandemmasuncle

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Jul 15, 2005
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It will be interesting to see how fans react if the USA doesn't get out of the group. Will fans see this as:

1) The USA was worst ranked team in its group, so it's no surprise we were eliminated early.
2) The USA is great, so if we crashed out early it's the fault of Klinsmann, MLS, the USSF, etc.
Option #1 is too measured for US soccer fans (and maybe not even justifiable - I know it's a comparatively tough group, but if we can't finish ahead of Costa Rica and Paraguay on home soil, then what the fuck?).

So it'll be option #2, with people choosing the scapegoat that reinforces their pre-existing narrative for why US Soccer is in the toilet. (JK and USSF for me, thanks.)
 

moly99

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I know it's a comparatively tough group, but if we can't finish ahead of Costa Rica and Paraguay on home soil, then what the fuck?).
The problem is that the US player pool isn't better than Costa Rica or Paraguay. I know many people don't want to accept this, but it's true. We have more players, but not better players. Joel Campbell would be the best CF on the US national team.

I don't think the MLS vs big 3 European leagues debate is really about which place is better at developing players. It's really about whether the USA is a couple of players away from competing for a World Cup win, or if we are a couple of generations away. I think it's the latter, so I favor long term development through academies, improving the USSF, etc. If you think we are just one or two star players away from winning the World Cup then you probably think we should be sending as many guys to Europe as possible.

I expect, however, a whole lot of angst over the next six years or so for people who expect the USA to be a very strong team. Whether Klinsmann is fired or not.
 

wilked

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I would like to go to 1 game at Gillette. When are single game tickets on sale? Googling / looking at Gillette and Copa websites is an effort in futility
 

Statman

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I would like to go to 1 game at Gillette. When are single game tickets on sale? Googling / looking at Gillette and Copa websites is an effort in futility
The organizers are only selling "venue passes" which give you access to all three games at the same stadium.

I don't think you can purchase single game tickets. Instead you would have to purchase a ticket on the secondary market from someone who has already purchased a venue pass and is looking to unload tickets to matches he/she is not interested in attending.