- The 1963 champions and this year's hosts will begin their adventure in Texas.
- The teams meet again in the tournament after 29 years.
Bolivia and the United States face each other in the opening match of CONMEBOL Copa América USA 2024™, playing the first match of Group C at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on June 23 at 5 p.m. local time.
An opportunity for both teams to get off to a good start and for the home side to respond to their defeat suffered in their last CONMEBOL Copa America match that took place in the 1995 edition.
On that occasion, the game took place during the second round of Group C. The Americans were coming off a win over Chile, while La Verde had been defeated by Argentina in the first match. On the pitch, however, it was the turn of the iconic Marco Etcheverry to receive a pass in the box, beat his marker with a beautiful cut and shoot to secure the 1-0 victory.
The Bolivians qualified for the quarterfinals along with the United States and Argentina, and 'El Diablo' Etcheverry, curiously, would then be transferred to the North American Soccer League, where he would become a local idol for the supporters of DC United.
In general, Bolivia and the United States have met eight times, including seven friendlies. The first of these was in 1993, which ended in 0-0, while the most recent, in 2018, was a 3-0 North American victory with goals from Walker Zimmerman, Timothy Weah and Josh Sargent, all candidates to be called up to this CONMEBOL Copa América™. In total, there are two wins for each team and four draws.
The rematch of the two teams in the world's oldest national team tournament will take place at AT&T Stadium (80,000). The venue is best known for being the home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys and will be reorganized for the international tournament. Arlington is located west of downtown Dallas, about 30 miles away on I-30 and 19 miles from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
AT&T will host two more matches in this edition: Peru vs. Argentina. Chile, in Group A, and one of the quarterfinals of the competition (1B vs. 2A).
In terms of history in the CONMEBOL Copa América™, Bolivia has fared better: in 29 participations, including the 2024 edition, it has won a title (1963), a runner-up (in 1997) and has reached fourth place on two other occasions. Their best recent performance was in 2015 in Chile, when they qualified for the quarterfinals.
The United States, on the other hand, is participating for the fifth time in the tournament in which they debuted in 1993, managing to qualify as champion of the Concacaf Nations League. They advanced to the semi-finals on two occasions, those being their best campaigns so far (1995 and 2016), with the Americans finishing fourth overall both times.
After the opening match, Bolivia will face Uruguay at MetLife Stadium (E. Rutherford, NJ) and then finish their group stage participation against Panama at Inter&CO Stadium (Orlando, FL). The United States, on the other hand, will face the Panamanians first at Mercedez-Benz Stadium (Atlanta, GA) and then La Celeste, at GEHA Field at Arrowhead (Kansas City, MO). The next rounds will take place on June 27 and July 1, respectively.
Tickets are still on sale for Bolivia and the United States' debut in the CONMEBOL Copa América USA 2024™.
Photo: X/@USMNT
