Could the United States return to the Copa América?
USMNT captain Tyler Adams may have just hinted at it.
Ahead of Leeds United’s home game against Manchester City in the English Premier League on Wednesday, Adams spoke on the development of the USMNT going into the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which includes participating in the 2024 Copa América.
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“Now, leading into this World Cup, we have some big tournaments,” Adams said. “We have the Nations League, we’re going to have the opportunity to play in Copa América, which is going to be huge for us, and if you can have your guys healthy in tournaments like that, you gain experience and hopefully some more young guys are coming through the pipeline right now.”
The 2024 Copa América will be the 48th edition of the South American tournament organized by CONMEBOL, the governing football body of the continent.
Ecuador was slated to host the 2024 edition as it was next in the rotating order, but the country declined to do so this past November.
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Peru and the U.S. are both in the mix as potential hosts, with the Stars and Stripes last hosting the tournament in 2016 for its 100th anniversary. The U.S. remains the only non-South American country to host a Copa-based match.
The United States have previously been invited as guests to participate in the tournament in 1993, 1995 and 2007. In 1995 and 2016, the U.S. finished in fourth place having made it to the semifinals before losing to Colombia both times in the third-place game. Brazil and Argentina each eliminated the U.S. in those years, respectively.
Going into 2024, the 10 CONMEBOL teams expected to compete are Argentina (defending champions), Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru and Venezuela.
Ten CONCACAF nations are also in line to be invited as guests, though nothing is official yet: the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Jamaica and Panama.
