5 matches to look forward to at Copa America 2020

The Copa America is the oldest international football tournament in the world. Usually a quadrennial tournament involving all the South American (CONMEBOL) nations, the Copa America has featured two teams from other confederations since the 1993 edition of the tournament in Ecuador.

Argentina and Colombia will host the 47th edition of the Copa America for which 2020 FIFA World Cup hosts Qatar and Australia would be the two special invitees.

All CONMEBOL nations with the exception of Ecuador and Venezuela have won the tournament at least once. Uruguay (15), Argentina (14) and Brazil (9) have won the bulk of Copa titles, with a further 8 titles won by 5 other nations.

Mexico's two runner-up finishes (1993 and 2001) are the best performances at the Copa America by a non-CONMEBOL nation. Argentina's 14 runner-up finishes, most recently against Chile in 2015 and 2016, is the most by any nation.

Uruguay (201) is the only nation to play over 200 games at the Copa America, while Argentina have scored (462) and conceded (122) the most goals at the tournament.

The draw for for the 2020 Copa America was held in Colombia, and the hosts Argentina have been drawn with Chile, Bolivia, Uruguay, Paraguay and invitee Australia. The other group will be hosted by Colombia and would feature defending champions Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and the second invitee Qatar.

On that note, here are the five marquee group-stage match-ups to look forward to in the tournament:

#5 Uruguay vs Chile

Record-15 time Copa America winners Uruguay have won 45 of their 81 clashes with 2015-16 winners Chile, losing 19 and drawing 17 games.

Having won their first 9 Copa meetings against Chile, Uruguay have won 3 of their last 6 Copa meetings with them, drawing twice and losing once.

Chilean duo Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal are two of 10 players to have scored over 7 goals at the Copa America, while Uruguay's Barcelona striker Luis Suarez follows close behind with 6 goals.

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#4 Argentina vs Chile

Argentina have a dominating head-to-head record against Chile, winning 61 of the pair's 91 previous meetings while drawing 22 times and losing just twice.

However, recent Copa history between the duo does not make for good readj g for La Albiceleste. Chile beat Argentina in the 2015-16 Copa America finals to win their first two titles at the tournament, as the 14-time winners' long international title drought continued with twin penalty shootout heartbreaks.

Argentina have beaten Chile 2-1 in the group stage at both the last two editions of the Copa (2019 and 2016), but would look to finally land a first international title after a two-and-a-half decade hiatus.

The 2015-16 Copa finalists will open the action at the 2020 edition of the competition next summer. Lionel Messi will probably have his last chance of landing an international title at the 2020 Copa. The record goalscorer for Barcelona would look to improve on his rather pedestrian record of only 9 goals in 27 games in the tournament, and inspire his nation to a record-equaling 15th title at home.

#3 Brazil vs Ecuador

Continental heavyweights and 9-time winners Brazil have dominated their head-to-head rivalry against Ecuador, winning 26 of the pair's 32 meetings, drawing 4 times and losing just twice.

However, any thoughts of complacency must be warded off as their 2 defeats against Ecuador have come in competitive meetings (2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying).

Brazil have since won 7 of their 9 meetings (all competitive fixtures except one), and they would look forward to retaining their 2019 title at the home of their arch-rivals Argentina next summer.

#2 Brazil vs Colombia

Brazil vs Colombia would be one of the marquee clashes to look forward to at the 2020 Copa America.

Although the 5-time World Cup and 9-time Copa winners have won 19 of their 32 meetings with Colombia (while losing thrice), recent meetings between the sides have been competitive affairs.

Since a 1-0 loss to Colombia at the 2015 Copa, Brazil have won 2 of their next 4 meetings against the 2001 Copa winners, which includes draws in their last 2 meetings (2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier and a friendly).

#1 Argentina vs Uruguay

Sergio Aguero (Argentina) exults after scoring against Uruguay

This is the heavyweight group-stage match-up which would not look out of place in the title round either.

14-time Copa winners Argentina have beaten 15-time winners Uruguay 87 times in 189 meetings between the pair, while losing 57 times and drawing on the other occasions.

Since a 3-2 defeat in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Argentina are without a defeat in their next four games against Uruguay, keeping a clean sheet in three of them. The pair's last Copa meeting ended in a solitary goal victory for eventual finalists Argentina.

Albiceleste captain Lionel's Messi's five goals against Uruguay are the most he has scored against any international opposition (along with Brazil).