Copa America 2021: Iconic Maracana stadium to host final; Brazil to play Venezuela in tournament opener-Sports News , Firstpost

Maracana stadium can be seen behind the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. AP

South American football body CONMEBOL announced on Wednesday that the historic Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro will host the final of Copa America on 10 July. It also picked Brazil against Venezuela as the opener on 13 June at Brasilia’s Mané Garrincha stadium.

The decider of the South American championship will be the only match of the tournament at the Maracanã, which also hosted the final two years ago when Brazil beat Peru 3-1 to win its ninth title.

CONMEBOL chose Brazil as a replacement host on Monday after Argentina was dropped because of the spread of COVID-19 . Colombia was removed as a co-host on 20 May amid street protests against President Iván Duque.

Many health experts criticized the move to bring Copa America to Brazil, where the death toll is currently at more than 465,000.

The format of the tournament, with two groups of five, was maintained. Group A includes Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay, Chile and Paraguay. Group B has Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru. The four best of each group advance to the knockout stage.

The semifinals will be at the Nilton Santos stadium in Rio on 5 July and at the Mané Garrincha in Brasilia on the next day. Quarter-finals will take place on 2 July at the Nilton Santos and Goiania’s Olimpico stadium, and 3 July at the same Olimpico stadium and Brasilia’s Mané Garrincha.

Rio and Brasilia will host eight matches of the tournament each. Goiânia will have seven games and Cuiabá, five, all in the group stage. Due to the pandemic, spectators will not be able to attend any Copa America matches.

Governors of the states of all host cities are allies of President Jair Bolsonaro, who is one of the main advocates for the event.

After the opener, Brazil will play against Peru and Colombia at the Nilton Santos stadium and finish their group-stage campaign against Ecuador in Goiânia. If the hosts finish on the top in their group they could play all knockout stage matches in Rio.

Lionel Messi and Argentina will play their first match in the tournament against Chile at the Nilton Santos, clash with Uruguay and Paraguay in Brasilia, and finally face Bolivia in Cuiabá.

Following are the Copa America’s group stage matches:

Rio de Janeiro: Argentina vs Chile (June 14), Brazil vs Peru (17), Venezuela vs Ecuador (20), Brazil vs Colombia (23), and Uruguay vs Paraguay (28).

Brasilia: Brazil vs Venezuela (June 13), Argentina vs Uruguay (18), Argentina vs Paraguay (21), Chile vs Paraguay (24), and Venezuela vs Peru (27).

Goiânia: Paraguay vs Bolivia (June 14), Colombia vs Venezuela (17), Colombia vs Peru (20), Ecuador vs Peru (23), and Brazil vs Ecuador (27).

Cuiabá: Colombia vs Ecuador (June 13), Chile vs Bolivia (18), Uruguay vs Chile (21), Bolivia vs Uruguay (24), and Bolivia vs Argentina (28).