NINE REASONS TO BE EXCITED FOR COPA AMERICA

Family feuds, Bielsa's return and an Icelandic dentist - it's all been going on ahead of South America's biggest tournament hosted by, er, the USA. Oh, and Messi's going to be there as well...

- Ed McCambridge

1 USA'S DRESS REHEARSAL

When Ecuador pulled out of a plan to host this summer's competition at the end of 2022, barely an eyebrow was raised.

Copa America hosting duties are seldom straightforward, with changes more normal than a Uruguayan slurping some mate. The previous edition, held in Brazil in 2021, was initially scheduled to take place in Colombia and Argentina a year earlier, before COVID fears redirected proceedings. The 2019 extravaganza was supposed to be in Chile, but also ended up in Brazil, while the 2015 tournament was due to be hosted by Brazil, but switched to Chile. Got it? Good.

What irked many this time was Ecuador's replacement: the USA. Critics claimed the decision - which means the hosts, plus fellow CONCACAF members Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Jamaica and Canada, join the fun minimises the 108-year-old competition's prestige. Some even sarcastically labelled this year's event the 'Copa Panamericana'.

On the flip side, it does represent a 2026 World Cup dress rehearsal - to be played across the USA, Canada and Mexico. The States has staged the Copa America once before, a special centenary edition in 2016, and can now test-run eight of the venues used in two summers' time: Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Jersey, Santa Clara and Kansas City (Missouri).

Other host cities include Austin, Charlotte, Orlando and Phoenix. Las Vegas, too, fresh from Super Bowl hosting duties in February. The last host city is the other Kansas City, found in Kansas state and home to MLS side Sporting Kansas City, immediately across the river from Missouri's Kansas City, home to Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs' Arrowhead Stadium. We told you nothing was ever straightforward...

2 MESSI'S 'THREE-PEAT'