Copa América betting guide
The first official edition of the Copa América was played in 1916, making it the oldest international football tournament in the world. South América’s leading international tournament is back in focus with our 2024 Copa América odds, featuring all 10 CONMEBOL nations and six invited countries.
Copa América qualification
All 10 CONMEBOL members automatically get their spots, and then it’s down to organisation and planning as to how many teams are invited to the current edition.
The first teams from outside of South America to be invited were the USA and Mexico, who took part in the 1993 Copa América. Costa Rica, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Japan, Panama and Qatar are the other nations to have participated. Canada will be the 10th invitee to participate when they line up at Copa América 2024.
The tournament winner qualifies for the 2025 CONMEBOL-UEFA Cup of Champions, also known as the Finalissima, a clash between the European and South American champions.
Copa 2024 qualification – CONCACAF
For the 2024 Copa América, six spots were opened for CONCACAF teams. Four of them went to the nations that reached the finals of the 2023-24 CONCACAF Nations League. The other two spots were decided by a play-in round, with Canada and Costa Rica earning qualification.
History of Copa América
The inaugural Copa América in 1916 featured just four nations: Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil and Chile. Uruguay largely dominated the early years of the new South American Football Championship, as it was originally called, winning six of the first 10 titles.
Brazil briefly enjoyed some success, but then Argentina took over and became the powerhouse, leaving their great rivals conspicuously behind in the title count. With success in 1939, Peru became the first team other than Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil to win the tournament.
Paraguay won their first title with a 3-2 playoff win over Brazil in 1953, and Bolivia also won the tournament for the first and only time, a decade later. The first period of strength shown by Brazil in Copa América, despite their long-standing success on the world stage, came when they won four of five editions between 1997 and 2007.
In 2016, the Copa América Centenario was held in the US to celebrate the 100th anniversary. It wasn’t counted as the 45th edition, but instead went into the books as a commemorative version and even had a new trophy created for it.
With 16 participating teams, it was the largest edition of the Copa América ever, with six CONCACAF teams joining the CONMEBOL representatives in the celebrations. Chile won the title via a penalty shootout against Argentina, with hosts the United States finishing fourth behind 2001 winners Colombia.
Mexico are the only non-CONMEBOL team to have reached the final of the Copa América. They accomplished this on two occasions, both times suffering losses against Argentina and then Colombia in 1993 and 2001, respectively.
In the 2021 Copa América, which was largely played behind closed doors, Argentina defeated Brazil 1-0 in the final, giving Lionel Messi his first major international silverware and ending Argentina’s 28-year drought in the competition.
Last 10 Copa América finals
- 2021 – Argentina 1-0 Brazil
- 2019 – Brazil 3-1 Peru
- 2016 – Chile 0-0 (4-2p) Argentina
- 2015 – Chile 0-0 (4-1p) Argentina
- 2011 – Uruguay 3-0 Paraguay
- 2007 – Brazil 3-0 Argentina
- 2004 – Brazil 2-2 (4-2p) Argentina
- 2001 – Colombia 1-0 Mexico
- 1999 – Brazil 3-0 Uruguay
- 1997 – Brazil 3-1 Bolivia
Summary of Copa América titles
Argentina – 15 Uruguay – 15 Brazil – 9 Paraguay – 2 Chile – 2 Peru – 2 Bolivia – 1 Colombia – 1
Betting on the Copa América
Copa América betting is covered extensively at LeoVegas. From making a pre-tournament selection of the outright winner to exploring the many pre-match options, find the latest odds and markets in the LeoVegas sportsbook.
All matches have live betting Copa América odds available from the kick-off. As a match is in full swing, check out dynamic markets such as Next Goalscorer and First Half Result. Live scores and statistics from matches will also be just a click away on the live match pages.
Bet Copa América with the LeoVegas Bet Builder, where the same game multi can be created from any of the fixtures. Also, keep an eye out for price boosts and the LeoVegas Cash Out feature on many of the football betting markets.
Outright winner
In the outright odds to bet Copa América, Argentina are the front-runners. The Albiceleste are both the reigning champions and reigning World Champions. Their talisman Lionel Messi, should be lining up in the famous blue and white again to lead his country.
Brazil have won five of the last seven Copa América titles and are second-favourites, but are likely to be without their star striker Neymar due to a knee injury picked up last October, casting some doubt over their chances. Uruguay are positioned as third favourites in the Copa América odds to lift the title for the first time since 2011.
Mexico are the front-runners for the CONCACAF contingent as they look to become the first non-South American team to lift the championship, with the USA priced not far behind them in double figures. Chile catch the eye as a dark horse option in the outright winner market for Copa América odds, with Ecuador and Colombia posing as potential quarter-finalists.
Group winner betting
The group stage of Copa América betting offers a wide range of options. One of the most popular options is the forecast of each of the group winners, options that can potentially be combined into a multi-bet. All four finishing positions within a group can be forecast, including which nation will finish bottom.
The To Qualify market – backing a team to get to the second stage regardless of their finishing position in the group – is another option to explore. To get more exacting, a Forecast on the top two in each group can be selected, while a Reverse Forecast nominates the top two finishers in any order.
Copa América group overview
The 2024 Copa América matches the Centenario edition from 2016 by featuring 16 teams, organised into four groups of four. The top two from each group make it through to the quarter-finals, and the other teams go home.
The draw for the group stage was held in December 2023, organised by ranking teams into one of four pots. Each group at the 2024 Copa América features one team from each pot.
Pot 1: Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, USA (hosts) Pot 2: Uruguay, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru Pot 3: Chile, Panama, Venezuela, Paraguay Pot 4: Jamaica, Bolivia, Canada, Costa Rica
Copa América Group A overview
Argentina, Peru, Chile, Canada
This looks a very favourable draw for title holders Argentina, who are the outright favourites to top the section. The Albiceleste will be pleased to have dodged both Uruguay and Colombia from Pot 2, instead getting the lowest-ranked opponent they could, Peru.
Canada make their Copa América debut, but are the outsiders of the group, with Chile positioned as the favourite To Qualify alongside Argentina. However, Chile aren’t quite the force that they were, and Peru, who have been to the final four of the last five editions, could challenge them hard for that second spot.
The opening match to bet on Copa América 2024 comes from Group A, with Argentina vs Canada on 20th June from Atlanta, Georgia.
Copa América Group B overview
Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, Jamaica
Mexico will be delighted with this draw as they miss all the big guns in the group stage, and therefore El Tri are the favourites in the Copa América odds for Group B.
Ecuador look the most likely to join them in the next round of this section. However, they could come under some pressure from Venezuela, who look like one of the better outside picks for Copa América betting on the group stage. Jamaica are the group’s rank outsiders.
Copa América Group C overview
Uruguay, United States, Panama, Bolivia
Hosts the United States will kick off their Group C campaign against Bolivia in Texas. The home support should be something of an asset for the US as they make a charge towards the knockout stages, which is a realistic goal for them.
Uruguay are the Group C favourites in Copa América odds, potentially opening the door to a forecast bet on Copa América group C odds with a 1-2 on a Uruguay vs USA finish.
Panama and Bolivia are both a long way adrift in the odds, with Panama being the pick of those to avoid the wooden spoon of the section. Bolivia are the lowest-ranked team in the competition.
Copa América Group D overview
Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, Costa Rica
The Brazilians shouldn’t have any trouble getting through to the next round. However, Colombia can be a handful, and the clash between those sides is well worth looking out for in Copa América betting.
Group D is likely to boil down to a battle between Colombia and Paraguay for that second qualification spot. Paraguay are not a total pushover and could easily make a strong case for themselves and an impression for a bet on Copa América Group D. Costa Rica are big outsiders.
Copa América tournament overview
As the 2024 Copa América isn’t reliant on any best third-placed finishers, some planning for the knockout stage can be done. Each group winner plays a runner-up in the quarter-finals. Taking the Copa América odds from the group stage, if things go as predicted, then it would be:
- Argentina vs Ecuador
- Mexico vs Chile
- Brazil vs United States
- Uruguay vs Colombia
The way that the draw for the quarter-finals could shake out looks ideal for Argentina, even through to the semi-finals where they may expect to meet Mexico. Things are tougher on the other side of the draw, with a potential semi-final of Brazil vs Uruguay on the horizon.
It is extremely difficult for any team to outmuscle a combination of Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina to land the title. Since Paraguay’s wonderful 1979 title, only in three of the following 16 editions has it not been one of the big three claiming the title.
So, based on this, the field doesn’t look particularly large for betting Copa América. However, surprises do happen, such as Honduras taking third place on their debut in 2001, Venezuela grabbing fourth in 2011, and the United States finishing fourth in 2016.
Popular options for backing a surprise run in betting Copa América are the To Reach Semi-Final and the To Reach The Final markets.