Japan, Qatar to play in 2019 Copa America; United States, Mexico miss out
The field is set for the 2019 Copa America, as CONMEBOL announced Friday that Japan and Qatar will join South America's 10 national teams at next summer's competition in Brazil.
The United States, Mexico, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Panama, and Haiti all competed in the 16-team tournament in 2016, but the 2019 iteration will not feature CONCACAF teams and will revert back to a 12-nation format.
Although an explanation for the exclusions was not given, it's possible that overlap with the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup may have resulted in the decision to invite Japan and Qatar - who will host the 2022 World Cup - instead.
Qatar being given a place in the 2019 Copa America comes weeks after South American confederation @CONMEBOL asked FIFA to fast-track World Cup expansion to 48 teams for Qatar 2022 WC.
— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) May 4, 2018
That'll also be the first WC Qatar plays at - the Copa America gives team more experience
The Copa America Centenario in 2016 was the first to be hosted outside of South America, as the United States finished fourth on home soil, while Chile repeated as champion with a victory over Argentina.