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Copa America clarifies extra time rules and more

CopaAmerica2016Centenario2 (CONCACAF)

The 100th anniversary of Copa America is set to kick off in just three days, but there were still a few things that needed clarifying heading into the tournament.

The special edition of the tournament has long been scheduled to feature 16 teams (10 from CONMEBOL, six from CONCACAF), instead of 12, but several other rules changes have been confirmed ahead of the competition, including one in regards to the extra time format.

Here are some of the rules changes for the 2016 Copa America:

NO EXTRA TIME EXCEPT DURING FINAL

During the knockout rounds, with the exception of the final, all matches will go directly to a penalty shootout instead of holding the regular 30-minute extra time. The final’s format will remain the same as previous years, with two 15-minute halves in place to determine a winner. In the event that the final is still tied, then penalty kicks will decide the champion.

YELLOW CARD COUNT RESETS AFTER QUARTERFINALS

In regards to yellow card suspensions, a player that receives yellow cards in two consecutive matches during the group stage or quarterfinals will receive a one-match ban. Once the quarterfinals have concluded, all players will have their card count reset, therefore not carrying over to the semifinals or final.

GROUP STAGE TIEBREAKERS

To determine the quarterfinals field, the top two sides in each group will advance based on whichever sides have the best point total through three group stage matches. In the event of a tie on points, the first tiebreaker will be goal-differential (which is the team’s goals scored minus goals allowed). If two or more teams are still tied, the tiebreaker moves to goals scored. The third resort would be head-to-head results, before ultimately drawing lots if all else fails.

Comments

  1. Aie Aie Aie ! This was painful to read, and rather incredible rule change. Is FIFA experimenting with the idea or is this tournament really being adapted to US market? TV slots, newbie fans, travel distances…

    Reply
      • OK I stand corrected. I didn’t see those matches and was unaware. So, it must be to avoid painstaking overtime periods in summer heat during which no one runs and nothing happens. But if it works well enough to do in three successive tournaments why not introduce in other elimination matches, fifa, uefa, concacaf?

  2. Glorified exhibition. Just like the ICC tournament. Keep the minutes down and pretend the tournament means something.

    Reply
    • Standard in Copa to do this. If we didn’t the CONMEBOL teams would claim we were chainging their tournament structure from their norm.

      Reply
    • The issue with the 30 minutes of extratime is the tightness of the scheduling and the fact that a team which plays and wins after a 30 minute extra time, has a significant fatigue penalty , and may play an opponent who has not.

      Reply
      • How is that any different than any other competitive tournament? A team who plays extra time always has a disadvantage against one who does not. The trick is easy, win the game in regular time or suffer the results.

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