Lionel Messi and Argentina will get the chance to avenge their defeats to Chile in the 2015 and 2016 Copa America finals after being grouped with their old rivals in the draw for next year’s tournament on Thursday.

Reigning Copa America champions Argentina will defend their title in the United States next summer in an expanded 16-team tournament which features 10 South American teams and six qualifiers from the CONCACAF region.

Argentina, winners of last year’s World Cup, will kick off the tournament on June 20 in Atlanta against either Canada or Trinidad & Tobago, who meet in a playoff next year to determine one of two remaining CONCACAF slots.

The Argentines will then face Chile in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on June 25 in a repeat of the 2016 Copa America Centenario final held at the same venue.

Argentina, beaten by Chile in Santiago on penalties a year earlier in 2015, also lost the 2016 final on spot-kicks, with Messi blazing his penalty over the bar.

The Argentine captain later announced a short-lived retirement from international football after the defeat, before reversing the move and continuing his career.

The world champions will wrap up their Group A campaign in familiar territory for Inter Miami’ Messi, facing Peru in Miami on June 29 in their final first-round game.

Elsewhere, Mexico were drawn in a Group B alongside Ecuador, Venezuela and Jamaica, while the United States face Uruguay, Panama and Bolivia in Group C.

Five-time world champions Brazil, beaten in the 2021 final on home soil by Argentina at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, have a potentially tricky group containing Colombia, Paraguay and either Costa Rica or Honduras.

Next year’s Copa America is being seen as an effective test run for the 2026 World Cup taking place in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez said at Thursday’s draw that the tournament would be a “Copa America of the World.”

“The world champion team (Argentina), the only five-time world champion team (Brazil), the first world champion team (Uruguay) will take part, along with the best players in the world, who are Latin Americans,” Dominguez said.

Brazil open their campaign at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, the futuristic home of the Los Angeles Rams NFL team, against either Costa Rica or Honduras on June 24.

They face Paraguay in Las Vegas on June 28 before concluding their group play against Colombia at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, home of the San Francisco 49ers.

A total of 14 stadiums will be used for the tournament, most of them large capacity venues that belong to NFL teams.

If Argentina win Group A, they will face the runner-up from Group B in the quarter-finals on July 4 at Houston’s NRG Stadium – where they defeated the United States in the semi-final in 2016.

The Arlington, Texas home of the Dallas Cowboys will host another quarter-final on July 5, with Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium and the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, rounding out the last eight venues.

The semi-finals will take place at East Rutherford on July 9, and in Charlotte on July 10, with the final taking place at Miami on July 14.

Erik ten Hag said he was warned off taking on the “impossible job” of Manchester United manager but admitted he could not resist the challenge at Old Trafford.

The Dutchman, who left Ajax to take over at United in 2022, ended the club’s six-year trophy drought last season but has been under intense pressure in his second campaign.

United beat Chelsea 2-1 at home on Wednesday, easing the pressure on their beleaguered boss, but have lost 10 out of their 22 games this season in all competitions.

Ten Hag told fanzine “United We Stand” that he was advised how tough it would be to revive the fortunes of the 20-time English champions, who have been in the shadow of Manchester City for a decade.

“Everyone was telling me ‘You can’t succeed in that job’,” said the 53-year-old. “They said it was impossible. Me? I wanted the challenge.”

United beat Newcastle in the League Cup final in February and finished third in the Premier League in 2022/23.

But this season they are already out of the League Cup, trail Premier League leaders Arsenal by nine points and face an embarrassing group-stage exit from the Champions League.

Since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, six managers have tried and failed to take United back to the top of English football – David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick.

“I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but it was such a great club with such a great fanbase,” said Ten Hag.

“People love Man Utd, or they are against Man Utd. I like clubs like this. Ajax was like this.”

The Dutchman said earlier this week he was confident that he retains the backing of the United players after reports of rifts within the dressing room.

United are expected to announce that British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe is buying a 25 percent stake in the club in the coming days but the deal may not make a major impact on spending in the January transfer window.

“I don’t think we will spend a lot,” said Ten Hag.

“As a club, you have to look for improvements, so if you can find better and it’s realistic financially and with financial fair play, the club has to go with it. But most of the time you don’t attract the best players in the winter.”