This is how the CONMEBOL Copa América™ teams fared in the first FIFA matchday

• Nine of the teams participating in the world’s oldest tournament were active between March 21st and 23rd.
• Three coaches made their debut.

The first FIFA friendly matchday of 2024 saw active participation from teams that will be part of the CONMEBOL Copa América United States 2024™ with very good results: there were 6 wins, one draw, and two losses.

Thursday, March 21st
Italy 2-1 Venezuela: In a closely contested match against the reigning European champions, Venezuela narrowly lost. Darwin Machís scored the goal for the South American team, while Mateo Retegui, an Argentine naturalized Italian, scored a brace for Italy’s victory.

Ecuador 2-0 Guatemala: La Tri had a great start to the year with John Yeboah’s dream debut for the national team, scoring one of the goals for victory. The other goal came from Gonzalo Plata, who wore the number 10 shirt in his return to the team.

Friday, March 22nd
Chile 3-0 Albania: In Ricardo Gareca’s debut as coach, La Roja won convincingly with goals from Marcos Bolados, Víctor Dávila, and Eduardo Vargas, one of the historic champions returning to the squad after a long absence.

Spain 0-1 Colombia: A historic win for Los Cafeteros, with a stunning goal from Daniel Muñoz after a great play by Luis Díaz. After almost two years in charge, coach Néstor Lorenzo remains undefeated.

Algeria 3-2 Bolivia: A closely contested match that seemed headed for a draw but leaned towards the African side in the end thanks to Aissa Mandi’s goal. Amine Gouiri and Yassine Benzia had scored for the Algerian team, while Carmelo Algarañaz and José Sagredo did so for the team led by Zago.

Argentina 3-0 El Salvador: The reigning champions of the CONMEBOL Copa América™ had a strong performance and won with goals from Cristian Romero, Enzo Fernández, and Giovanni Lo Celso. Valentín Barco, who performed well in the CONMEBOL Preolímpico, made his debut for the senior national team.

Peru 2-0 Nicaragua: A good win for La Blanquirroja at the start of Jorge Fossati’s tenure as coach. Joao Grimaldo and Gianluca Lapadula scored the goals, and the Peruvian fans enjoyed the long-awaited debut of Oliver Sonne.

Saturday, March 23rd
Basque Country 1-1 Uruguay: A draw for Bielsa’s team in their first match of 2024, with Matías Vecino scoring the goal while the opponent’s goal came from Álvaro Djaló. It was the debuts of Nicolás Marichal, Nicolás Fonseca, and Luciano Rodríguez.

England 0-1 Brazil: Dorival Júnior’s debut as head coach came with a huge win at the legendary Wembley Stadium thanks to the first goal of Endrick (the 17-year-old prodigy) in the senior national team.

Here’s how the FIFA matchday will continue:

Sunday, March 24th
Ecuador-Italy
Guatemala-Venezuela

Monday, March 25th
Bolivia-Andorra

Tuesday, March 26th
Uruguay-Ivory Coast
Colombia-Romania
France-Chile
Spain-Brazil
Peru-Dominican Republic
Argentina-Costa Rica