‘I need to meet my Geography teacher’: Fans left confused as Japan and Qatar are drawn amongst South American teams for group stages of this year’s Copa America
- The draw for the groups stages of the Copa America 2019 has now been made
- Confusion broke out after fans realised Japan and Qatar will be included
- Both nations feature as a guest invite in the tournament, despite their location
- Social media was awash with queries, and fans questioning their geography
The draw for the group stages of this summer’s Copa America was made on Friday, and with it quickly came a wave of confusion.
Nations found out who they will be going up against, though the inclusion of Japan and Qatar left many football fans simply baffled.
The tournament, to be held in Brazil, will include both nations as guest invites for the chance to win the decorated Copa America.
The draw for the group stage of the 2019 Copa America in Brazil has now been concluded
Brazil legend Cafu assisted with the draw, and caused confusion pulling Japan and Qatar out
It will be the first tournament outside of Asia that Qatar have played in, and the draw saw many scratching of heads.
Social media was quickly awash with responses, many showing individuals questioning their own geography skills.
‘Did Qatar and Japan move to another continent?’ queried one fan, in search of an answer.
‘Japan and Qatar in Copa America hahahhaha, I need to meet my geography teacher,’ wrote another, making light of the confusion.
Since 1993 Conmebol – the South American Football Combination – have invited two teams from elsewhere in the world to play in each Copa to make up the numbers for a 12-team tournament.
Before then, the 10 teams from Conmebol who automatically qualify were split into two groups of five.
Historically, Mexico and Costa Rica are the teams to have made the most guest appearances.
Japan have played in the Copa before, but failed to get out of their group in 1999 – while Qatar are making their debut in the competition.