Copa América Draw Hands U.S. a Tough Task

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The draw for the Copa América Centenario at Manhattan’s Hammerstein Ballroom. The United States faces Colombia, Costa Rica and Paraguay.

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Mladen Antonov/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Someday there will be a tournament draw so ominous that even Jurgen Klinsmann will not be able to see its bright side, but Sunday was not that day.

In echoes of the draw for the 2014 World Cup, the United States was placed in one of the toughest groups imaginable for this summer’s Copa América Centenario, a regional championship that it will host but one that it is increasingly unlikely to win.

The Americans, who were dropped into the so-called Group of Death at the World Cup, were handed the most daunting schedule in Sunday night’s draw for the Centenario. They pulled an opening game against Colombia (June 3 in Santa Clara, Calif.); a date with the toughest available Concacaf opponent, Costa Rica (June 7 in Chicago); and a difficult matchup against Paraguay…

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