Canada's bid to make 2024 Copa America as guest team will involve just 1 opponent

Canada will need to dispatch just one opponent to qualify for the 2024 Copa America as one of CONCACAF's six guest teams.

Under guidelines released Tuesday by CONCACAF, the U.S., Mexico and Costa Rica and Canada — as the top four teams in the region according to the March 31 CONCACAF rankings — will get byes to the League A quarterfinals of the 2023-24 CONCACAF Nations League.

The four quarterfinal winners will join Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela in the Copa America field.

The two remaining CONCACAF berths in the 16-team Copa America will be filled via a playoff involving the four League A losing quarterfinalists in March 2024 in a centralized venue.

The 2023-24 and 2024-25 Nations League competitions serve as qualifying tournaments for the 2024 Copa America and 2025 Gold Cup, respectively.

The Canadian men, ranked No. 47 in the world by FIFA, still have work to do in their current Nations League campaign, with a semifinal against No. 58 Panama on June 15 in Las Vegas. The winner will face either the 13th-ranked U.S. or No. 15 Mexico in the June 18 final at Allegiant Stadium for the tournament title and a prize of some $1 million US.

Canada advanced to the final four after topping League A's Group C above Honduras and Curacao.

WATCH | Cyle Larin leads Canada into CONCACAF Nations League finals:

The CONCACAF Nations League will continue to be played in a three-league format (A, B, and C) with 41 teams assigned to one of the three leagues according to their performance in the preceding competition.

The May 16 draw in Miami for the 2023-24 Nations League will divide teams assigned to Leagues A, B, and C into groups.

League A has been expanded to 16 teams, up