The Canadian men's soccer team takes on South America's best at the Copa America

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What a time for soccer fans. With the men's European Championship underway in Germany and the Olympic tournaments in Paris just five weeks away, another big international event kicks off on Thursday night in Atlanta as Canada faces World Cup champion Argentina in the Copa America opener.

Here are a few key things to know about the Copa and what it means for Canada:

This is South America's version of the European Championship.

It's not as large, as deep or as widely celebrated as the 24-team Euro, which includes eight of the world's top 10 teams. But the Copa features No. 1 ranked Argentina (the reigning Copa and World Cup champion) and No. 5 Brazil (winner of a record five World Cups) among its 16 entries. The other top South American countries in the tournament are 12th-ranked Colombia and No. 15 Uruguay, along with Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Venezuela, Paraguay and Bolivia (all ranked outside the top 30).

With the United States hosting this year, six teams from the CONCACAF confederation (North and Central America and the Caribbean) were invited to play. The top qualifiers from the region are the 11th-ranked United States and No. 15 Mexico. They're joined by Canada, ranked 49th, and Panama, Costa Rica and Jamaica (all ranked between 45th and 55th).

The teams are divided into four groups of four for round-robin play in various U.S. cities, with the top two in each group advancing to the quarterfinals starting July 4 in Texas, Arizona and Las Vegas. The semifinals are July 9 and 10 in New Jersey and North Carolina, and the final takes place July 14 in Miami.

Lionel Messi