Copa America stacks up well against Euro

The Copa America has often been dismissed as a poor relation to the European Championship, so much so that the latter has frequently been dubbed by the media as "the World Cup minus Brazil and Argentina."

But a comparison of the two tournaments, which are being played simultaneously for the first time since 2004, suggests it might be time to ditch the old stereotype.

The Copa America, being played in the United States, features World Player of the Year Lionel Messi, five of the top 10 teams in the FIFA world rankings and seven teams that made the knockout stages at the World Cup two years ago.