Euro 2016 winners could face Copa América champions Chile in battle of the continents

Posted Friday, July 01, 2016 by Standard.co.uk

The winners of Euro 2016 could face newly-crowned Copa America champions Chile in a one-off match, according to CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez.

Chile secured their second consecutive Copa triumph courtesy of a penalty shoot-out victory over Argentina last week, which prompted Lionel Messi to call time on his international career.

And Juan Antonio Pizzi's side, who reached the round of 16 at the World Cup in 2014, could soon share a pitch with the European team who emerges victorious in France this summer.

"We have received a positive response from UEFA about a match between the Copa America and Euro champions," Dominguez wrote on his official Twitter account.

Euro 2016 winners could face Copa América champions Chile in battle of the continents

"We will study a feasible date to set."

A potential date for the match is yet to be agreed upon and could yet involve any one of eight European sides, with the first Euro 2016 quarter final set to take place this evening when Poland take on Portugal.

Established members of the elite such as Italy and Germany are also still in with an opportunity to lift the trophy but so too are minnows Iceland, who had never featured at a major international tournament before this summer.

Euro 2016 winners could face Copa América champions Chile in battle of the continents

Chile's possible clash with their European counterparts - if a date can be settled upon - would serve as a warm up to the 2018 Artemio Franchi Trophy.

The tournament has only been held twice previously and has not been staged since 1993. France beat Argentina in the inaugural final in 1985 while Argentina edged out Denmark on penalties eight years later.

The third edition of the competition is set to be held in Milan in March 2018 with Chile and Argentina pencilled in to compete with both the Euro 2016 finalists in a battle for continental supremacy.