third-place teams. Points are used to rank the teams within a group. Beginning in 1995, three points have been awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss (before, winners received two points). The ranking of each team in each group is determined as follows: a) greatest number of points obtained in all group matches; b) goal difference in all group matches; c) greatest number of goals scored in all group matches. If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings are determined as follows: d) greatest number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned; e) goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned; f) greater number of goals scored in all group matches between the teams concerned; g) drawing of lots by the CONMEBOL Organizing Committee (i.e. at random). The knockout stage is a single-elimination tournament in which teams play each other in one-off matches, with penalty shootouts used to decide the winner if a match is still tied after 90 minutes in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, and after extra time in the final. It begins with the quarter-finals, then semi-finals, the third-place match (contested by the losing semi-finalists), and the final. Invitees Owing to CONMEBOL's somewhat limited number of registered national football federations, countries from other continents are usually invited to participate to make up the 12 teams necessary for the current tournament format. Since 1993, two teams from other confederations, usually from CONCACAF whose members are geographically and culturally close, have also been invited. In all, nine nations have received invitations: Costa Rica (1997, 2001, 2004, 2011, 2016), Honduras (2001), Japan (1999, 2019), Jamaica (2015, 2016), Mexico (1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2016), Haiti (2016), Panama (2016), the United States (1993, 1995, 2007, 2016) and Qatar (2019). The United States was invited to every tournament between 1997 and 2007 but frequently turned down the invitation due to scheduling conflicts with Major League Soccer. However, on 30 October 2006, the US Soccer Federation accepted the invitation to participate in the 2007 tournament, ending a 12-year absence. At the 2001 Copa América, Canada was an invitee, but withdrew just before the start of the tournament due to security concerns. At the 2011 Copa América, Japan withdrew, citing difficulties with European clubs in releasing Japanese players following