Same as previous Youth Championships that were held one year prior to the Olympics, CONMEBOL used the tournament to determine which men's under-23 national teams from South America qualify for the Olympic football tournament. Since Brazil already qualified automatically as hosts of the 2016 Summer Olympics men's football tournament, the top-ranked team other than Brazil qualified directly, while the second top-ranked team other than Brazil advanced to a play-off against the third-placed team of the 2015 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship for the final berth in the Olympics. Since Brazil finished third in the tournament, Argentina qualified for the Olympics, while Colombia advanced to the play-off, where they defeated the United States to become CONMEBOL's third Olympic representative.