Argentina at the Copa América
The Copa América is South America's major tournament in senior men's football and determines the continental champion. Until 1967, the tournament was known as "South American Championship". It is the oldest continental championship in the world with its first edition held in 1916.[1]
Argentina has won the tournament sixteen times, the most of any team. They also lead the all-time table, have the highest number of victories and hold various other records.
Argentina are the only team to win the title three consecutive times (1945–1947). The last time they won the tournament was in 2024. In 2015 and 2016, they proceeded to the final, only to lose to Chile in a penalty shoot-out on both occasions, even though they have never once lost to Chile over regular time in tournament history (30 matches).
Overall record
| South American Championship / Copa América record | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | Squad |
| 1916 | Runners-up | 2nd | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 2 | Squad |
| 1917 | Runners-up | 2nd | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | Squad |
| 1919 | Third place | 3rd | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 7 | Squad |
| 1920 | Runners-up | 2nd | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | Squad |
| 1921 | Champions | 1st | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | Squad |
| 1922 | Fourth place | 4th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 3 | Squad |
| 1923 | Runners-up | 2nd | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | Squad |
| 1924 | Runners-up | 2nd | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | Squad |
| 1925 | Champions | 1st | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 4 | Squad |
| 1926 | Runners-up | 2nd | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 3 | Squad |
| 1927 | Champions | 1st | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 4 | Squad |
| 1929 | Champions | 1st | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | Squad |
| 1935 | Runners-up | 2nd | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 5 | Squad |
| 1937 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 5 | Squad |
| 1939 | Withdrew | ||||||||
| 1941 | Champions | 1st | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | Squad |
| 1942 | Runners-up | 2nd | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 6 | Squad |
| 1945 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 5 | Squad |
| 1946 | Champions | 1st | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 3 | Squad |
| 1947 | Champions | 1st | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 4 | Squad |
| 1949 | Withdrew | ||||||||
| 1953 | |||||||||
| 1955 | Champions | 1st | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 6 | Squad |
| 1956 | Third place | 3rd | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 3 | Squad |
| 1957 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 6 | Squad |
| 1959 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 5 | Squad |
| 1959 | Runners-up | 2nd | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 9 | Squad |
| 1963 | Third place | 3rd | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 10 | Squad |
| 1967 | Runners-up | 2nd | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 3 | Squad |
| 1975 | Group stage | 5th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 4 | Squad |
| 1979 | Group stage | 8th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 6 | Squad |
| 1983 | Group stage | 6th | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 4 | Squad |
| 1987 | Fourth place | 4th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 4 | Squad |
| 1989 | Third place | 3rd | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | Squad |
| 1991 | Champions | 1st | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 6 | Squad |
| 1993 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 4 | Squad |
| 1995 | Quarter-finals | 5th | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 6 | Squad |
| 1997 | Quarter-finals | 6th | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | Squad |
| 1999 | Quarter-finals | 8th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6 | Squad |
| 2001 | Withdrew | ||||||||
| 2004 | Runners-up | 2nd | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 6 | Squad |
| 2007 | Runners-up | 2nd | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 6 | Squad |
| 2011 | Quarter-finals | 7th | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 2 | Squad |
| 2015 | Runners-up | 2nd | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 3 | Squad |
| 2016 | Runners-up | 2nd | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 2 | Squad |
| 2019 | Third place | 3rd | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 6 | Squad |
| 2021 | Champions | 1st | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 3 | Squad |
| 2024 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | Squad |
| Total | 16 Titles | 44/48 | 208 | 132 | 43 | 33 | 483 | 183 | — |
Decisive matches and finals
In the era of the South American Championship, round robins were more commonly played than knock-out tournaments. Listed are the decisive matches which secured Argentina the respective titles.
Record by opponent
Argentina has only positive head-to-head-records at the Copa América. Four out of nine CONMEBOL members have never beaten the Albiceleste in regulation time in a combined 79 attempts.
| Copa América matches (by team) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | W | D | L | Pld | GF | GA |
| Bolivia | 12 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 50 | 10 |
| Brazil | 16 | 8 | 10 | 34 | 53 | 40 |
| Canada | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Chile | 22* | 8 | 0 | 30 | 62 | 15 |
| Colombia | 8 | 5 | 3 | 16 | 40 | 17 |
| Costa Rica | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Ecuador | 11 | 6 | 0 | 17 | 56 | 13 |
| Jamaica | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Mexico | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 3 |
| Panama | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Paraguay | 20 | 6 | 0 | 26 | 78 | 23 |
| Peru | 13 | 2 | 3 | 18 | 42 | 19 |
| Qatar | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| United States | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 4 |
| Uruguay | 15 | 4 | 13 | 32 | 43 | 36 |
| Venezuela | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 30 | 3 |
| Total | 132 | 43 | 33 | 208 | 483 | 183 |
* includes a 0–0 draw awarded to Argentina in 1942.
Record players
| Rank | Player | Matches | Tournaments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lionel Messi | 39 | 2007, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2024 |
| 2 | Ángel Di María | 28 | 2011, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2024 |
| 3 | Nicolás Otamendi | 27 | 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2024 |
| 4 | Javier Mascherano | 26 | 2004, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2016 |
| 5 | Sergio Agüero | 24 | 2011, 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2021 |
| 6 | Javier Zanetti | 22 | 1995, 1999, 2004, 2007 and 2011 |
| 7 | José Salomón | 21 | 1941, 1942, 1945 and 1946 |
| Oscar Ruggeri | 21 | 1987, 1989, 1991 and 1993 | |
| 9 | Américo Tesoriere | 20 | 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924 and 1925 |
| 10 | Diego Simeone | 19 | 1991, 1993, 1995 and 1999 |
| Roberto Ayala | 19 | 1995, 1999, 2004 and 2007 | |
| Carlos Tevez | 19 | 2004, 2007, 2011 and 2015 |
Seven Argentinian players have won the South American Championship three times each. Manuel Seoane (1925, 1927 and 1929) also won the title as coach in 1937. The others are Vicente de la Mata (1937, 1945, 1946), José Salomón (1941, 1945, 1946), Mario Boyé, Félix Loustau, Norberto Méndez and René Pontoni (all 1945, 1946, 1947).
Top goalscorers
| Rank | Player | Goals | Tournaments (goals) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norberto Méndez | 17 | 1945 (6), 1946 (5) and 1947 (6) |
| 2 | Lionel Messi | 14 | 2007 (2), 2015 (1), 2016 (5), 2019 (1), 2021 (4) and 2024 (1) |
| 3 | José Manuel Moreno | 13 | 1941 (3), 1942 (7) and 1947 (3) |
| Gabriel Batistuta | 13 | 1991 (6), 1993 (3) and 1995 (4) | |
| 5 | Herminio Masantonio | 11 | 1935 (4) and 1942 (7) |
| 6 | Ángel Labruna | 10 | 1946 (5), 1955 (3) and 1956 (2) |
| Lautaro Martínez | 10 | 2019 (2), 2021 (3) and 2024 (5) | |
| 8 | Humberto Maschio | 9 | 1957 |
| Sergio Agüero | 9 | 2011 (3), 2015 (3), 2016 (1) and 2019 (2) | |
| 10 | Manuel Seoane | 8 | 1925 (6) and 1927 (2) |
| René Pontoni | 8 | 1945 (4) and 1947 (4) | |
| Rodolfo Micheli | 8 | 1955 | |
| Antonio Angelillo | 8 | 1957 |
Awards and records
Team awards
- Champions (16): 1921, 1925, 1927, 1929, 1937, 1941, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1955, 1957, 1959 (Argentina), 1991, 1993, 2021, 2024
- Runners-up (14): 1916, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1935, 1942, 1959 (Ecuador), 1967, 2004, 2007, 2015, 2016
- Third place (5): 1919, 1956, 1963, 1989, 2019
- Fair Play Award: 2016
Individual awards[2]
- MVP 1921: Américo Tesoriere
- MVP 1925: Manuel Seoane
- MVP 1929: Manuel Ferreira
- MVP 1937: Vicente de la Mata
- MVP 1946: Adolfo Pedernera
- MVP 1947: José Manuel Moreno
- MVP 1957: Enrique Sívori
- MVP 1991: Leonardo Rodríguez
- MVP 1993: Sergio Goycochea
- MVP 2021: Lionel Messi
- Top scorer 1921: Julio Libonatti (3 goals)
- Top scorer 1922: Julio Francia (4 goals)
- Top scorer 1923: Vicente Aguirre (3 goals) (shared)
- Top scorer 1925: Manuel Seoane (6 goals)
- Top scorer 1927: Alfredo Carricaberry and Segundo Luna (3 goals each) (shared)
- Top scorer 1935: Herminio Masantonio (4 goals)
- Top scorer 1941: Juan Marvezzi (5 goals)
- Top scorer 1942: Herminio Masantonio and José Moreno (7 goals each) (shared)
- Top scorer 1945: Norberto Méndez (6 goals) (shared)
- Top scorer 1955: Rodolfo Micheli (8 goals)
- Top scorer 1957: Humberto Maschio (9 goals) (shared)
- Top scorer 1959 (Ecuador): José Sanfilippo (6 goals)
- Top scorer 1967: Luis Artime (5 goals)
- Top scorer 1975: Leopoldo Luque (4 goals) (shared)
- Top scorer 1983: Jorge Burruchaga (3 goals) (shared)
- Top scorer 1991: Gabriel Batistuta (6 goals)
- Top scorer 1995: Gabriel Batistuta (4 goals) (shared)
- Top scorer 2021: Lionel Messi (4 goals) (shared)
- Top scorer 2024: Lautaro Martínez (5 goals)
- Best young player 2007: Lionel Messi
- Best goalkeeper 2021: Emiliano Martínez
- Best goalkeeper 2024: Emiliano Martínez
In 2015, no award for Most Valuable Player was given after Lionel Messi reportedly rejected it.[3]
Team records
- Most victories (132)
- Most goals (483)
- Most consecutive titles (3, 1945–1947)
- Highest victory (12–0 over Ecuador on 22 January 1942)
Individual records
- Most goals: Norberto Méndez (17, shared with Zizinho)
- Most assists: Lionel Messi (18)
- Most man of the match awards: Lionel Messi (15)
- Most man of the match awards in a single tournament: Lionel Messi (4, 2015 and 2021, shared with James Rodríguez, 2024)
- Most matches: Lionel Messi (39)
- Most titles as manager: Guillermo Stábile (6 titles)
See also
References
- ^ "Copa América". Encyclopædia Britannica. 11 December 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
- ^ "The Copa América Archive". 19 July 2007. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
- ^ "Messi rejects MVP award". 24 July 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2019.