Three-time Copa América squad member and 2001 finalist Oswaldo Sánchez (middle) celebrating with fans ahead of the group match against Jamaica at the Copa América Centenario.

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.[1]

Mexico are not members of the South American football confederation CONMEBOL, but because CONMEBOL only has ten member associations, guest nations have regularly been invited to participate in the Copa América since 1993. Mexico have been the most regular invitee, competing in ten consecutive Copas from 1993 to 2016. However, they did not play in the 2019 or 2021 editions. In 2024, Mexico qualified for the Copa América via the CONCACAF Nations League.

Mexico have reached the final twice, and finished third on three more occasions. This makes Mexico the most successful invitee by far, and are even ahead of CONMEBOL member Venezuela in the Copa América all-time table.

Record at the Copa América

Copa América record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
19161991Not invited
Ecuador 1993Runners-up2nd622297
Uruguay 1995Quarter-finals7th412154
Bolivia 1997Semi-finals3rd622289
Paraguay 1999Semi-finals3rd6312109
Colombia 2001Runners-up2nd631253
Peru 2004Quarter-finals6th421157
Venezuela 2007Semi-finals3rd6411135
Argentina 2011Group stage12th300314
Chile 2015Group stage11th302145
United States 2016Quarter-finals7th421169
Brazil 2019Not invited
Brazil 2021
United States 2024Qualified
TotalRunners-up11/13481913166662

* Draws include matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

Record by opponent

Mexico's largest victory at the Copa América was a 6–0 win against Paraguay in 2007. Their largest defeat was a 0–7 loss against eventual champions Chile in 2016.

Copa América matches (by team)
Opponent W D L Pld GF GA
 Argentina112436
 Bolivia021313
 Brazil2046611
 Chile3227913
 Colombia102334
 Costa Rica010111
 Ecuador311585
 Jamaica100120
 Paraguay111372
 Peru212587
 United States010100
 Uruguay3216117
 Venezuela210373
Total191316486662

Record players

Claudio Suárez is one of the most-capped football players in the world. With 21 matches, he is also the most-capped player of any invited nation at the Copa América.

Rafael Márquez is one of only two players to compete in Copa Américas 17 years apart, the other being Álex Aguinaga. Concerning the exact time span between first and last match, Márquez is trailing 30 days behind Aguinaga's record of 17 years and 9 days.

Rank Player Matches Tournaments
1Claudio Suárez211993, 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2004
2Rafael Márquez181999, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2011 and 2016
3Alberto García Aspe171993, 1995, 1999 and 2001
Gerardo Torrado171999, 2001, 2004 and 2007
5 Jorge Campos141993, 1995 and 1999
Cuauhtémoc Blanco141997, 1999 and 2007
7Ramón Ramírez131993, 1995 and 1999
8 Pavel Pardo111997, 1999 and 2004
Daniel Osorno111999, 2001 and 2004
Ramón Morales112001, 2004 and 2007

Top goalscorers

Luis Hernández is Mexico's all-time top-scorer at the Copa América. He is also his country's joint top scorer at the FIFA World Cup.
Rank Player Goals Tournaments
1 Luis Hernández91997 (6) and 1999 (3)
2 Cuauhtémoc Blanco51997 (1), 1999 (2) and 2007 (2)
3 Luis García41995
Nery Castillo42007
5 Alberto García Aspe31993 (2) and 2001 (1)
Omar Bravo32007
7 8 players2

Awards and records

Team Awards

Individual Awards[2]

Team Records

  • Non-CONMEBOL member with most appearances (11)

See also

References

  1. "Copa América". Encyclopædia Britannica. December 11, 2009. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  2. "The Copa América Archive". July 19, 2007. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
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