Mexico at the Copa América

Senior men's football tournament

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

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Copa América record

Year  | Round  | Position  | Pld | W | D*  | L | GF | GA
1916–1991 | Not invited
1993 | Runners-up | 2nd | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 7
1995 | Quarter-finals | 7th | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4
1997 | Semi-finals | 3rd | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 9
1999 | Semi-finals | 3rd | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 9
2001 | Runners-up | 2nd | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 3
2004 | Quarter-finals | 6th | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7
2007 | Semi-finals | 3rd | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 5
2011 | Group stage | 12th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4
2015 | Group stage | 11th | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5
2016 | Quarter-finals | 7th | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 9
2019 | Not invited
2021
2024 | Group stage | 9th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1
Total | Runners-up | 11/13 | 51 | 20 | 14 | 17 | 67 | 63

* Draws include matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

## Record by opponent

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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
Argentina | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 6
Bolivia | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3
Brazil | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 11
Chile | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 13
Colombia | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4
Costa Rica | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1
Ecuador | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 5
Jamaica | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0
Paraguay | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 2
Peru | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 7
United States | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Uruguay | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 7
Venezuela | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 4
Total | 20 | 14 | 17 | 51 | 67 | 63

## Record players

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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

|
|
|

1 | Claudio Suárez | 21 | 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2004
2 | Rafael Márquez | 18 | 1999, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2011 and 2016
3 | Alberto García Aspe | 17 | 1993, 1995, 1999 and 2001
Gerardo Torrado | 17 | 1999, 2001, 2004 and 2007
5  | Jorge Campos | 14 | 1993, 1995 and 1999
Cuauhtémoc Blanco | 14 | 1997, 1999 and 2007
7 | Ramón Ramírez | 13 | 1993, 1995 and 1999
8  | Pavel Pardo | 11 | 1997, 1999 and 2004
Daniel Osorno | 11 | 1999, 2001 and 2004
Ramón Morales | 11 | 2001, 2004 and 2007

## Top goalscorers

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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 Hernández | 9 | 1997 (6) and 1999 (3)
2  | Cuauhtémoc Blanco | 5 | 1997 (1), 1999 (2) and 2007 (2)
3  | Luis García | 4 | 1995
Nery Castillo | 4 | 2007
5  | Alberto García Aspe | 3 | 1993 (2) and 2001 (1)
Omar Bravo | 3 | 2007
7  | 8 players | 2 |

## Awards and records

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Team Awards

* Runners-up: 1993, 2001
* Third place: 1997, 1999, 2007

Individual Awards[2]

* Top Scorer 1995: Luis García (4 goals) (shared)
* Top Scorer 1997: Luis Hernández (6 goals)

Team Records

* Non-CONMEBOL member with most appearances (11)

## See also

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* Mexico at the FIFA World Cup
* Mexico at the CONCACAF Gold Cup
* Mexico at the CONCACAF Nations League

## References

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

## External links

[edit]

* RSSSF archives and results
* Soccerway database

* v
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Countries at the Copa América

CONMEBOL members|

* Argentina
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Chile
* Colombia
* Ecuador
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Uruguay
* Venezuela

Invitees nations|

* Canada
* Costa Rica
* Haiti
* Honduras
* Jamaica
* Japan
* Mexico
* Panama
* Qatar
* United States

* v
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Mexico national football team

General|

* Mexican Football Federation
* History
* Managers

Venues|

* Estadio Azteca

Statistics|

* Results
* All-time record
* Honours

Players|

* Players
* Current squad
* Previous squads
* Footballer records

Goals|

* Javier Hernández
* Jared Borgetti

Performances|

* FIFA World Cup
* FIFA Confederations Cup
* CONCACAF Gold Cup
* CONCACAF Nations League
* Copa América
* Summer Olympics

Rivalries|

* Argentina
* Brazil
* Canada
* Costa Rica
* Honduras
* United States

Culture|

* Cachirules
* Miracle of Kazan
* Good Rivals

Other Mexican teams|

* U23
* U20
* U17
* Women's
* U20
* U17
* Futsal
* Beach soccer

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