Mexico 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.[1]

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.

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
19161991 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

Individual Awards[2]

Team Records

  • Non-CONMEBOL member with most appearances (11)

See also

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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.
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