Mexico at the Copa América

The Copa América is South America's major tournament in senior men's soccer 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 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 edition and are not scheduled to play in the 2021 edition.

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	GP	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
Total	Runners-up	10/12	48	19	13	16	67	64

* Draws include matches decided on penalties.

Record by Opponent

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

CONCACAF Championship/Gold Cup matches (by team)
Opponent	Wins	Draws	Losses	Total	Goals Scored	Goals Conceded
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	1	1	5	8	5
Jamaica	1	0	0	1	2	0
Paraguay	1	1	1	3	7	2
Peru	2	1	2	5	8	7
Uruguay	3	2	1	6	11	7
United States	0	1	0	1	0	0
Venezuela	2	1	0	3	7	3
TOTAL	19	13	16	48	66	62

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.

No.	Name	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

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.

No.	Name	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

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 (10)

See also

• Mexico at the FIFA World Cup
• Mexico at the CONCACAF Gold Cup

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.

External links

• RSSSF archives and results
• Soccerway database