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.
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 recordYearRoundPosition*Squad 1916 Runners-up 2nd 3 1 2 0 7 2Squad 1917 Runners-up 2nd 3 2 0 1 5 3Squad 1919 Third place 3rd 3 1 0 2 7 7Squad 1920 Runners-up 2nd 3 1 2 0 4 2Squad 1921 Champions 1st 3 3 0 0 5 0Squad 1922 Fourth place 4th 4 2 0 2 6 3Squad 1923 Runners-up 2nd 3 2 0 1 6 6Squad 1924 Runners-up 2nd 3 1 2 0 2 0Squad 1925 Champions 1st 4 3 1 0 11 4Squad 1926 Runners-up 2nd 4 2 1 1 14 3Squad 1927 Champions 1st 3 3 0 0 15 4Squad 1929 Champions 1st 3 3 0 0 9 1Squad 1935 Runners-up 2nd 3 2 0 1 8 5Squad 1937 Champions 1st 6 5 0 1 14 5Squad 1939Withdrew 1941 Champions 1st 4 4 0 0 10 2Squad 1942Runners-up 2nd 6 4 1 1 21 6Squad 1945 Champions 1st 6 5 1 0 22 5Squad 1946 Champions 1st 5 5 0 0 17 3Squad 1947 Champions 1st 7 6 1 0 28 4Squad 1949Withdrew 1953 1955 Champions 1st 5 4 1 0 18 6Squad 1956 Third place 3rd 5 3 0 2 5 3Squad 1957 Champions 1st 6 5 0 1 25 6Squad 1959 Champions 1st 6 5 1 0 19 5Squad 1959 Runners-up 2nd 4 2 1 1 9 9Squad 1963 Third place 3rd 6 3 1 2 15 10Squad 1967 Runners-up 2nd 5 4 0 1 12 3Squad 1975 Group stage 5th 4 2 0 2 17 4Squad 1979 Group stage 8th 4 1 1 2 7 6Squad 1983 Group stage 6th 4 1 3 0 5 4Squad 1987 Fourth place 4th 4 1 1 2 5 4Squad 1989 Third place 3rd 7 2 3 2 2 4Squad 1991 Champions 1st 7 6 1 0 16 6Squad 1993 Champions 1st 6 2 4 0 6 4Squad 1995 Quarter-finals 5th 4 2 1 1 8 6Squad 1997 Quarter-finals 6th 4 1 2 1 4 3Squad 1999 Quarter-finals 8th 4 2 0 2 6 6Squad 2001Withdrew 2004 Runners-up 2nd 6 4 1 1 16 6Squad 2007 Runners-up 2nd 6 5 0 1 16 6Squad 2011 Quarter-finals 7th 4 1 3 0 5 2Squad 2015 Runners-up 2nd 6 3 3 0 10 3Squad 2016 Runners-up 2nd 6 5 1 0 18 2Squad 2019 Third place 3rd 6 3 1 2 7 6Squad 2021 Champions 1st 7 5 2 0 12 3Squad 2024 Champions 1st 6 5 1 0 9 1Squad 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.
YearMatch typeOpponentResultManagerGoalscorer(s)Final location 1921Round robin1–0 Pedro CalominoJ. LibonattiBuenos Aires 1925Round robin2–2 Américo TesoriereA. Cerroti, M. SeoaneBuenos Aires 1927Round robin Peru5–1 José Lago MillánM. Ferreira (2), J. Maglio (2), A. CarricaberryLima 1929Round robin2–0 Francisco OlazarM. Ferreira, M. EvaristoBuenos Aires 1937Final (play-off)2–0 Manuel SeoaneV. De la Mata (2)Buenos Aires 1941Round robin1–0 Guillermo StábileE. GarcíaSantiago de Chile 1945Round robin1–0 Guillermo StábileR. MartinoSantiago de Chile 1946Round robin2–0 Guillermo StábileN. MéndezBuenos Aires 1947Round robin3–1 Guillermo StábileN. Méndez (2), F. LoustauGuayaquil 1955Round robin1–0 Guillermo StábileR. MicheliSantiago de Chile 1957Round robin3–0 Guillermo StábileA. Angelillo, H. Maschio, O. CruzLima 1959Round robin1–1 Victorio SpinettoJ. PizzutiBuenos Aires 1991Final Round robin2–1 Alfio BasileD. Simeone, G. BatistutaSantiago de Chile 1993Final2–1 Alfio BasileG. Batistuta (2)Guayaquil 2021Final1–0 Lionel ScaloniÁ. Di MaríaRio de Janeiro 2024Final1–0 Lionel ScaloniLa. MartínezMiami Gardens
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)Opponent12221650101681034534020024022*80306215853164017100130116017561310011021146310015020602678231323184219100120201384154133243366006303Total1324333208483183 * includes a 0–0 draw awarded to Argentina in 1942.
Record players
RankPlayerMatchesTournaments1Lionel Messi392007, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 20242Ángel Di María282011, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 20243Nicolás Otamendi272015, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 20244Javier Mascherano262004, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 20165Sergio Agüero242011, 2015, 2016, 2019 and 20216Javier Zanetti221995, 1999, 2004, 2007 and 20117José Salomón211941, 1942, 1945 and 1946Oscar Ruggeri211987, 1989, 1991 and 19939Américo Tesoriere201920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924 and 192510Diego Simeone191991, 1993, 1995 and 1999Roberto Ayala191995, 1999, 2004 and 2007Carlos Tevez192004, 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
RankPlayerGoalsTournaments (goals)1Norberto Méndez171945 (6), 1946 (5) and 1947 (6)2Lionel Messi142007 (2), 2015 (1), 2016 (5), 2019 (1), 2021 (4) and 2024 (1)3José Manuel Moreno131941 (3), 1942 (7) and 1947 (3)Gabriel Batistuta131991 (6), 1993 (3) and 1995 (4)5Herminio Masantonio111935 (4) and 1942 (7)6Ángel Labruna101946 (5), 1955 (3) and 1956 (2)Lautaro Martínez102019 (2), 2021 (3) and 2024 (5)8Humberto Maschio91957Sergio Agüero92011 (3), 2015 (3), 2016 (1) and 2019 (2)10Manuel Seoane81925 (6) and 1927 (2)René Pontoni81945 (4) and 1947 (4)Rodolfo Micheli81955Antonio Angelillo81957
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 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.
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 Argentina at the FIFA World Cup
References
External links RSSSF archives and results Soccerway database