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.
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 recordYearRoundPosition*1916–1991Not 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 1TotalRunners-up11/13512014176763 * 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)Opponent112436021313204661132279131023340101113216852002301113722125870101003216117211374Total201417516763
Record players
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. RankPlayerMatchesTournaments1Claudio Suárez211993, 1995, 1997, 1999 and 20042Rafael Márquez181999, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2011 and 20163Alberto García Aspe171993, 1995, 1999 and 2001Gerardo Torrado171999, 2001, 2004 and 20075Jorge Campos141993, 1995 and 1999Cuauhtémoc Blanco141997, 1999 and 20077Ramón Ramírez131993, 1995 and 19998Pavel Pardo111997, 1999 and 2004Daniel Osorno111999, 2001 and 2004Ramón Morales112001, 2004 and 2007
Top goalscorers
RankPlayerGoalsTournaments1Luis Hernández91997 (6) and 1999 (3)2Cuauhtémoc Blanco51997 (1), 1999 (2) and 2007 (2)3Luis García41995Nery Castillo420075Alberto García Aspe31993 (2) and 2001 (1)Omar Bravo3200778 players2
Awards and records
Team Awards Runners-up: 1993, 2001 Third place: 1997, 1999, 2007
Individual Awards 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 Mexico at the FIFA World Cup Mexico at the CONCACAF Gold Cup Mexico at the CONCACAF Nations League
References
External links RSSSF archives and results Soccerway database