The United States are not members of the CONMEBOL, the governing body of football in South America, but because CONMEBOL only has ten member associations, guest nations have regularly been invited to the Copa América since 1993. With five participations, the U.S. are the second-most regular invitee behind Mexico, which has eleven participations.
History 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.
Until 1991, no nation outside of CONMEBOL took part in the tournament. Guest invitees only started to play in the 1993 edition. The United States was among the first two guest participants in the Copa América edition played in Ecuador that year, along with Mexico.
In the 1993 edition, the US lost to Uruguay 1-0, to host country Ecuador 2-0, and tied 3-3 with Venezuela, being knocked out in the group stage.
For the 1995 edition held in Uruguay, the US defeated Chile in the first match 2-1, lost to Bolivia 1-0 in the second match, and won 3-0 in an upset against Argentina in the final match, advancing in first. place with 6 points. The Americans defeated Mexico in the quarterfinals on penalties 4-1 after a goalless draw, but lost the semifinals 1-0 to Brazil and the third place 4-1 to Colombia, finishing fourth.
The United States was not invited to the 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2004 editions (held in Bolivia, Paraguay, Colombia and Peru respectively.
The United States returned to the Copa América in 2007, when the competition was held in Venezuela. In that tournament, the US lost all three matches, 4-1 to Argentina in the first match, 3-1 to Paraguay in the second, and 1-0 to Colombia in the third, meaning the team was eliminated in the group stage.
After this edition, the US was not invited to the 2011 edition held in Argentina, and the 2015 one hosted by Chile.
In 2016, the United States returned to the competition, this time as the hosts of the Copa América Centenario, which celebrated the hundredth anniversary of the tournament with a larger competition, co-organized by CONCACAF and CONMEBOL. This made them the first non-South American country to ever host the Copa América. The US started the tournament by losing 2-0 to Colombia, winning 4-0 against Costa Rica, and 1-0 against Paraguay, meaning the team advanced to the knockout phase, where the team won the quarterfinals against Ecuador 2-1, only to lose to Argentina 4-0 and the third place 1-0 against Colombia. The team again finished in fourth place.
The US was not invited to the 2019 and the 2021 editions held in Brazil.
In 2024, the United States hosted the tournament, although for the first time they did not receive an automatic invitation and had to qualify through the CONCACAF Nations League. The US qualified after defeating Trinidad and Tobago in a two-legged playoff (with a 3-0 win at home and a 2-1 loss away, and a 4-2 win on aggregate). The team won 2-0 against Bolivia, but lost 2-1 in an upset by Panama and 1-0 against Uruguay, leading the US to becoming the first host country in the history of the competition to be knocked out in the group stage.
Record at the Copa América
+Copa América recordYearResultPosition*1916–1991Not invited 1993Group stage12th301236 1995Fourth place4th6213671997–2004Not invited 2007Group stage12th3003282011–2015Not invited 2016Fourth place4th6303782019–2021Not invited 2024Group stage11th310233TotalInvitation0 titles2162132132 * Draws include matches decided via penalty shoot-out.
Match overview
TournamentRoundOpponentScoreVenue 1993Group stage0–1Ambato0–2Quito3–3 1995Group stage2–1Paysandú0–13–0Quarterfinals0–0Semifinals0–1MaldonadoThird place match1–4 2007Group stage1–4Maracaibo1–3Barinas0–1Barquisimeto 2016Group stage0–2Santa Clara4–0Chicago1–0PhiladelphiaQuarterfinals2–1SeattleSemifinals0–4HoustonThird place match0–1Glendale 2024Group stage2–0Arlington1–2 Atlanta0–1 Kansas City
Record players
RankPlayerMatchesTournaments1Cobi Jones91993 and 1995Alexi Lalas91993 and 1995Tab Ramos91993 and 19954Paul Caligiuri81993 and 19955Brad Friedel61993 and 1995Mike Burns61995Earnie Stewart61995Kyle Beckerman62007 and 2016Brad Guzan62007 and 2016Michael Bradley62016Geoff Cameron62016Clint Dempsey62016Gyasi Zardes62016Christian Pulisic62016 and 2024
Top goalscorers
RankPlayerGoalsTournaments1Eric Wynalda31995Clint Dempsey320163Alexi Lalas21993 (1) and 1995 (1)Folarin Balogun220245Eleven players1
See also United States at the CONCACAF Gold Cup United States at the FIFA Confederations Cup United States at the FIFA World Cup
References
External links RSSSF archives and results Soccerway database
Head-to-head record OpponentWin %Total