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United States at the Copa América

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
U.S. fans celebrating before the quarterfinal of the Copa América Centenario against Ecuador in Seattle.

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]

The United States are not members of the CONMEBOL, but because CONMEBOL only has ten member associations, guest nations have regularly been invited since 1993. With five participations, the U.S. are the second-most regular guest behind Mexico (eleven participations).

In 2016, the U.S. were 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 makes them the only non-South American country to ever host a Copa match. Before, they have been invited guests in 1993, 1995 and 2007. In 2024, the United States will again host the tournament, although for the first time they did not receive an automatic invitation and had to qualify through the CONCACAF Nations League.

Record at the Copa América

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Kick-off for the semifinal against Argentina at the NRG Stadium in Houston during the United States' home tournament in 2016.
Copa América record
Year Result Position Pld W D* L GF GA
19161991 Not invited
Ecuador 1993 Group stage 12th 3 0 1 2 3 6
Uruguay 1995 Fourth place 4th 6 2 1 3 6 7
19972004 Not invited
Venezuela 2007 Group stage 12th 3 0 0 3 2 8
20112015 Not invited
United States 2016 Fourth place 4th 6 3 0 3 7 8
20192021 Not invited
United States 2024 Group stage 11th 3 1 0 2 3 3
Total Invitation 0 titles 21 6 2 13 21 32

* Draws include matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

Match overview

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Tournament Round Opponent Score Venue
Ecuador 1993 Group stage  Uruguay 0–1 Ambato
 Ecuador 0–2 Quito
 Venezuela 3–3
Uruguay 1995 Group stage  Chile 2–1 Paysandú
 Bolivia 0–1
 Argentina 3–0
Quarterfinals  Mexico 0–0
(4–1 p)
Semifinals  Brazil 0–1 Maldonado
Third place match  Colombia 1–4
Venezuela 2007 Group stage  Argentina 1–4 Maracaibo
 Paraguay 1–3 Barinas
 Colombia 0–1 Barquisimeto
United States 2016 Group stage  Colombia 0–2 Santa Clara
 Costa Rica 4–0 Chicago
 Paraguay 1–0 Philadelphia
Quarterfinals  Ecuador 2–1 Seattle
Semifinals  Argentina 0–4 Houston
Third place match  Colombia 0–1 Glendale
United States 2024 Group stage  Bolivia 2–0 Arlington
 Panama 1–2 Atlanta
 Uruguay 0–1 Kansas City

Record players

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Alexi Lalas is the only American to score in two separate Copa América tournaments, and one of three players to appear in all nine matches in 1993 and 1995.
Rank Player Matches Tournaments
1 Cobi Jones 9 1993 and 1995
Alexi Lalas 9 1993 and 1995
Tab Ramos 9 1993 and 1995
4 Paul Caligiuri 8 1993 and 1995
5 Brad Friedel 6 1993 and 1995
Mike Burns 6 1995
Earnie Stewart 6 1995
Kyle Beckerman 6 2007 and 2016
Brad Guzan 6 2007 and 2016
Michael Bradley 6 2016
Geoff Cameron 6 2016
Clint Dempsey 6 2016
Gyasi Zardes 6 2016
Christian Pulisic 6 2016 and 2024

Top goalscorers

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Eric Wynalda
Clint Dempsey
Eric Wynalda and Clint Dempsey scored three goals each at the 1995 and 2016 tournaments respectively.
Rank Player Goals Tournaments
1 Eric Wynalda 3 1995
Clint Dempsey 3 2016
3 Alexi Lalas 2 1993 (1) and 1995 (1)
Folarin Balogun 2 2024
5 Eleven players 1

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Copa América". Encyclopædia Britannica. December 11, 2009. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
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