Copa América Winners by Year (1916 – 2021)

The Copa América is one of the toughest international competitions to win in soccer.

Just ask Lionel Messi!

It took him multiple attempts before he and his Argentina teammates were able to get their hands on the Copa América title, which they finally won in 2021 after a 28-year wait for a major trophy.

This competition involves teams from the South American Football Confederation who battle it out against each other in an initial group stage and eventual knockout format.

When it comes to how often this tournament is played, it used to be contested every year when it was launched back in 1916.

However, its schedule was later changed to take place every other year.

Now, for the information you’ve been looking for!

Here’s the list which details all the past Copa América winners by year:

Which team has won Copa América the most times?

You’d typically expect South American soccer giants like Brazil to top the rankings when it comes to the number of Copa América wins.

But quite surprisingly, this actually isn’t the case!

Uruguay and Argentina both have the most Copa América tournament wins with a tally of 15 titles.

Although you’d have to go as far back as 2011 for their most recent triumph in this competition.

Following closely behind Uruguay and Argentina’s tally of 15 wins is Brazil – who have 9 Copa América titles in their trophy cabinet.

Here’s a table which rounds out the other countries that have registered a significant number of wins in this tournament:

Who won the 2021 edition of Copa América?

The most recent edition of the Copa América was won by Argentina.

Argentina managed to defeat Brazil by a solitary goal in the final to claim the title.

You can check out the highlights of this fixture in the video below:

Who was the best player at the 2021 Copa América?

The best player award at the 2021 Copa América was shared between Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Brazil’s Neymar.

In the case of the former, he had a hand in nine of the 12 goals Argentina managed to score throughout the tournament.

Messi had a massive influence on the team’s attacking output and it was clear to see from the raw data.

On the other hand, Neymar found the back of the net twice and picked up three assists during the duration of time that his side was in the competition.

It was an unprecedented decision for CONMEBOL to announce joint winners, and they even released a public statement to that effect:

“It is not possible to choose only one player, because this competition has two best players.

Both are finalists with their national teams, they have performed at a high level, being key players in the goal scoring charts in this tournament.”

Source – MARCA

Closing thoughts

This article has concisely covered the winners of previous Copa América editions. 

It should have broadened your insight into which teams have performed well from a historical perspective in this competition, as well as shed more light on the winning tallies of the nations who have dominated the competition.

If you’ve enjoyed this post, then there’s a good chance you’ll also like this post on Europe’s best players over the past century.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Samuel Waihenya

CEO & Digital Publisher at Cosy Content Limited

Samuel Waihenya is 27 years of age and has been watching, discussing, as well as playing soccer for well over 10 years.

With a solid educational background in business management, the Soccer Whizz website is his first foray into the digital web space and it has been created with the intention of providing the absolute best soccer content for its readership.

Have a read through Samuel Waihenya's author bio page here.

Latest posts by Samuel Waihenya (see all)

• Future Icons: Europe’s Emerging Midfield Maestros Set for Glory - December 4, 2023
• Kickstarting a Revolution: How Soccer Transformed the United States Over the Last Four Years - October 7, 2023
• 4-1-4-1 Soccer Formation [Analysis] - September 23, 2023