Since 1993, CONMEBOL officers decided to invite two National Teams to participate in the oldest tournament in the world. Their first option was inviting two teams from CONCACAF, since it would be easier for them to get to any venue designated by the South American organisation. The experiment proved to be successful, with Mexico reaching the final against Argentina, which El Tri eventually lost. After that, a number of teams have been invited to participate, but Mexico earned a permanent status as a guest in this tournament. For the 2015 edition, Jamaica will make their first appearance in South American soil, trying to prove they can make an impact in the tournament. Here are ten facts about Mexico and Jamaica, the 2015 Copa America guests.
1. Mexico, the only "guest" team to reach TWO final games
El Tri's first performance goes back to 1993, when they surprised everyone in South America by getting to the final match against Argentina. The Mexicans lost their first game against Colombia, but with the help of legendary striker Hugo Sánchez, the team went unbeaten for four games, defeating Perú and host Ecuador to reach the final, where Gabriel Batistuta worked his magic to deny Mexico the title. The game ended 2-1, but Mexico earned a permanent spot as a guest.
Eight years later, El Tri was under heavy pressure due to a poor performance in the 2002 World Cup Qualifiers. Nevertheless, coach Javier Aguirre used the tournament to get his team in shape, and managed to get to the final game by defeating such sides as Brazil (in the group stage), Chile and Uruguay. The Mexicans ended up losing to the hosts, Colombia, with a tight 1-0 score.
Hugo Sánchez captains Mexico's 1993 squad that faced Argentina in the final.
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2. Jamaica's National Team will debut after Japan declined an invite to the tournament
The "Reggae Boyz" will debut in Copa America games after Japan was not able to accept the invitation. Having won the Central American Cup last year, Winfried Schafer's men will also play in the Copa America's Centennial, which will be held next year. With a mixture of experienced players and some young talents, the Jamaicans will want to make an impression in their first tournament against South America's powerful sides.
3. Rafa Márquez will play his fifth Copa America tournament, the most by any Mexican player
The former Barcelona center back, who recently went back to play for a European club, will be one of the most experienced players in this Copa America for Mexico. In fact, "El Kaiser" will become the Mexican player with the highest number of games in this tournament, after participating in the 1999,2001, 2004 and 2007 editions. Marquez is currently fifth among the players with most caps for Mexico, and if the team manages to reach the finals, he will surpass flamboyant keeper Jorge Campos as Number 4 on the list.
"El Kaiser" played his fourth World Cup with Mexico last year, scoring a goal against Croatia.
4. Jermaine Taylor, the most experienced player for the "Reggae Boyz" in this tournament
Since the team is currently undergoing a rebuilding process, most of the players called up by Schafer don't have lots of international experience. But one of their defenders, Jermaine Taylor, will be adding caps to his total with the National Team. Taylor, who plays for Houston Dynamo, is Number 8 in the team's history with the most caps (80), but still far away from Ian Goodison's record of 120.
Taylor's worn the captain badge in each and everyone of Jamaica's National teams.
5. Luis García and Luis Hernández, El Tri's goal scoring champions in Copa America history
El Tri's strikers have usually made quite an impact in the South American tournament, but two of those players have risen above the rest. Luis García, former Atletico Madrid player, and Luis Hernández, who had a brief stint with Boca Juniors and L.A. Galaxy, were once crowned as the tournament's top scorers. García shared the Golden Boot with Gabriel Batistuta in the 1995 edition, while Hernandez took the prize home after scoring six goals in the 1997 tournament.
García(left) scored four times in 1995, while Hernandez beat Romario in 1997 to win the Golden Boot.
6. Only three of Jamaica's players perform in their country.
With 13 of their 23 players currently in either English or American football teams, Jamaica will be the side with the lowest number of players performing in their domestic tournament in this Copa America edition. Defender Hughan Gray and strikers Dino Williams and Allan Ottey are the only ones that play professional footbal in Jamaica, with the rest of their team-mates playing in England (8), U.S.A. (5), Canada (2), Norway (2), Germany (1), El Salvador (1) and Sweden(1).
Rodolph Austin from Leeds United is one of Jamaica's most talented players performing abroad.
7. Mexico has been eliminated only once during the group stage
El Tri's successful performances in Copa America tournaments were cut short in the 2011 edition, where the team led by Luis Fernando Tena was eliminated in the group stage for the first time ever. After being able to score only one goal, Mexico lost all three games against Chile, Peru and Uruguay, making the flight back to their country earlier than expected.
Despite having quality players such as Giovani Dos Santos or right back Paul Aguilar, El Tri was not able to make it to the knockout stages.
8. Jamaica gets to Chile with a six-game unbeaten streak
The Reggae Boyz have not lost a single game since October 2014, which has built their hopes of having a good performance in their first Copa America. Although they have not faced any top ranked teams, the Caribbean champions have managed to keep a clean sheet in four of those six games, conceding one goal against Martinique and one more against Venezuela in March of this year.
9. Mexico's winning record against their Group A opponents
El Tri is well known in South America, given the amount of friendly matches played against CONMEBOL's teams throughout the years. When it comes to Copa America games, Mexico's National Team has played eleven times against Chile(5), Ecuador (4) and Bolivia(2), winning six games, drawing three and losing two. Mexico has never lost a Copa America match against Ecuador (3 wins, 1 draw), while they have never beaten Bolivia in this tournament (1 draw, 1 loss). Curiously, Mexico played two of their five games against Chile in the 1999 edition, where they met in the group stage and in the third place match, with both games won by El Tri (1-0 and 2-1 respectively).
Legendary striker Ivan Zamorano (right) tries to take the ball away from Miguel Zepeda during the 1999 match between El Tri and La Roja
10. Jamaica will face Argentina in an official tournament for the first time since World Cup 1998
The team from the Caribbean has only played in one World Cup, and just like this time, they will face Argentina in the group stage. Although both sides have met in a number of friendly matches, the Reggae Boyz will never forget their first WC game, which ended in a 5-0 defeat against the South American giants. Winfried Schafer's men will surely try not to repeat that performance when they meet at Sausalito Stadium in Viña del Mar.
"Batigol", scored his second hat-trick in a World Cup game against the Reggae Boyz in 1998.
