The oldest National Team tournament in the world will have one more edition this summer, and once again, fans will be eager to find out which one of the South American titans will add one more trophy to their cabinet.
Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile will go out there to try and defend their status as contenders to this title. A Canarinha gets a head start since they have always won the tournament when playing as hosts. Uruguay, with Luis Suárez and Edinson Cavani at the helm, poses the biggest threat on Brazil's title hopes. Meanwhile, Messi's Argentina makes it to the competition hoping to end a massive drought. Defending champions Chile are undergoing a rebuilding process, which might take a toll on their chances for success.
Full list of Copa América winners
Only Ecuador and Venezuela have missed out on the chance to win this competition. Hence, eight South American teams have managed to add at least one Copa América title to their cabinets, and surprisingly, Uruguay leads that ranking.
Titles by country
Uruguay cemented their reputation as the most winning team in this competition by winning eight titles since the tournament's inception up until 1942. Argentina took over as the dominant force in South America between 1945 and 1959 by winning six of the nine Copa Américas held during those years. None of the teams established a dominance in the competition until Uruguay won back-to-back titles in 1983 and 1987, and right after Argentina's last titles to this date, Brazil became the dominant team in South America by winning four titles out of the last eight editions.
Here are the years in which each team won their respective Copa América titles (Bold indicates winning as hosts).
Uruguay - 1916, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1935, 1942, 1956, 1959, 1967, 1983, 1987, 1995, 2011.
Argentina - 1921, 1925, 1927, 1929, 1937, 1941, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1991, 1993.
Brazil - 1919, 1922, 1949, 1989, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2007.
Paraguay - 1953, 1979.
Chile - 2015, 2016.
Perú - 1939, 1975.
Colombia - 2001.
Bolivia - 1963.
Facts about Copa América winners
-
Argentina is the only team in history to win three Copa América titles in a row: 1945, 1946, 1947.
-
There were two champions crowned in 1959: Argentina won the tournament held between March and April 1959, while Uruguay claimed the title in December of that year in the competition held in Ecuador.
-
Uruguay has made the most out of hosting the Copa América. La Celeste has won eight titles when playing in front of their home crowd.
-
Paraguay is the only Copa América champion not to be crowned in front of their supporters, as they won the 1953 edition in Perú and the 1979 tournament did not have a designated country as host.
-
The 1991 edition of this tournament was the last one to be decided with a round-robin format. Argentina won that tournament.
-
Ecuador and Venezuela have never won a title. In fact, none of them have even reached a title match.
Invited teams
Since 1993, CONMEBOL decided to expand the tournament by inviting two teams from different confederations. CONCACAF teams have made the most out of that invitation, with Mexico, Costa Rica, the USMNT, Jamaica, Honduras, Haiti and Panama participating in this tournament throughout the years.
Japan will return to the tournament after a 20-year-absence, while Qatar is set to make their debut in the South American tournament. Mexico is, by far, the most successful invited team in Copa América history, reaching the final twice (1993 and 2001) but losing both games against Argentina and Colombia, respectively.
