Whilst most UK football fans will be firmly focussed on Euro 2024, with Scotland and England taking part, that is not the only big tournament taking place in the summer of 2024. The South American equivalent of the European Championship, the Copa America, is also taking place.
The 2024 edition will be hosted by America and is co-organised by the governing body for North American, Central American and Caribbean football, CONCACAF. The tournament gets started on the 20th of June, a little after the Euros, but the final is set to take place on the same day as the showpiece in Germany, so football fans should definitely have the 14th of July firmly marked in their calendars.
Argentina are the defending champions with regards the Copa America, but as ever Brazil will fancy their chances, whilst Uruguay, Colombia and Mexico will all hope to upset the big two. This tournament will be the 48th edition of the Copa America but our focus in this article is not 2024, but the whole history of the tournament. To be more precise, we are looking at which nation can call themselves the Copa America kings. Or put another way, who has won the most Copa America titles?
Not Brazil for a Start!
Brazil are probably the most iconic international football team around and their record in the World Cup is unparalleled. They are the only team to have played in all 22 World Cups and they have also lifted the trophy the most times, with five wins. They have, of course, provided many of the game’s greats, with Pelé and more recently Neymar just two examples, whilst their famous yellow jersey is one of the most recognisable in the world.
All that said, Brazil are absolutely not the most successful side in the history of the Copa America. They have won this tournament nine times but have actually lost more finals than they have won, having been beaten in the key match 11 times. Their tally of nine wins means they are seven clear of the next-best side, Paraguay, but being better than Paraguay is not the standard the Canaries set for themselves. Much as it may pain their fans to admit it, Brazil are only the third-most successful nation in Copa America history.
Interestingly, they failed to win this tournament at all during the 1950s, 1960s or 1970s, a period when they won three World Cups. Their triumphs came in 1919, 1922, 1949, 1989, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2007 and 2019. They lost the final three times in the 1950s and, most recently, in 2021, when they hosted the tournament. With 20 appearances in the final they are also third on that metric, but who has bettered them?
Argentina & Uruguay Tops Dogs in Continental Championship
With 15 wins apiece, Brazil’s two main rivals, who are also huge football enemies themselves, Argentina and Uruguay can lay claims to being the kings of the Copa. To have won this competition six more times that Brazil is impressive, and both of these football-crazy nations will hope they can strike out on their own by claiming a 16th title in 2024.
If we have to name a single side as the competition’s most successful, we would go with Argentina, because they have made the final on 29 occasions compared to Uruguay’s 21. Of course, an alternative, and perhaps just as valid view, is to say that the smaller nation has a far better win percentage in finals (71.4% for Uruguay versus 51.7% for Argentina) and so they should be seen as top dogs. Anyway, let’s take a closer look at Argentina first.
Argentina: 15 Wins, Runners-up 14 Times
Argentina has produced two of the greatest footballers to have ever played the game, in the shape of Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi. However, the latter has, to date, won this competition just once, in 2021, whilst the late, great, undoubtedly bonkers Maradona never got his hands on the trophy.
In fact, most of Argentina’s wins in the Copa America came before either of those legends were even born. Maradona was born in 1960 and his nation already had 12 titles by that point. They won the title four times in the 1920s, four in the 1940s and three in the 1950s, as shown in the table below.
| Argentina Wins – 15 | Losses in Final – 14 |
|---|---|
| 1921, 1925, 1927, 1929, 1937, 1941, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1991, 1993, 2021 | 1916, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1935, 1942, 1959, 1967, 2004, 2007, 2015, 2016 |
Uruguay Punching
Considering Uruguay has a population of just 3.4m, it is fair to say they are punching well above their weight. Argentina has a population around 14 times as big, whilst Brazil’s is more like 70 times the size! Uruguay’s titles – 15 Copas and two World Cups – do not tell the whole picture if we are being honest, with a great deal of their success coming in the 1920s and 1930s.
They upset Brazil in Rio in the 1950 World Cup final but their glory years were undoubtedly before the Second World War, and at this time the football landscape was very different. Nonetheless, Uruguay have achieved considerable success and the strength of their football culture is illustrated by the world-class footballers they have produced very recently.
Luis Suarez, Diego Forlan (before you laugh, he won the Golden Ball at the 2010 World Cup!), Diego Godin and Edinson Cavani have all played for top clubs and have helped Uruguay overachieve in recent years. They last won the Copa America in 2011 but have made the final six times since 1983, as per the table below.
| Uruguay Wins – 15 | Losses in Final – 6 |
|---|---|
| 1916, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1935, 1942, 1956, 1959, 1967, 1983, 1987, 1995, 2011 | 1919, 1927, 1939, 1941, 1989, 1999 |
In 2024, Uruguay are managed by former Argentina, Chile and, err, Leeds United, boss, Marcela Bielsa. The Argentine eccentric, nicknamed El Loco, has done a great job thus far, with Uruguay second in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. He’s even managing to get a tune out of Darwin Núñez! If Núñez keeps hold of his shooting boots for the 2024 Copa America, maybe Uruguay can earn the title of undisputed Copa America Kings.