- They matched Uruguay as the most successful team in the tournament's history, both with 15 titles won.
- Lionel Messi won a title for the first time with the national team and became the player with the most matches in the competition's history, tied with Sergio Livingstone (34 each).
Argentina reached the top of the continent after 28 years by winning the CONMEBOL Copa América 2021™ held in Brazil. This triumph ended their decades-long drought of international titles and paved the way for future title wins like the Finalissima against Italy and the FIFA World Cup in Qatar 2022.
Brazil hosted the tournament for the second consecutive year, having hosted it previously in 2019. The ten national teams from CONMEBOL Member Associations were divided into two groups of five teams for the Group Stage.
Rio de Janeiro with Maracanã Stadium and Nilton Santos Stadium, Brasília with Mané Garrincha Stadium, Cuiabá with Arena Pantanal, and Goiânia with Estádio Olímpico were the venues for the tournament.
La Albiceleste, led by Lionel Scaloni from the bench and Lionel Messi on the field, started the tournament in Group A, finishing first with 10 points. They drew 1-1 with Chile in their first match, then defeated Uruguay 1-0, Paraguay 1-0, and Bolivia 4-1 to advance to the Final Stage.
They faced Ecuador in the Quarterfinals and went through with a strong 3-0 win. In the semifinals, they drew 1-1 with Colombia, leading to a tie-breaker on penaltis, where Argentina won 3-2 thanks to three memorable saves by Emiliano ‘Dibu’ Martínez.
The legendary Maracanã Stadium hosted the South American classic between Argentina and Brazil for the CONMEBOL Copa América 2021™ final on July 10th. The match saw the hosts and then-defending champions face an Argentina team hungry for glory, and eager to lift a title again after years of waiting.
Ángel Di María scored the only goal of the match in the 22nd minute with a beautiful chip shot over Brazilian GK Ederson, securing Argentina's 1-0 victory and the Copa América title as visitors in Brazil.
Lionel Messi was chosen as the Best Player of the tournament and finished as one of the top scorers, tied with Colombia's Luis Díaz with 4 goals each. Additionally, Argentina's '10' was the tournament's top assist provider with 5 assists, the highest for a player in a single edition since 2011.
Messi also matched the historic Chilean goalkeeper Sergio Livingstone as the player with the most appearances in the tournament's history, with 34 each. Messi played all seven of Argentina's matches in this edition to equal the record set by the Chile legend in 1953. He could break this milestone for good in the CONMEBOL Copa América USA 2024™ if he plays the opening match against Canada on June 20th, at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
CONMEBOL Copa América 2021™: Argentina's Road to the Title
Group Stage
Argentina 1-1 Chile
- ARG goal: Lionel Messi (33’)
Argentina 1-0 Uruguay
- ARG goals: Guido Rodríguez (13’)
Argentina 1-0 Paraguay
- ARG goal: Alejandro 'Papu' Gómez (10’)
Bolivia 1-4 Argentina
- BOL goal: Erwin Saavedra (60’)
- ARG goals: Alejandro Gómez (6’), Lionel Messi (33’ e 42’), Lautaro Martínez (65’)
Final Stage
Argentina 3-0 Ecuador - Quarterfinals
- ARG goals: Rodrigo De Paul (40’), Lautaro Martínez (84’), Lionel Messi (90+3)
Argentina (3) 1-1 (2) Colombia - Semifinals
- ARG goal: Lautaro Martínez (7’)
- COL goal: Luis Díaz (61’)
Argentina 1-0 Brazil - Final
- ARG goal: Ángel Di María (22’)
CONMEBOL.com / OPTA
