- Messi became the player with the most appearances in the tournament and the most Finals appearances in the competition's history.
- Free-scoring Colombia and debutant Canada also made history in this edition.
Argentina's victory in the thrilling Final against Colombia was the climax of a series of stories written throughout CONMEBOL Copa América 2024™. Legends have broken records, young players have made their mark and national teams have gone further than ever, among other chapters written among the 70 goals scored in 32 matches, played over 25 days on the pitches in the United States.
Below, we review the main records that were tied and broken throughout the 48th edition of the oldest football tournament in the world:
Lionel Messi, reaching most matches played at CONMEBOL Copa America™
The first record of CONMEBOL Copa América 2024™ was broken as soon as the whistle blew for Argentina vs Canada, the opening game of this edition, on June 20, 2024. Lionel Messi reached 35 matches played, surpassing a decades-old mark held by Chilean, Sergio Livingstone, and became the player with the most appearances in the history of the tournament.
The Argentina captain played four other matches, reaching 39 matches at the end of La Albiceleste’s title campaign.
The longevity of Claudio Bravo
Just a day later, it was Claudio Bravo’s turn to make his mark once again: in the La Roja match against Peru, the legendary goalkeeper became the oldest athlete to play in the national team tournament in the 21st century at 41 years and 69 days of age.
Welcome to the Kendry Páez era
Ecuador has reason to be optimistic after Kendry Páez's debut at CONMEBOL Copa América™. Now, he is not only the youngest Ecuadorian to play a match in the tournament since his idol Alex Aguinaga (record holder of editions in the history of the competition) but also became the youngest scorer in the competition in the 21st century with the penalty goal scored against Jamaica (17 years and 53 days), during the Group Stage.
Venezuelan determination
The three victories in Group B sealed one of the best campaigns in Venezuela's history during the group phase, and it all started with a game that will also be marked by its importance. On June 22, 2024, La Vinotinto beat Ecuador in a comeback, marking the first time they have managed to triumph in a CONMEBOL Copa América™ duel after falling behind on the scoreboard. The feat is even more impressive because of the history of the team, which has played 70 matches in 19 editions until that moment.
Rapid Christian Pulisic
'Captain America' made the fans of the hosts cheer very early on at this 48th edition when he scored the first goal of the United States against Bolivia with just 2 minutes and 23 seconds of play, on June 23. It was the fastest goal for the Concacaf team in five appearances in this competition.
Here comes Endrick
The next generation is also coming to the Brazilian national team, headed by Endrick. The striker, who is going to Real Madrid, made his CONMEBOL Copa América™ debut in Brazil's goalless draw against Costa Rica in Group D, becoming the youngest in the country to do so in the 21st century, surpassing Lucas Moura (in 2011). Afterwards, he made his first start against Uruguay in the Quarterfinals.
David scores Canada's first goal
Debutant Canada surprised the continent by winning for the first time in their second match at CONMEBOL Copa América™, by beating Peru 1-0: Jonathan David scored the first Canadian goal, finishing off a counterattack by Jacob Shaffelburg.
Antonio opens Jamaica's tally
The Jamaicans had their first goal scored in three appearances in the oldest national team tournament in the world: Michail Antonio found the net in the 3-1 loss to Ecuador during the second round of the Group Stage.
Oh, Canada!
Canada managed an important draw against Chile, in the last round of Group A, to become the third team to qualify for the Final Phase of CONMEBOL Copa América™ during their first appearance. Jesse Marsch's team finished in 4th place, being surpassed only by the campaigns of the debutants Mexico, in 1993 (runner-up), and Honduras, in 2001 (3rd place).
Panama's Great Leap
After winning a match in their first appearance in the competition in 2016, the Panamanian national team showed the continent what they are capable of: under Thomas Christiansen, the Central American team won two matches in Group C (United States and Bolivia) to obtain their first qualification to the Quarterfinals at CONMEBOL Copa América™.
The stars leave their mark
What do Julián Álvarez, Vinícius Júnior, Julio Enciso, Christian Pulisic and Darwin Núñez have in common? All of them scored their first CONMEBOL Copa America™ goals in their careers during the 2024 edition – with the trio of the Argentine, Brazilian and Uruguayan’s ending the campaign with two goals scored each.
Rondón's fantastic goal
Venezuela was trailing Canada in the quarterfinals when, after a ball was cleared by their defense, Salomón Rondón saw goalkeeper Crépeau off his line. He shot towards goal and finished with precision, more than 40 meters away, to score one of the greatest goals in the history of the tournament.
That specific goal that was scored and his participation on the field were also historic for the number 23, who became the top scorer (7 goals) for his country and the player with the most matches played for La Vinotinto (21) in the history of CONMEBOL Copa América™.
Julián Álvarez among giants
Álvarez returned to Argentina's starting lineup in the knockout round, scoring a beautiful goal that paved the way for the team's victory over Canada, in the Semis, 2-0. With that, he became the fourth player in history to have scored in the semifinals of the CONMEBOL Copa America™ and the FIFA World Cup, something that only his compatriot Lionel Messi, the Brazilian Romario and the Uruguayan Diego Forlán had achieved until then.
The 'Spider-Man' had scored twice for La Albicelste against Croatia, at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, to achieve this milestone two years later.
Colombia's big win
Winning a match in the CONMEBOL Copa America™ knockout founds is already a difficult task, but Colombia managed to go even further. Against Panama in the Quarterfinals, James Rodríguez and co.'s team scored an incredible 5-0 to advance, achieving victory by the highest goal difference of the history of Los Cafeteros at the tournament (overcoming a 4-0 against Venezuela, in the 1979 edition).
On top of that, Colombia became the fifth team to win by five or more goals in the knockout stages of the competition – after Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Chile.
James Rodríguez, the great maestro
The corner that resulted in Jefferson Lerma's goal against Uruguay in the Semifinals was James Rodríguez's sixth assist at the 2024 edition in the United States: with that, the Colombian number 10 surpassed Lionel Messi's (Argentina) mark as the player with the most assists in a single tournament since 2011, when the statistic began to be counted. He had assisted his teammates in the matches against Paraguay (2), Costa Rica (1) and Panama (2) before making the decisive pass in the clash with La Celeste.
Messi is the record finalist
Lio fought hard, but could not finish the Grand Final between Argentina and Colombia on the field – even getting emotional with his substitution. However, he was able to celebrate his second CONMEBOL Copa América™ title for La Albiceleste and also a personal milestone: Messi became the athlete with the most Finals played insince the competition adopted the current format of the match, with his fifth career final, (2007, 2015, 2016, 2021, 2024), beating former teammate Javier Mascherano by one match.
Argentina are 16 times champions!
La Albiceleste beat Colombia in the CONMEBOL Copa América 2024™ Final to earn their 16th title in history, overtaking Uruguay to become the biggest winners at the oldest national team tournament in the world.
The Argentines last topped the historical ranking in 1993, when they won number 14, and equaled the tally again with their triumph in 2021, in Brazil.
CONMEBOL.com / OPTA
