Copa América 2021 was the 47th edition of the Copa América, the international men’s football championship organized by South America’s football ruling body CONMEBOL. The tournament took place in Brazil from 13 June to 10 July 2021. The tournament was originally scheduled to take place from 12 June to 12 July 2020 in Argentina and Colombia as the 2020 Copa América. On 17 March 2020, CONMEBOL announced that due to the COVID-19 pandemic in South America, the tournament had been postponed for a year, in conjunction with UEFA’s decision to also postpone UEFA Euro 2020 to 2021. This was the first time since 1991 where no guest nation took part in the tournament.
On 20 May 2021, Colombia was removed as co-host amid ongoing protests against President Iván Duque Márquez, and Argentina was then removed on 30 May due to COVID-19 issues. The following day CONMEBOL confirmed Brazil as the new host of the tournament.
Hosts Brazil were the title holders, having won their ninth title in 2019, which they also hosted. Argentina won their fifteenth title after defeating Brazil 1–0 in the final, marking the first time Brazil failed to win the competition on home soil. Argentina secured a first senior trophy since the 1993 edition of the same tournament, also equaling Uruguay’s overall record of Copa América titles.
Champions: 
Argentina (15th title)
Runners-up: 
Brazil
Third place: 
Colombia
Fourth place: 
Peru
Fair play award: Brazil
Best Player: Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr
Golden Boot: Lionel Messi
Best Goalkeeper: Emiliano Martínez
Top Goal Scorer(s): Lionel Messi and Luis Díaz (4 goals each)
Copa América 2021 Teams
All ten CONMEBOL national teams participated in the competition, divided into two geographical zones for the group stage. In June 2019, the CONMEBOL Council officially approved the participation of Australia and Qatar as the two invited teams, who were the previous two winners of the AFC Asian Cup. Australia would have made their debut appearance in the Copa América, while Qatar would be making their second appearance, having participated in the previous edition. However, on 23 February 2021, Football Australia and the Qatar Football Association announced their withdrawal from the tournament, due to the postponement of the remainder of the AFC second round of 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification to June 2021. Following the withdrawals, a CONMEBOL spokesperson said that there was a calendar issue that stopped Australia and Qatar, that he had already seen interest from other national teams to play as guests in their place and that he would like to have 12 teams. The spokesperson added that if no replacements were found, the tournament would be played with 10 teams (for the first time since 1991).
CONMEBOL North Zone CONMEBOL South Zone
Brazil (title holders and hosts) Argentina
Colombia
Bolivia
Ecuador
Chile
Peru
Paraguay
Venezuela
Uruguay
| Position | Group A (South Zone) | Group B (North Zone) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Argentina | Colombia |
| 2 | Bolivia | Brazil |
| 3 | Uruguay | Venezuela |
| 4 | Chile | Ecuador |
| 5 | Paraguay | Peru |
Group A (South Zone)
Position Team Played Win Draw Loss GF GA GD Point Qualification
1 Argentina4 3 1 0 7 2 +5 10 Advance to knockout stage
2 Uruguay4 2 1 1 4 2 +2 7 Advance to knockout stage
3 Paraguay4 2 0 2 5 3 +2 6 Advance to knockout stage
4 Chile4 1 2 1 3 4 −1 5 Advance to knockout stage
5 Bolivia4 0 0 4 2 10 −8 0
Copa América 2021 Group A(South Zone) matches
Date Team A Result Team B
14 June 2021 Argentina1–1 Chile
14 June 2021 Paraguay3–1 Bolivia
18 June 2021 Chile1–0 Bolivia
18 June 2021 Argentina1–0 Uruguay
21 June 2021 Uruguay1–1 Chile
21 June 2021 Argentina1–0 Paraguay
24 June 2021 Bolivia0–2 Uruguay
24 June 2021 Chile0–2 Paraguay
28 June 2021 Uruguay1–0 Paraguay
28 June 2021 Bolivia1–4 Argentina
Group B (North Zone)
Position Team Played Win Draw Loss GF GA GD Point Qualification
1 Brazil (H)4 3 1 0 10 2 +8 10 Advance to knockout stage
2 Peru4 2 1 1 5 7 −2 7 Advance to knockout stage
3 Colombia4 1 1 2 3 4 −1 4 Advance to knockout stage
4 Ecuador4 0 3 1 5 6 −1 3
5 Venezuela4 0 2 2 2 6 −4 2
Copa América 2021 Group B(North Zone) matches
Date Team A Result Team B
13 June 2021 Brazil3–0 Venezuela
13 June 2021 Colombia1–0 Ecuador
17 June 2021 Colombia0–0 Venezuela
17 June 2021 Brazil4–0 Peru
20 June 2021 Venezuela2–2 Ecuador
20 June 2021 Colombia1–2 Peru
23 June 2021 Ecuador2–2 Peru
23 June 2021 Brazil2–1 Colombia
27 June 2021 Brazil1–1 Ecuador
27 June 2021 Venezuela0–1 Peru
Copa América 2021 Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, if a match was tied after 90 minutes:
In the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and third place play-off, extra time would not be played, and the match would be decided by a penalty shoot-out.
In the final, extra time would be played. If still tied after extra time, the match would be decided by a penalty shoot-out.
Copa América 2021 Quarter Final matches
Date Team A Result Team B
2 July 2021 Peru3–3
4–3 (penalties) Paraguay
2 July 2021 Brazil1–0 Chile
3 July 2021 Uruguay0–0
2–4 (penalties) Colombia
3 July 2021 Argentina3–0 Ecuador
Copa América 2021 Semi Final matches
5 July 2021 20:00 BRT (UTC−3), Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos, Rio de Janeiro
| Brazil |
1–0 | Peru |
Lucas Paquetá  35′ |
6 July 2021 22:00 BRT (UTC−3), Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha, Brasília
| Argentina |
1–1 | Colombia |
| La. Martínez 7′ |
Luis Díaz 61′ |
|
Messi  De Paul  Paredes La. Martínez |
3–2 Penalties |
Cuadrado Sánchez Mina Borja Cardona |
Copa América 2021 Third place play-off match
9 July 2021 21:00 BRT (UTC−3), Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha, Brasília
| Colombia |
3–2 | Peru |
| Cuadrado 49′ Díaz 66′, 90+4′ |
Yotún 45′ Lapadula 82′ |
Copa América 2021 Final match
10 July 2021 21:00 BRT (UTC−3), Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro
| Argentina |
1–0 | Brazil |
| Di María 22′ |
Copa América 2021 Top Goal Scorer List
Rank Player Team Goals
1 Lionel MessiArgentina 4
2 Luis DíazColombia 4
3 Lautaro MartínezArgentina 3
4 Gianluca LapadulaPeru 3
5 Alejandro GómezArgentina 2
6 Erwin SaavedraBolivia 2
7 Neymar JrBrazil 2
8 Lucas PaquetáBrazil 2
9 Eduardo VargasChile 2
10 Ayrton PreciadoEcuador 2
11 Ángel RomeroParaguay 2
12 André CarrilloPeru 2
13 Yoshimar YotúnPeru 2
14 Edinson CavaniUruguay 2
Copa América 2021 Team of the Tournament
Position Player Team
Goalkeeper Emiliano MartínezArgentina
Defender Mauricio IslaChile
Defender Cristian RomeroArgentina
Defender MarquinhosBrazil
Defender Pervis EstupiñánEcuador
Midfielder Rodrigo De PaulArgentina
Midfielder CasemiroBrazil
Midfielder Yoshimar YotúnPeru
Forward Lionel MessiArgentina
Forward Neymar JrBrazil
Forward Luis DíazColombia
Copa América 2021 Venues
On 1 June 2021, the Brazilian government and Brazilian Football Confederation announced the cities of Brasília, Goiânia, Cuiabá and Rio de Janeiro as the host venues of the competition, with the Maracanã, Mané Garrincha, Pantanal and the Olímpico stadiums used for matches. On 2 June, the CBF decided to use the Nilton Santos as the second stadium in Rio de Janeiro. The government also allocated resources in the federal budget to provide the necessary support for the CONMEBOL’s tournament logistics and security. Mané Garrincha hosted the opening match on 13 June, and the final was held at the Maracanã on 10 July.
Stadium City Capacity
Estádio do Maracanã Rio de Janeiro 78,838
Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha Brasília 72,788
Estádio Nilton Santos Rio de Janeiro 46,931
Arena Pantanal Cuiabá 44,000
Estádio Olímpico Goiânia 13,500
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic in South America began impacting football. FIFA announced that the first two rounds of the South American qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, due to take place in March, were postponed, while CONMEBOL temporarily suspended the Copa Libertadores. On 17 March 2020, CONMEBOL announced that the Copa América would be postponed to the following year, taking place from 11 June to 11 July 2021, in conjunction with UEFA and IOC decision to also postpone UEFA Euro 2020 and 2020 Summer Olympics to 2021, in order to protect the health and safety of the teams, media, visitors and host cities. On the following day, the Bureau of the FIFA Council approved the date change in the FIFA International Match Calendar. As a result, the expanded FIFA Club World Cup, which was due to take place in June and July 2020, was rescheduled to 2021.
On 22 February 2021, two invited guest teams Australia and Qatar pulled out of tournament, due to postponement and reschedule for second round for 2022 FIFA World Cup Asian qualification.
On 20 May 2021, CONMEBOL announced to Colombia was withdrawn from host, due to 2021 Colombian protests. Two day later, Argentina went under a nine-day lockdown due to soaring COVID-19 cases, which included the suspension of all domestic football. On 30 May 2021, CONMEBOL announced that due to the current circumstances in the country, Copa América would be pulled from Argentina, and that they were looking at bids from other countries to host the tournament. This reportedly included a bid from the United States, after that bid was initially rejected. It was reported that the Argentine government had made increasing demands for biosecurity protocols that CONMEBOL found unreasonable. On 31 May Brazil was confirmed as the new host.
All matches in the tournament were held behind closed doors, except the final, where 10% of Maracanã Stadium’s capacity was allowed for guests with a negative COVID-19 test before entering. All delegations, each limited to 65 members, were vaccinated, as were the match officials.
Copa América 2021 Marketing
Mascot
Pibe, a brown dog, was selected as the official mascot for the tournament, making it the 14th officially selected mascot in Copa América history.
Official Song
A customized version of “La Gozadera” by Cuban duo Gente de Zona was revealed as the official song of the tournament, ahead of its official reveal on 11 May.
