The Copa América is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONMEBOL. Held since 1916, it is the oldest international continental football competition. It was originally called the South American Championship, changing to the current name in 1975.
Colombia have played in three Copa América finals. They lost the 1975 final play-off against Peru, but won the title at their first home tournament in 2001 after defeating Mexico. They then lost to Argentina in the 2024 final.
Iván Córdoba scored the decisive 1-0 in the 2001 Copa América final against Mexico. It was the defender's last goal of his international career, although he kept playing for Colombia for 10 more years.[1]
Colombia won all six tournament matches in regular time and without conceding. This achievement is a rarity in Copa América history. The same feat was achieved by Uruguay in 1917 and 1987, and by Argentina in 1921. However, those teams only played two or three matches at those tournaments. Víctor Aristizábal, who played for Cali in the Colombian division at the time, scored in all matches except the final at least once and became the tournament's top scorer.