The Copa América is the world’s oldest international football tournament, established in 1916. Uruguay has been the most successful team, winning the title a record 15 times. The Copa America 2016 was the 100th time the tournament was held and the first time the competition was held outside South America. Chile were the defending champions and they would go on to retain their title. It was a repeat of the 2015 final as Chile would go on to win the penalty shoot out, after both teams went goalless for 120 minutes.
In the Copa America 2016 edition, instead of the standard three groups format there were four groups. The four teams in all four groups play each other once and the top two teams progress into the quarterfinals. This was followed by the semi finals and finals.
Chile established themselves as the best team in the continent by winning the Copa America 2016. They also created history by becoming the first team to win back to back titles since 1947. However it was heartbreak for Argentina as they had lost their third consecutive final. The loss marks another disappointing tournament for a talented Argentinian squad.
The biggest disappointments of the tournament were the exit of heavyweights Brazil and Uruguay at the group stages of Copa America 2016. Uruguay were outplayed by Mexico and Venezuela in their group games whereas five time world champions Brazil needed just a point in their last group match against Peru to progress to the quarter finals. Instead they found themselves facing another disappointment in a major tournament by losing 1-0.
Alexis Sanchez was at his best for Chile in the tournament and he won the Golden Ball award for his efforts. The Manchester United star gave his best in every game and was arguably Chile’s top performer in the Copa America 2016.
Eduardo Vargas finished with the Golden Boot award and the striker was in stunning form right throughout the tournament. The highlight of his campaign was undoubtedly against Mexico when he scored an incredible 4 goals.
Undoubtedly the greatest player of this generation, Lionel Messi had to endure heartbreak once again in the Copa America 2016 final. However the magician had an excellent tournament personally, scoring 5 goals and tormenting defences throughout the tournament. He also topped the assists chart by creating 4 goals for his team.
Here is an overview of the Copa America 2016 :-
Group A :-
| S.No | Country | Points | Goal Difference |
| 1 | USA | 6 | 3 |
| 2 | Colombia | 6 | 2 |
| 3 | Costa Rica | 4 | -3 |
| 4 | Paraguay | 1 | -2 |
Group B :-
| S.No | Country | Points | Goal Difference |
| 1 | Peru | 7 | 2 |
| 2 | Ecuador | 5 | 4 |
| 3 | Brazil | 4 | 5 |
| 4 | Haiti | 0 | -11 |
Group C :-
| S.No | Country | Points | Goal Difference |
| 1 | Mexico | 7 | 4 |
| 2 | Venezuela | 7 | 2 |
| 3 | Uruguay | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | Jamaica | 0 | -6 |
Group D :-
| S.No | Country | Points | Goal Difference |
| 1 | Argentina | 9 | 9 |
| 2 | Chile | 6 | 2 |
| 3 | Panama | 3 | -6 |
| 4 | Bolivia | 0 | -5 |
Quarter Finals :-
| S.No | FIxture | Result |
| 1 | USA vs Ecuador | 2-1 |
| 2 | Peru vs Colombia | (2) 0-0 (4) |
| 3 | Argentina vs Venezuela | 4-1 |
| 4 | Mexico vs Chile | 0-7 |
Semi Finals :-
| S.No | Fixture | Result |
| 1 | USA vs Argentina | 0-4 |
| 2 | Colombia vs Chile | 0-2 |
Third Place :-
| S.No | Fixture | Result |
| 1 | USA vs Colombia | 0-1 |
Finals :-
| S.No | Fixture | Result |
| 1 | Argentina vs Chile | (2) 0-0 (4) |
Top Scorers :-
| S.No | Player | Country | Goals |
| 1 | Eduardo Vargas | Chile | 6 |
| 2 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 5 |
| 3 | Gonzalo Higuain | Argentina | 4 |
| 4 | Clint Dempsey | USA | 3 |
| 5 | Alexis Sanchez | Chile | 3 |
Most Assists :-
| S.No | Player | Country | Assists |
| 1 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 4 |
| 2 | Clint Dempsey | USA | 3 |
| 3 | Edwin Cardona | Colombia | 2 |
| 4 | Dani Alves | Brazil | 2 |
| 5 | Angel Di Maria | Argentina | 2 |
