Most Memorable Upsets in Copa America History
The 2015 Copa America takes place in Chile in June and early July, with top nations such as Argentina, Brazil and Colombia set to battle it out for the trophy.
Of course, things don't always go to plan in major tournaments, and upsets come along every now and then that shock the watching world. The last Copa America alone was a reminder of that, but it was hardly the only time strange results occurred.
Here are the biggest upsets in recent Copa memory, dating back 20 years to the 1995 finals in Uruguay.
USA 3-0 Argentina, 1995 Group Stage
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The big upset of 1995 came in the final group-stage game of Group C, where Argentina needed a point to ensure the top spot ahead of the United States, who were guests in the competition.
Finishing at the top meant the South American side would avoid fellow heavyweights Brazil in the quarter-finals—but they succumbed to a 3-0 defeat to the U.S., with Alexi Lalas and Eric Wynalda amongst those on the scoresheet.
Brazil duly knocked Argentina out on penalties in the quarters before being defeated by Uruguay in the final.
Peru 2-1 Argentina, 1997 Quarter-Final
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It was another Argentina quarter-final exit two years later that shocked the Copa America audience, as a largely home-based team containing the likes of Marcelo Gallardo, Marcelo Delgado and Mauricio Pellegrino came through the group stage unbeaten—only to lose to Peru in the last eight.
A Gallardo penalty wasn't enough for the Argentinians, who were already two goals down by that point and ended up losing 2-1.
Peru ended fourth after a 7-0 thrashing in the semi-finals by Brazil, who won the tournament.
Argentina 0-3 Colombia, 1999 Group Stage
3 of 8It's an Argentina loss again, and in a memorable match this time.
The second group-stage game was an incident-filled fixture in Paraguay, with Colombia running out surprising 3-0 winners against a fierce Argentine squad. The likes of Martin Palermo, Ariel Ortega, Walter Samuel and Diego Simeone were all part of the team this time around, which has to go down as one of the biggest disappointments, considering they didn't manage more success.
The biggest failure of all was that they had the chance to draw the match—but Palermo, their striker, missed an incredible three penalties during the 90 minutes.
Argentina still made it through, but finishing second meant they faced Brazil in the quarters again...with the same outcome: a defeat and an exit.
Honduras 2-0 Brazil, 2001 Quarter-Final
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Brazil won the Copa America in 1999, but two years later in Colombia, they made a somewhat humiliating exit at the hands of Honduras.
Juninho, Denilson, Geovanni and Co. were beaten by David Suazo and his fellow Hondurans, including Milton Reyes, Samuel Caballero and Oscar Lagos, most of whom played in their home country.
Saul Martinez was the hero, scoring both goals in the 2-0 win, with Honduras going on to finish third.
Brazil 1-2 Paraguay, 2004 Group Stage
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Next time out in 2004, Brazil won their opening two group-stage games and were expected to complete the set comfortably against Paraguay, but they ended up finishing behind their rivals in the standings after a shock 2-1 defeat thanks to a late Fredy Bareiro goal.
It was the striker's second and final international goal.
Brazil recovered to go on and win the final on penalties, while Paraguay exited at the quarter-finals. But Paraguay left with a famous win to remember the tournament by.
Mexico 2-0 Brazil, 2007 Group Stage
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The 2007 Copa America, held in Venezuela, got off to the worst possible start for Brazil.
They faced Mexico in their opening game and quickly went two goals down. They were unable to recover and suffered a 2-0 defeat. Nery Castillo and Ramon Morales hit the goals to beat the likes of Robinho, Gilberto Silva and Maicon.
It was a terrible start, but things got better for Brazil.
Brazil 3-0 Argentina, 2007 Final
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Brazil recovered from their loss to Mexico to reach the final itself.
The finals of most major tournaments are expected to be close affairs, and while the outcome of Brazil beating Argentina wasn't a massive shock, the scoreline and the manner of the win were indeed a surprise.
An early Julio Baptista goal got Brazil off to a great start in the 2007 final in Maracaibo, with Roberto Ayala's own goal making things extremely tough for Argentina before the break.
Dani Alves came on as sub and scored to wrap things up and seal a big win for Brazil.
All 4 Quarter-Final Matches from 2011
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And so to the last Copa America, the 2011 event in Argentina. The hosts and Brazil were the big favourites, as usual, but none of the expected big clubs made it to the semi-finals.
All four quarter-finals yielded shock outcomes: Peru took Colombia to extra time and beat them 2-0, Uruguay took Argentina to penalties and came out on top, Venezuela beat Chile 2-1 in 90 minutes and Paraguay held Brazil to a goalless draw before also winning on penalties.
The eventual triumph of Uruguay was unexpected in itself, but all four results going against the major players in the tournament made it one of the biggest all-round upsets in a major tournament in recent memory.
