2019 Copa America: Picking the Tournament's 6 Greatest Matches in the 21st Century

The 2019 edition of the Copa America got underway on Saturday with Brazil's comfortable 3-0 win over Bolivia in Sao Paolo.

The tournament was originally formed over 100 years ago, before finding its current format in 1975 and has provided fans with some of the most dramatic moments in South American football history.

South America has been home to some of the greatest players to grace the game of football and as a natural consequence, the Copa America has provided incredible moments that will live long in the memory.

Let's take a look at six of the best matches this tournament has produced in the 21st century.

2001 - Brazil 0-2 Honduras

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Yes, you read that right. In what was possibly the biggest shock in football history, minnows Honduras completed a miraculous win over an incredibly gifted Brazil side just 12 months before they won the World Cup.

A comedy own goal from Juliano Belletti on the hour mark gave Honduras a surprise lead in the quarter-final. Saul Martinez sealed victory at the death as he coolly slotted the ball home to mark an unforgettable night for his country. 

The defeat sparked outrage in Brazil with one sports publication leading with headline: "You cannot be serious?" The Globo newspaper labelled the result a "historic shame", and asked "how much worse can it get?" Incidentally Brazil were struggling in World Cup qualifiers at the time and this defeat added yet more pressure on the team.

Luiz Felipe Scolari told reporters after the game: "I, Big Phil, will go down in history as the Brazil coach who lost to Honduras." Luckily for 'Big Phil', he also went down as the coach to win Brazil their fifth World Cup less than a year later.

2004 - Argentina 2-2 Brazil (2-4 After Penalties)

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Marcelo Bielsa managing an Argentina side containing Javier Zanetti, Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez. Adriano playing at his peak. Brazil wearing those glorious Nike kits in the peak of the Joga Bonito-era of football. This game had everything.

An evenly contested first half ended with Brazil scoring just before half time to make it 1-1. The second half was, as you'd expect, a nervy one, but when Cesar Delgado put the Argentines ahead in the 87th minute, they thought the Copa America title was theirs. The clock had ticked into the 93rd minute when the ball fell to Adriano, who rocketed the ball home in signature style to take the game to penalties.

As with any penalty shootout, the police force had to intervene when a scuffle broke out between both sets of players before they game could continue. Once it had settled down, Brazil showed the nerve to score all four of their penalties and win one of the greatest Copa America finals.

2007 - Uruguay 2-2 Brazil (4-5 pens)

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Brazil beat Argentina in a second consecutive Copa America final in 2007, but it is their semi-final with Uruguay which will go down in the history books.

Uruguay found themselves 2-1 down at half time after goals from Maicon and Julio Baptista either side of Diego Forlan's effort. In true Uruguayan style, they weren't going to give the game up easily and Sebastien Abreu's second half goal would take the game to penalties.

Forlan missed Uruguay's first attempt, but they had the chance to win it when Pablo Garcia stepped up to take his country's sixth penalty. His effort rebounded off the post and just two penalties later, Brazil had won the game to make it to a second final in a row.

2011 - Paraguay 3-3 Venezuela

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A group game between Paraguay and Venezuela may not strike you as an instant classic, but this end-to-end game was brilliant for the neutrals and, with qualification on the line, it was full of all the emotion you could possibly want.

Salomon Rondon's early opener looked to have counted for nothing when Cristian Riveros put Paraguay 3-1 up with five minutes to go. Venezuela were on the brink of an early exit, but goals in the 89th and 92nd minute drew them level and qualified them for the quarter-finals.

The two sides would meet again in the semi-finals, but they could not produce the same drama, as Paraguay needed penalties to get to the final after a nervy 0-0 in 90 minutes.

2011 - Argentina 1-1 Uruguay (4-5 pens)

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The winner of this tie would be the heavy favourites to go on to win the title, and that's exactly what happened when Uruguay beat Argentina on penalties after a pulsating game.

There were only two goals in this game, but this rivalry match was not short of action. Diego Perez had a lively first half in which he was booked after two minutes, scored after five and got a second yellow just before half time. His early opener was cancelled out by Gonzalo Higuain before Mascherano got in on the ill-disciplined action to receive a second yellow just before full time.

In what has become a recurring theme for the Argentines, their fate was sealed on penalties as Tevez was the only player out of ten to miss his effort, sending Uruguay to the semi-finals.

2016 - Mexico 0-7 Chile

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Mexico were one of six sides to receive a special invite to this tournament to commemorate 100 years of Copa America. In hindsight, they may have regretted agreeing to take part at all.

After making it through the group stage, they faced a quarter-final with Chile in Santa Clara, California in front of 70,000 fans - the majority of them Mexican. But on their way to winning back-to-back Copa Americas, Chile dished out one of the most brutal hammerings in the tournament's history.

Mexico were unbeaten in 22 going into the game and full of confidence, and even when they were 2-0 down at half time, they would have been confident they could turn things around. But a second half blitz from Chile saw them score five more, as they embarrassed the Mexico in an almighty drubbing.