As the Copa America tournament kick starts on the 14th of July in the USA, fans are guaranteed a spectacle of footballing might. The tournament features some of South and North America’s best footballers fighting it out for the prestigious trophy.
With the likes of players like Lionel Messi, Vinicius Jr, Julian Alvarez and others gracing the field the tournament, is guaranteed to be a goal-fest.
Lionel Messi, who has scored 13 Copa America goals finds himself just 2 goals away from entering the top five goal scorer’s list.
Leading up to the contest, Sportstar takes a look at the top goal scorers since the tournament’s inception.
Norberto Mendez (Argentina, 17 goals)
Norberto Mendez also called Tucho, shares the top position on the list along with Zizinho scoring 17 goals in the tournament. Despite having a short international career of just 33 games, the Argentina midfielder managed to find tremendous success, winning the Copa America title 3 times. In 1945, Mendez won the Copa America Golden Boot scoring 6 goals for the victorious Argentinian side. Mendez’s goal-scoring excellence helped Argentina win the title in 1946 and 1947 as well.
Zizinho (Brazil, 17 goals)
The Brazil and Flamengo legend is the joint leader in the goal scoring list of the tournament. The striker tasted success in 1949, winning the Copa America Trophy. Scoring 5 goals, Zizinho along with legendary midfielder Jair lead the Brazilian side to their 3rd Copa America victory. Zizinho, who Pele refered to as “the best player he had ever seen play”, still remains one of the most iconic names in Latin American football history.
Lolo Fernandez (Peru, 15 goals)
Teodoro “Lolo” Fernandez scored 7 goals, leading the Peruvian side to tournament victory in 1939. The Peruvian forward also won 2 awards—Best Player and Top Goal Scorer—during that edition of the tournament. In his short international career of 26 games, Lolo managed to score 21 goals for Peru making him the third highest goal scorer for Peru.
Severino Varela (Uruguay, 15 goals)
The Uruguay and River Plate legend remains one of the most iconic players in Copa America history. Varela scored 5 times each in three editions(1937, 1939, 1942) of the tournament. In the 1942 edition, his goal scoring excellence helped Uruguay lift the trophy. Varela remains an iconic figure in Uruguay’s rich football history for both his skill and swagger.
Eduardo Vargas (Chile, 14 goals)
Eduardo Vargas, who is the only active player in the top-five list, lead Chile to two consecutive title victories in the year 2015 and 2016. The forward played a major role in Chile’s first Copa America victory in 2015, scoring 4 goals and winning the Golden Boot along with Peru’s Paolo Guerrero. In the 2016 edition Vargas won the Golden Boot again, scoring 6 goals in the victorious Chilean campaign.
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