We list the highest-scoring games in Copa America history, including big victories for both Argentina and Brazil.
Most Goals in a Copa America Game
12 goals – Argentina 12-0 Ecuador – 22 January 1942
11 goals – Brazil 9-2 Ecuador – 21 February 1945
11 goals – Brazil 10-1 Bolivia – 10 April 1949
11 goals – Argentina 11-0 Venezuela – 10 August 1975
12 goals – Argentina 12-0 Ecuador (1942)
In 1942, the most one-sided victory in Copa America history occurred when Argentina defeated Ecuador 12-0 in Chile. Until that point, the highest number of goals in a single game at the tournament was 10 (Brazil 6-4 Chile in 1937), but La Albiceleste set a record that remains unmatched to this day.
The afternoon of 22 January 1942, at the iconic Estadio Centenario in Montevideo not only witnessed the record of 12 goals in a single Copa America match, but also one of only four instances where a player scored five goals in a single game of the competition.
José Manuel Moreno, known as ‘El Charro’, was the star of the day, netting five times, while Herminio Masantonio, another key player for Argentina at the time, added four more. Further goals followed from Adolfo Pedernera and Ángel Perucca.
11 goals – Brazil 9-2 Ecuador (1945)
Three years later, Brazil experienced what it’s like to score nine goals in a single Copa America match. On 21 February, 1945, the team, still wearing white jerseys, concluded their participation in that year’s tournament, also held in Chile, with a flurry of goals at the Estadio Nacional in Santiago, defeating Ecuador 9-2.
Four players scored more than one goal in the match against La Tricolor: Ademir de Menezes registered a hat-trick, while Zizinho, Jair, and Heleno de Freitas each scored twice, the latter finishing as the top scorer of the 1945 Copa America alongside Argentina’s Norberto Méndez (6 goals each).
11 goals – Brazil 10-1 Bolivia (1949)
In 1949, Brazil were once again involved in an 11-goal match in the Copa America, scoring almost all of them as they beat Bolivia 10-1, marking the first and only time the Seleção reached double digits in a single game in the competition.
The hosts came off a dream victory against Ecuador with a 9-1 scoreline in the opening match of the 1949 edition, and as a display of their offensive prowess, Brazil outdid themselves by netting 10 times against Bolivia. Nininho scored a hat-trick, while Zizinho, Cláudio and Simão each bagged a brace, and Jair completed the rout at Estadio Pacaembú in São Paulo.
11 goals – Argentina 11-0 Venezuela (1975)
The last time 11 goals were seen in a single Copa America match was almost half a century ago, when Argentina getting all of them against Venezuela. In the closing match of the first round in Group A, the tournament’s largest margin of victory occurred at the Gigante de Arroyito in Rosario, with seven different scorers on a historic day.
Daniel Killer led La Albiceleste to victory against La Vinotinto with a hat-trick, while Mario Kempes and Mario Zanabria each scored a double. Leopoldo Luque, Osvaldo Ardiles, Américo Gallego, and Ramón Bóveda completed the dream scoreline for Argentina in Santa Fe.
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