The 2001 Copa América was held in Colombia, from 11 to 29 July. It was organised by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body. Colombia won the tournament for the 1st time without conceding a goal. Brazil were the defending champions who were knocked out from the tournament by Honduras after suffering a 0–2 defeat in the quarter-final. There is no qualifying for the final tournament. CONMEBOL's ten South American countries participate, along with two more invited countries, making a total of twelve teams competing in the tournament. Originally, Mexico and CONCACAFChampionsCanada were invited. Prior to the tournament, three meetings were held by CONMEBOL authorities who were concerned about potential security issues in Colombia. On 1 July they announced the cancellation of the tournament. Venezuela offered to host the competition, but on 6 July CONMEBOL decided to reinstate the plans for Colombia, and the tournament was held on schedule. When the tournament was originally cancelled, Canada disbanded its training camp and Canadian players returned to their club teams. The Canadian Soccer Association announced they would not be able to participate in the reinstated tournament. With only a few days' notice, Costa Rica accepted an invite to take Canada's spot in the tournament. The Costa Ricans advanced to the knockout stage, losing in the quarterfinals. Complaining about the sudden reversal, and claiming that Argentine players had received death threats from terrorist groups, the Argentine Football Association decided to withdraw from the competition on 10 July, in spite of Colombian authorities proposing to implement additional protection measures. With the tournament starting the next day, Honduras were invited, arriving with barely enough players on 13 July in an airplane provided by the Colombian Air Force, after the tournament started and just a few hours before its first game. The Hondurans performed well through the tournament, finishing in third place. Despite the pre-tournament concerns, there were no incidents of violence nor acts of assault towards any of the participating nations.
Venues
Squads
For a complete list of participating squads: 2001 Copa América squads
First round
The teams were divided into three groups of four teams each. The formation of the groups was made by CONMEBOL, in a public drawing of lots. Each team plays one match against each of the other teams within the same group. Three points are awarded for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a defeat. First- and second-placed teams in each group advance to the quarter-finals. The best third-placed team and the second-best third-placed team also advance to the quarter-finals.
Tie-breaker
* If teams finish leveled on points, the following tie-breakers are used:
# greater number of goals scored in all group games;
# winner of the head-to-head match between the teams in question;
# drawing of lots.
Group A
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Group B
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Group C
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Ranking of third-placed teams
At the end of the first stage, a comparison was made between the third-placed teams of each group. The two best third-placed teams advanced to the quarter-finals.
Knockout stage
Quarter-finals
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Semi-finals
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Third-place match
Final
Result
Goal scorers
With six goals, Víctor Aristizábal is the top scorer in the tournament. In total, 60 goals were scored by 41 different players, with none of them credited as own goal. 6 goals
