| Year: | 1997 |
| Size: | 200px |
| Country: | Bolivia |
| Dates: | 11–29 June |
| Num Teams: | 12 |
| Confederations: | 2 |
| Venues: | 5 |
| Cities: | 5 |
| Champion: | Brazil |
| Count: | 5 |
| Second: | Bolivia |
| Third: | Mexico |
| Fourth: | Peru |
| Matches: | 26 |
| Goals: | 67 |
| Attendance: | 456020 |
| Top Scorer: | Luis Hernández (6 goals) |
| Player: | Ronaldo[1] |
| Prevseason: | 1995 |
| Nextseason: | 1999 |
The 1997 Copa America was the 38th edition of the Copa America. It was held in Bolivia from 11 to 29 June. It was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body.
In this edition, Costa Rica and Mexico were the invited teams to bring up the total number of competing teams to 12.
The tournament was won by Brazil, who became the first team to hold the Copa América and the World Cup at the same time, a feat they would repeat in 2004.
| La Paz | Santa Cruz | Cochabamba |
|---|---|---|
| Estadio Hernando Siles | Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera | Estadio Félix Capriles |
| Capacity: 51,000 | Capacity: 42,000 | Capacity: 36,000 |
| Sucre | ||
| Estadio Olímpico Patria | ||
| Capacity: 29,000 | ||
| Oruro | ||
| Estadio Jesús Bermúdez | ||
| Capacity: 28,000 | ||
For a complete list of participating squads: 1997 Copa América squads
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Ecuador
Mexico
Paraguay
Peru
Uruguay
United States
Venezuela
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 that took place on 17 December 1996.
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.
See main article: 1997 Copa América Group A.
----
----
----
----
----
----
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.
------------
----
See main article: 1997 Copa América final.
With six goals, Luis Hernández was the top scorer in the tournament.
| width=20 | width=165 | Team | width=20 | width=20 | width=20 | width=20 | width=20 | width=20 | width=20 | width=20 | width=20 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 3 | +19 | 18 | 100% | ||||||||||||
| 2 | align=left | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 5 | +5 | 15 | 83.5% | |||||||||||
| 3 | align=left | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 9 | −1 | 8 | 44.4% | |||||||||||
| 4 | align=left | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 11 | −6 | 9 | 50% | |||||||||||
| Eliminated in the Quarterfinals | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | align=left | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 8 | 66.7% | |||||||||||
| 6 | align=left | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 5 | 41.7% | |||||||||||
| 7 | align=left | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 4 | 33.3% | |||||||||||
| 8 | align=left | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 3 | 25% | |||||||||||
| Eliminated in the First Stage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | align=left | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 33.3% | |||||||||||
| 10 | align=left | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 10 | −8 | 1 | 11.1% | |||||||||||
| 11 | align=left | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 0 | 0% | |||||||||||
| 12 | align=left | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | −5 | 0 | 0% | |||||||||||