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While scoring a goal is widely regarded as one of the most difficult tasks to do in football, doing so as you shoulder the expectations of an entire nation comes with even more pressure unlike anything in club football.
The Copa America is ultimately about team glory, but there are also individual honours to play for at the competition. One accolade stands out among the rest is the Golden Boot.
Every tournament, the top goalscorer of the tournament has the honour of taking home the Golden Boot. Lionel Messi claimed the coveted trophy at Copa America 2021 after netting four goals and contributing five assists as Argentina claimed the title.
Copa America 2024 wasn't short on goals, either, as some of the best attackers looked to fire their nations to glory. From Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martinez to Vinicius Jr., Darwin Nunez, and Salomon Rondon, numerous star forwards stepped up to the plate and delivered moments of magic in the form of clutch goals for their country in high-stakes games.
Who won Copa America 2024 Golden Boot for top goal scorer?
Lautaro Martinez of Argentina won the Copa America 2024 Golden Boot, coming out on top in what was a fiercely contested race to lead the scoring chart with five goals.
While Martinez was the front-runner to scoop the award, Julian Alvarez, Luis Diaz and Jhon Cordoba were all still in contention heading into Sunday's grand finale between Argentina and Colombia.
How is Copa America 2024 Golden Boot decided?
The player who tops the charts with the most number of goals at Copa America 2024 will win the coveted Golden Boot.
In an ideal scenario, all the players who scored the most goals in a tournament should be recognised for their achievement, as has been the case with some of the past Copa America editions.
However, this isn't an ideal world, and in fact the first tie-breaker goes to whoever chalked up the most assists alongside their own individual strikes.
If the players still can't be separated, and more than one of them has the same amount of assists as well, then it will go down to whoever played the fewest amounts of minutes and as a result, has the best goals per minute record.
Golden Boot Copa America 2024 final rankings
Below is the final list of top scorers at Copa America 2024.
| Rank | Player | Country | Goals (PKs) |
Assists | Matches | Mins |
| 1 | Lautaro Martinez | Argentina | 5 (0) | 0 | 6 | 220 |
| 2 | Salomon Rondon | Venezuela | 3 (1) | 1 | 4 | 337 |
| 3 | Daniel Munoz | Colombia | 2 (0) | 1 | 5 | 388 |
| = | Jhon Cordoba | Colombia | 2 (0) | 1 | 6 | 418 |
| = | Maxi Araujo | Uruguay | 2 (0) | 1 | 6 | 448 |
| = | Rodrigo Betancur | Uruguay | 2 (0) | 0 | 5 | 167 |
| = | Folarin Balogun | USA | 2 (0) | 0 | 3 | 179 |
| = | Vinicius Jr | Brazil | 2 (0) | 0 | 3 | 252 |
| = | Eduard Bello | Venezuela | 2 (0) | 0 | 4 | 290 |
| = | Jose Fajardo | Panama | 2 (0) | 0 | 4 | 298 |
| = | Julian Alvarez | Argentina | 2 (0) | 0 | 5 | 349 |
| = | Jeferson Lerma | Colombia | 2 (0) | 0 | 5 | 426 |
| = | Jonathan David | Canada | 2 (0) | 0 | 6 | 446 |
| = | Jeferson Lerma | Uruguay | 2 (0) | 0 | 6 | 476 |
| = | Luis Diaz | Colombia | 2 (0) | 0 | 6 | 512 |
Previous Copa America Golden Boot winners
The Copa America tournament has seen some incredible talent grace it since its establishment in 1916. Here is a list of Copa America Golden Boot winners through the years.
| Year | Golden Boot Winner | Goals Scored |
| 1916 | Isabelino Gradin (URU) | 3 |
| 1917 | Angel Romano (URU) | 4 |
| 1919 | Arthur Friedenreich (BRA), Neco (BRA) | 4 |
| 1920 | Jose Perez (URU), Angel Romano (URU) | 3 |
| 1921 | Julio Libonatti (ARG) | 3 |
| 1922 | Julio Francia (ARG) | 3 |
| 1923 | Vicente Aguirre (ARG), Pedro Petrone (URU) | 3 |
| 1924 | Pedro Petrone (URU) | 4 |
| 1925 | Manuel Seoane (ARG) | 6 |
| 1926 | David Arellano (CHI) | 7 |
| 1927 | Alfredo Carricaberry (ARG), Segundo Luna (ARG), Roberto Figueroa (URU), Pedro Petrone (URU), Hector Scarone (URU) | 3 |
| 1929 | Aurelio Gonzalez (PAR) | 5 |
| 1935 | Herminio Masantonio (ARG) | 4 |
| 1937 | Raul Toro Julio (CHI) | 7 |
| 1939 | Teodoro Fernandez (PER) | 7 |
| 1941 | Juan Marvezzi (ARG) | 5 |
| 1942 | Herminio Masantonio (ARG), Jose Manuel Moreno (ARG) | 7 |
| 1945 | Norberto Mendez (ARG), Heleno de Freitas (BRA) | 6 |
| 1946 | Jose Maria Medina (URU) | 7 |
| 1947 | Nicolas Falero (URU) | 8 |
| 1949 | Jair (BRA) | 9 |
| 1953 | Francisco Molina (CHI) | 7 |
| 1955 | Rodolfo Micheli (ARG) | 8 |
| 1956 | Enrique Hormazábal (CHI) | 4 |
| 1957 | Humberto Maschio (ARG), Javier Ambrois (URU) | 9 |
| 1959 | Pele (BRA) | 8 |
| 1959 | Jose Sanfilippo (ARG) | 6 |
| 1963 | Carlos Alberto Raffo (COL) | 6 |
| 1967 | Luis Artime (ARG) | 5 |
| 1975 | Leopoldo Luque (ARG), Ernesto Diaz (COL) | 4 |
| 1979 | Jorge Peredo (CHI), Eugenio Morel (PAR) | 4 |
| 1983 | Jorge Burruchaga (ARG), Roberto Dinamite (BRA), Carlos Aguilera (URU) | 3 |
| 1987 | Arnoldo Iguaran (ECU) | 4 |
| 1989 | Bebeto (BRA) | 6 |
| 1991 | Gabriel Batistuta (ARG) | 6 |
| 1993 | Jose Luis Dolgetta (COL) | 4 |
| 1995 | Gabriel Batistuta (ARG), Luis Garcia (MEX) | 4 |
| 1997 | Luis Hernandez (MEX) | 6 |
| 1999 | Rivaldo (BRA), Ronaldo (BRA) | 5 |
| 2001 | Víctor Aristizábal (COL) | 6 |
| 2004 | Adriano (BRA) | 7 |
| 2007 | Robinho (BRA) | 6 |
| 2011 | Paolo Guerrero (PAR) | 5 |
| 2015 | Eduardo Vargas (CHI), Paolo Guerrero (PAR) | 4 |
| 2016 | Eduardo Vargas (CHI) | 6 |
| 2019 | Everton (BRA), Paolo Guerrero (PAR) | 3 |
| 2021 | Lionel Messi (ARG) | 4 |
| 2024 | Lautaro Martinez (ARG) | 5 |