| First international football match in South America | |
| Event: | Friendly |
| Team1score: | 0 |
| Team2: | Argentina |
| Team2association: |  |
| Team2score: | 6 |
| Date: | 20 July 1902 |
| Stadium: | Albion F.C. Stadium |
| City: | Paso del Molino, Uruguay |
| Referee: | Roberto W. Ruud (Argentina) |
| Attendance: | 8,000 |
The 1902 association football match between Uruguay and Argentina was not only the first international match for both sides,[1] [2] but the first international held in South America.[3] [4] [5] initiating a longtime rivalry between both teams, that have met more than 190 times since that first encounter, becoming the international derby with the most matches played worldwide, surpassing even the England–Scotland rivalry,[6] which, first held in 1872, is the oldest fixture in the world.[7]
One year before, There had been a precedent when representatives from both sides met in a match also in Montevideo, although it was not organised by any association and therefore is not considered official. Moreover, the match was organised by local club Albion in its home field located in Paso del Molino, Montevideo. The Uruguayan side had nine players from that club and the remainder from Nacional.[8] Argentina won the match by 3–2.[9]
In 1902, both associations, AUF and AFA, agreed to play a match in the same venue. President of AFA, Francis Hepburn Chevallier-Boutell and Lomas A.C. player Juan O. Anderson selected the players for the match.[10] 8,000 spectators attended the match.[4] Both sides played thirteen consecutive times between 1902 and 1909,[1] giving birth to a strong rivalry that remained through the years. Some competitions contested by Argentina and Uruguay were soon created, such as Copa Lipton (first held in 1905),[11]
| GK | Enrique Sardeson | ||
| DF | Carlos Carve Urioste | ||
| DF | Germán Arímalo | ||
| MF | Miguel Nebel (c) | ||
| MF | Alberto Peixoto | ||
| MF | Luis Carbone | ||
| FW | Bolívar Céspedes | ||
| FW | Gonzalo Rincón | ||
| FW | Juan Sardeson | ||
| FW | Ernesto Boutón Reyes | ||
| FW | Carlos Céspedes |
| GK | José Buruca Laforia | ||
| DF | William Leslie | ||
| DF | Walter Buchanan | ||
| MF | Eduardo Patricio Duggan | ||
| MF | Carlos J. Buchanan | ||
| MF | |||
| FW | Edward O. Morgan | ||
| FW | Juan José Moore (c) | ||
| FW | |||
| FW | Carlos Edgar Dickinson | ||
| FW | Jorge Brown |