The Copa América is South America's major tournament in senior men's football and determines the continental champion. Until 1967, the tournament was known as South American Championship. It is the oldest continental championship in the world with its first edition held in 1916.
Uruguay won the inaugural tournament in Argentina, making them the first nation to hold an international football title worldwide. They are the second-most successful team in tournament history with fifteen titles, behind rivals Argentina by one.
Until 1927, the South American Championship was held annually, and Uruguay were the dominating team during this early era, winning six out of eleven tournaments. Part of all six victorious squads was inside-forward Ángel Romano, who holds the record for most titles and for most tournament participations (9).
South American Championship / Copa América record | |||||||||||||||||||
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width=100 | Year | width=95 | Round | width=60 | Position | width=20 | width=20 | width=20 | width=20 | width=20 | width=20 | width=60 | Squad | ||||||
1916 | Champions | 1st | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | Squad | ||||||||||
1917 | Champions | 1st | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | Squad | ||||||||||
1919 | Runners-up | 2nd | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 5 | Squad | ||||||||||
1920 | Champions | 1st | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 | Squad | ||||||||||
1921 | Third place | 3rd | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Squad | ||||||||||
1922 | Third place | 3rd | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | Squad | ||||||||||
1923 | Champions | 1st | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | Squad | ||||||||||
1924 | Champions | 1st | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | Squad | ||||||||||
1925 | Withdrew | ||||||||||||||||||
1926 | Champions | 1st | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 | Squad | ||||||||||
1927 | Runners-up | 2nd | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 3 | Squad | ||||||||||
1929 | Third place | 3rd | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | Squad | ||||||||||
1935 | Champions | 1st | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | Squad | ||||||||||
1937 | Third place | 3rd | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 14 | Squad | ||||||||||
1939 | Runners-up | 2nd | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 5 | Squad | ||||||||||
1941 | Runners-up | 2nd | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1 | Squad | ||||||||||
1942 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 2 | Squad | ||||||||||
1945 | Fourth place | 4th | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 6 | Squad | ||||||||||
1946 | Fourth place | 4th | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 9 | Squad | ||||||||||
1947 | Third place | 3rd | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 8 | Squad | ||||||||||
1949 | Sixth place | 6th | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 20 | Squad | ||||||||||
1953 | Third place | 3rd | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 6 | Squad | ||||||||||
1955 | Fourth place | 4th | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 12 | Squad | ||||||||||
1956 | Champions | 1st | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | Squad | ||||||||||
1957 | Third place | 3rd | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 12 | Squad | ||||||||||
1959 | Sixth place | 6th | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 14 | Squad | ||||||||||
1959 | Champions | 1st | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 1 | Squad | ||||||||||
1963 | Withdrew | ||||||||||||||||||
1967 | Champions | 1st | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 2 | Squad | ||||||||||
1975 | Semifinals | 3rd | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | Squad | ||||||||||
1979 | Group stage | 6th | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | Squad | ||||||||||
1983 | Champions | 1st | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 6 | Squad | ||||||||||
1987 | Champions | 1st | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | Squad | ||||||||||
1989 | Runners-up | 2nd | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 3 | Squad | ||||||||||
1991 | Group stage | 5th | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 3 | Squad | ||||||||||
1993 | Quarter-finals | 6th | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | Squad | ||||||||||
1995 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 4 | Squad | ||||||||||
1997 | Group stage | 9th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Squad | ||||||||||
1999 | Runners-up | 2nd | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 9 | Squad | ||||||||||
2001 | Fourth place | 4th | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 7 | Squad | ||||||||||
2004 | Third place | 3rd | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 10 | Squad | ||||||||||
2007 | Fourth place | 4th | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 9 | Squad | ||||||||||
2011 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 3 | Squad | ||||||||||
2015 | Quarter-finals | 7th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | Squad | ||||||||||
2016 | Group stage | 11th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | Squad | ||||||||||
2019 | Quarter-finals | 6th | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 2 | Squad | ||||||||||
2021 | Quarter-finals | 5th | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | Squad | ||||||||||
2024 | Third place | 3rd | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 4 | Squad | ||||||||||
Total | 15 Titles | 46/48 | 212 | 115 | 40 | 57 | 421 | 226 | — |
In the era of the South American Championship, Round Robins were more commonly played than knock-out tournaments. Listed are the decisive matches which secured Uruguay the respective titles.
Year | Match type | Opponent | Result | Manager | Uruguay scorers | Final location | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1916 | Round Robin | 0–0 | Alfredo Foglino | Avellaneda | |||
1917 | Round Robin | 1–0 | Ramón Platero | H. Scarone | Montevideo | ||
1920 | Round Robin | 2–1 | Ernesto Fígoli | Á. Romano, J. Pérez | Vina del Mar | ||
1923 | Round Robin | 2–0 | Leonardo De Lucca | P. Petrone, P. Somma | Montevideo | ||
1924 | Round Robin | 0–0 | Ernesto Meliante | Montevideo | |||
1926 | Round Robin | 6–1 | Ernesto Fígoli | H. Castro (4), Z. Saldombide (2) | Santiago | ||
1935 | Round Robin | 3–0 | Raúl Blanco | H. Castro, J. Taboada, A. Ciocca | Lima | ||
1942 | Round Robin | 1–0 | Pedro Cea | B. Zapirain | Montevideo | ||
1956 | Round Robin | 1–0 | Hugo Magnulo | J. Ambrois | Montevideo | ||
1959 | Round Robin | – | 4–1 | Juan Carlos Corazzo | Guayaquil | ||
1967 | Round Robin | 1–0 | Juan Carlos Corazzo | P. Rocha | Montevideo | ||
1983 | Final, Second Leg | 1–1 | Omar Borrás | C. Aguilera | Salvador da Bahia | ||
1987 | Final | 1–0 | Roberto Fleitas | P. Bengoechea | Buenos Aires | ||
1995 | Final | 1–1 | Héctor Núñez | P. Bengoechea | Montevideo | ||
2011 | Final | 3–0 | Óscar Tabárez | L. Suárez, D. Forlán (2) | Buenos Aires |
Copa América matches (by team) | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Opponent | |||||||
13 | 4 | 15 | 32 | 36 | 43 | ||
14 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 55 | 6 | ||
9 | 9 | 9 | 27 | 40 | 37 | ||
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
19 | 5 | 7 | 31 | 63 | 29 | ||
6 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 18 | 10 | ||
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
14 | 1 | 3 | 18 | 66 | 11 | ||
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ||
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | ||
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 11 | ||
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | ||
15 | 6 | 6 | 27 | 55 | 33 | ||
12 | 3 | 6 | 21 | 42 | 25 | ||
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
6 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 21 | 6 | ||
Total | 115 | 40 | 57 | 212 | 421 | 226 |
Rank | Player | Matches | Tournaments |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Fernando Muslera | 22 | 2011, 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2021 |
2 | Ángel Romano | 21 | 1916, 1917, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1924 and 1926 |
Schubert Gambetta | 21 | 1941, 1942, 1945 and 1947 | |
José Giménez | 21 | 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2024 | |
5 | Roberto Porta | 20 | 1939, 1941, 1942 and 1945 |
Obdulio Varela | 20 | 1939, 1941, 1942, 1945 and 1946 | |
Diego Pérez | 20 | 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2011 | |
8 | Pascual Somma | 19 | 1916, 1917, 1920, 1921, 1922 and 1923 |
William Martínez | 19 | 1953, 1955, 1956 and 1959 (ARG) | |
Diego Godín | 19 | 2007, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2021 | |
Edinson Cavani | 19 | 2011, 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2021 | |
Luis Suárez | 19 | 2011, 2019, 2021 and 2024 |
Rank | Player | Goals | Tournaments (goals) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Severino Varela | 15 | 1937 (5), 1939 (5) and 1942 (5) |
2 | Héctor Scarone | 13 | 1917 (2), 1919 (1), 1923 (1), 1926 (6) and 1927 (3) |
3 | Ángel Romano | 12 | 1917 (4), 1920 (3), 1921 (2), 1924 (2) and 1926 (1) |
Roberto Porta | 12 | 1939 (3), 1941 (1), 1942 (5) and 1945 (3) | |
5 | Pedro Petrone | 10 | 1923 (3), 1924 (4) and 1927 (3) |
Héctor Castro | 10 | 1926 (6), 1927 (2) and 1935 (2) | |
Javier Ambrois | 10 | 1956 (1) and 1957 (9) | |
8 | Nicolás Falero | 9 | 1945 (1) and 1947 (8) |
9 | Luis Suárez | 8 | 2011 (4), 2019 (2), 2021 (1) and 2024 (1) |
10 | José María Medina | 7 | 1946 |
Guillermo Escalada | 7 | 1956 (3), 1959 [ARG] (2) and 1959 [ECU] (2) | |
José Sasia | 7 | 1957 (1), 1959 [ARG] (3) and 1959 [ECU] (3) |
Rank | Player | Championships |
---|---|---|
1 | Ángel Romano | 6 (1916, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1926) |
2 | Pascual Somma | 4 (1916, 1917, 1920, 1923) |
Héctor Scarone | 4 (1917, 1923, 1924, 1926) | |
José Nasazzi | 4* (1923, 1924, 1926, 1935) | |
5 | Alfredo Foglino | 3 (1916, 1917, 1920) |
José Pérez | 3 (1916, 1917, 1920) | |
Antonio Urdinarán | 3 (1916, 1917, 1920) | |
José Piendibene | 3 (1916, 1917, 1920) | |
Alfredo Zibechi | 3 (1916, 1920, 1924) | |
José Vanzzino | 3 (1916, 1917, 1926) | |
José Leandro Andrade | 3 (1923, 1924, 1926) | |
Alfredo Ghierra | 3 (1923, 1924, 1926) | |
Andrés Mazali | 3 (1923, 1924, 1926) | |
Santos Urdinarán | 3 (1923, 1924, 1926) | |
Enzo Francéscoli | 3 (1983, 1987, 1995) | |
16 | 28 players | 2 |
Team awards
Individual awards[1]
Team records
Individual records