Wikipedia

Uruguay at the Copa América

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.

Uruguayan players celebrating the 3–0 victory against Paraguay in the 2011 Copa América final.
The Uruguayan squad that won the inaugural South American Championship 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).

Overall record

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South American Championship / Copa América record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA 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 —

Decisive matches and finals

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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   Argentina 0–0   Alfredo Foglino Avellaneda
  1917 Round Robin   Argentina 1–0   Ramón Platero H. Scarone Montevideo
  1920 Round Robin   Chile 2–1   Ernesto Fígoli Á. Romano, J. Pérez Vina del Mar
  1923 Round Robin   Argentina 2–0   Leonardo De Lucca P. Petrone, P. Somma Montevideo
  1924 Round Robin   Argentina 0–0   Ernesto Meliante Montevideo
  1926 Round Robin   Paraguay 6–1   Ernesto Fígoli H. Castro (4), Z. Saldombide (2) Santiago
  1935 Round Robin   Argentina 3–0   Raúl Blanco H. Castro, J. Taboada, A. Ciocca Lima
  1942 Round Robin   Argentina 1–0   Pedro Cea B. Zapirain Montevideo
  1956 Round Robin   Argentina 1–0   Hugo Magnulo J. Ambrois Montevideo
  1959 Round Robin   Argentina–  Brazil 4–1   Juan Carlos Corazzo Guayaquil
  1967 Round Robin   Argentina 1–0   Juan Carlos Corazzo P. Rocha Montevideo
1983 Final, Second Leg   Brazil 1–1   Omar Borrás C. Aguilera Salvador da Bahia
  1987 Final   Chile 1–0   Roberto Fleitas P. Bengoechea Buenos Aires
  1995 Final   Brazil 1–1
(5–3 p)		   Héctor Núñez P. Bengoechea Montevideo
  2011 Final   Paraguay 3–0   Óscar Tabárez L. Suárez, D. Forlán (2) Buenos Aires

Record by opponent

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Copa América matches (by team)
Opponent W D L Pld GF GA
  Argentina 13 4 15 32 36 43
  Bolivia 14 1 2 17 55 6
  Brazil 9 9 9 27 40 37
  Canada 0 1 0 1 2 2
  Chile 19 5 7 31 63 29
  Colombia 6 3 4 13 18 10
  Costa Rica 1 1 0 2 3 2
  Ecuador 14 1 3 18 66 11
  Honduras 0 1 1 2 2 3
  Jamaica 2 0 0 2 4 0
  Japan 0 1 0 1 2 2
  Mexico 1 2 3 6 7 11
  Panama 1 0 0 1 3 1
  Paraguay 15 6 6 27 55 33
  Peru 12 3 6 21 42 25
  United States 2 0 0 2 2 0
  Venezuela 6 2 1 9 21 6
Total 115 40 57 212 421 226

Record players

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Fernando Muslera is Uruguay's all-time record appearance holder at the Copa América.
 
Ángel Romano is a six-time South American champion and Uruguay's record participant in number of tournaments. In addition, he scored twelve goals during that time, ranking him third in Uruguay's top scorer list at continental championships.
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

Top goalscorers

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Severino Varela scored five goals each at three separate continental championships, making him Uruguay's top scorer at continental championships.
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)

Players with multiple titles

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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

* Additionally, José Nasazzi won the title once as head coach of Uruguay in 1942.

Awards and records

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Team awards

Individual awards[1]

Team records

  • Most titles: 15 (shared with Argentina)
  • Most matches played: 212

Individual records

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The Copa América Archive". July 19, 2007. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
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