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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Team awards

Individual awards[1]

Team records

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

Individual records

See also

References

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