This is a record of Peru's results at the Copa América. Ever since their first Copa América, Peru has had good showings. It is often remembered by fans that Peru was the fourth team (after Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil) to win the South American cup. Even though in 1939 Peru played against only 5 of the South American nations (with no participation from Argentina or Brazil), in 1975 Peru won the cup once more (this time with all the CONMEBOL teams participating).

Recently, Peru has only been able to get only as far as the runners-up of the tournament which holds its own prestige as being the oldest tournament of international football; along with having Argentina and Brazil (the 2 teams usually considered among the top 5 in the football world), which have also recently been dominating the tournament.

Overall record

South American Championship / Copa América recordYearRoundPosition*Squad 1916Did not participate 1917 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 Third place 3rd 3 1 0 2 4 11Squad 1929 Fourth place 4th 3 0 0 3 1 12Squad 1935 Third place 3rd 3 1 0 2 2 5Squad 1937 Sixth place 6th 5 1 1 3 7 10Squad 1939 Champions 1st 4 4 0 0 13 4Squad 1941 Fourth place 4th 4 1 0 3 5 5Squad 1942 Fifth place 5th 6 1 2 3 5 10Squad 1945Withdrew 1946 1947 Fifth place 5th 7 2 2 3 12 9Squad 1949 Third place 3rd 7 5 0 2 20 13Squad 1953 Fifth place 5th 6 3 1 2 4 6Squad 1955 Third place 3rd 5 2 2 1 13 11Squad 1956 Sixth place 6th 5 0 1 4 6 11Squad 1957 Fourth place 4th 6 4 0 2 12 9Squad 1959 Fourth place 4th 6 1 3 2 10 11Squad 1959Withdrew 1963 Fifth place 5th 6 2 1 3 8 11Squad 1967Withdrew 1975 Champions 1st 9 6 1 2 14 7Squad 1979 Semi-finals 3rd 2 0 1 1 1 2Squad1983 Semi-finals 3rd 6 2 3 1 7 6Squad 1987 Group stage 6th 2 0 2 0 2 2Squad 1989 Group stage 8th 4 0 3 1 4 7Squad 1991 Group stage 8th 4 1 0 3 9 9Squad 1993 Quarter-finals 7th 4 1 2 1 4 5Squad 1995 Group stage 10th 3 0 1 2 2 5Squad 1997 Fourth place 4th 6 3 0 3 5 11Squad 1999 Quarter-finals 7th 4 2 1 1 7 6Squad 2001 Quarter-finals 8th 4 1 1 2 4 8Squad 2004 Quarter-finals 7th 4 1 2 1 7 6Squad 2007 Quarter-finals 7th 4 1 1 2 5 8Squad 2011 Third place 3rd 6 3 1 2 8 5Squad 2015 Third place 3rd 6 3 1 2 8 5Squad 2016 Quarter-finals 5th 4 2 2 0 4 2Squad 2019 Runners-up 2nd 6 2 2 2 6 7Squad 2021 Fourth place 4th 7 2 2 3 10 14Squad 2024 Group stage 13th 3 0 1 2 0 3SquadTotal2 Titles34/48164584066229256—

Record by opponent Peru's highest margin of victory at a Copa América is four goals, which they have managed a number of times: They won 4–0 against Ecuador in 1941 and 1949, and against Colombia in 1949, and won 5–1 against Colombia in 1947, and against Venezuela in 1991. Peru's biggest defeat was a 0–7 loss against Brazil in the 1997 semi-finals.

Copa América matches (by team)Opponent3213181942943162817331521144700110177822312787318301784113301410011010013221257847718253563122125426219176Total584066164230258

Peru 1927

At this point Peru is the 7th nation to join the competition, and in 1927 the games are decided to be played there. Although only 3 teams came to the tournament, Argentina, Uruguay, and Bolivia; the participating federations decided that the 1st and 2nd places of the competition would represent South America for the Olympic Games to be played at Amsterdam in 1928. The other federations (Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay) did not participate because of economic and sport problems. Peru gained third place after only beating Bolivia.

Single phase Team3300154 +1163201153 +1243102411−723003319−160

Goalscorers +RankPlayerGoals1Neyra1Sarmiento1Montellanos1Villanueva1

Argentina 1929 Final round Team 330091+86 320194+54 310246−22 3003112−110

Peru 1935

This tournament is characterized by the Argentine and Uruguayan conflict that rooted from the 1930 World Cup. The winners here were going to once more represent South America for the Olympic Games, this time to be played at Berlin. Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay had withdrawn from the tournament. Peru's first game resulted at a 1–0 loss, with a goal scored by a Uruguayan player at the 80th minute. The second one was not much better, and Peru lost 4–1 against Argentina. The last game was won by Peru 1–0 against Chile. The tournament gave Peru the third spot, and helped it train and improve for the 1936 Summer Olympics.

Single phase Team330061 +56320185 +34310225−32300327−50

Goalscorers +RankPlayerGoals1T. Fernández1Montellanos1

Argentina 1937 Final round Team 5401125+78 5401179+88 52031114−34 5203816−84 51131213−13 5113710−33

Peru 1939

This was the first international title the team won. During this time, the team had greatly improved since the World Cup and was re-assuring that dominance they had shown over Austria in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Peru won all 4 games which were against Ecuador (5–2), Chile (3–1), Paraguay (3–0), and Uruguay (2–1) in the final. It's worth the mention that in this tournament Argentina and Brazil did not participate, but that does not take down the merit of Peru's notable act. Peruvian Teodoro Fernández also was the top goal-scorer of the tournament. As an anecdote, Peru was the fourth South American team that raised the trophy (The first three being Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil).

Single phase Team4400134 +984301135 +86420298 +144103812−424004418−140

Goalscorers RankPlayerGoals1T. Fernández72J. Alcalde53Bielich1

Chile 1941 Final round Team 4400102+88 4301101+96 420263+34 41035502 4004121−200

Uruguay 1942 Final round Team 6600212+1912 6501216+1510 6312157+87 62221110+16 6123510−54 6114415−113 6006431−270

Brazil 1949

By this time, Peruvian football was recognized by good game and playful management of the ball. Several interesting players came to the national team, but the team faced several problems with the directors and the players themselves. Peru won all but two games. As such, the national team got third place. Paraguay and Brazil, the only ones who beat Peru, had to later play a last tie-breaker match. Squad Head Coach: Arturo Fernández

Single phase Team7601397 +32127601216 +151275022013 +71074031324−11872141014−4572141420−657106721−1427025423−192

Peru 1953

As much as Peru did, the team was not capable to achieve another Copa América title until later years. Yet, the games played in 1953 are memorable to Peruvian football history because it was the first time Peru was able to beat Brazil (A certain something not many have been able to achieve). The goal was scored by Navarrete. Final round Team 6402156+98 6321116+58 6312156+97 6312101007 631246−27 6114615−93 6024113−122

1975 Copa América

This tournament had no fixed venue. For the first phase, Peru was grouped with Chile and Bolivia. After winning both games, which were played both at home and away, Peru qualified for the semifinals along with Colombia, Brazil, and Uruguay (Which were the defending champions). Perhaps unlucky for Peru, they had to face Brazil for their semifinal. At the city of Belo Horizonte in Brazil, Peru beat the Verdeamarela by a margin of 3 to 1 with two goals from Enrique Cassareto and one by Teófilo Cubillas. The game played back home at Lima was won by Brazil 2–0. Due to the goal difference, the winner (Which turned out being Peru) was chosen by sorting.

The final match was played against Colombia, who had beaten Uruguay. The game played at Bogotá was won by the Colombians 1 to 0. The game played at Lima was won by the Peruvians 2 to 0. Even though this meant Peru should win by the goal difference, a last game was played at the city of Caracas. With a goal at the 25th minute of the game by Hugo Sotil, Peru obtained its second international title. Squad Head Coach: Marcos Calderón

Finals

First leg

GK Pedro ZapeRB Arturo SegoviaCB José ZárateCB Miguel A. EscobarLB Óscar BolañoRM Diego UmañaCM Oswaldo CaleroCM Eduardo RetatLM Carlos Rendón CF Hugo LónderoCF Ponciano CastroSubstitutions:FW José E. Díaz Manager: Efraín Sánchez

GK Ottorino SartorRB Eleazar SoriaCB Julio MeléndezCB Héctor ChumpitazLB Rubén DíazCM Alfredo QuesadaCM Santiago OjedaCM Percy RojasRW Gerónimo BarbadilloCF Oswaldo RamírezLW Juan Carlos OblitasSubstitutions:NoneManager: Marcos Calderón

Second leg

GK Ottorino SartorRB Eleazar SoriaCB Julio MeléndezCB Héctor ChumpitazLB Rubén Toribio DíazCM Alfredo QuesadaCM Santiago OjedaCM Percy RojasRW Gerónimo Barbadillo CF Oswaldo RamírezLW Juan Carlos OblitasSubstitutions:MF Pedro Ruiz Manager: Marcos Calderón

GK Pedro ZapeRB Arturo SegoviaCB José ZárateCB Miguel A. EscobarLB Óscar BolañoRM Diego UmañaCM Oswaldo CaleroCM Eduardo RetatLM Jairo ArboledaCF Hugo LónderoCF Ponciano CastroSubstitutions:NoneManager: Efraín Sánchez

Play-off

GK Ottorino SartorRB Eleazar SoriaCB Julio MeléndezCB Héctor ChumpitazLB Rubén Toribio DíazCM Alfredo QuesadaCM Santiago OjedaCM Percy Rojas RW Teófilo CubillasCF Hugo SotilLW Juan Carlos OblitasSubstitutions:FW Oswaldo Ramírez Manager: Marcos Calderón

GK Pedro ZapeRB Arturo SegoviaCB José ZárateCB Miguel A. EscobarLB Óscar BolañoRM Willington OrtizCM Diego Umaña CM Oswaldo CaleroLM Víctor CampazCF Jairo ArboledaCF José E. Díaz Substitutions:MF Eduardo Retat FW Ponciano Castro Manager: Efraín Sánchez

1979 Copa América Squad Coach: José Chiarella

Semi-finals

Ecuador 1993

Peru had an acceptable participacion in this Copa América when they passed as the leaders of their group with 4 points, 1 more point than Brazil. Paraguay and Chile also were part of this group. Peru tied with Brazil 0–0, tied with Paraguay 1–1 and beat Chile 1–0. The lead scorer for Peru in this competition was José del Solar with three goals. In quarterfinals Peru was eliminated by Mexico 4–2. Squad Head coach: Vladimir Popović

Group stage

Group B

Bolivia 1997

The team was able to reach the quarterfinals of this cup and eliminated Argentina (2:1) to advanced into the semifinals. In the semifinals, Peru faced Brazil, and lost by a margin of 7 to 0 (Peru's worst result to date). For the third place spot, Peru faced Mexico. The game was won by Mexico by a goal scored at the 82nd minute of the game. Squad Head coach: Freddy Ternero

Group stage

Group B

Peru vs Uruguay

Bolivia vs Peru

Peru vs Venezuela

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Third-place match

Peru 2004

The 2004 Copa América, which they hosted, saw the team lose in the quarter-finals against Argentina. This began a wave of criticism against Peru's then coach Paulo Autuori, who boycotted the media, and his squad.

Squad Head coach: Paulo Autuori

Group stage

Group A

Peru vs Bolivia

Peru vs Venezuela

Peru vs Colombia

Quarter-finals

Venezuela 2007

Peru's campaign in the 2007 Copa América saw another futile attempt of the Peruvian squad, eliminated again in the quarter-finals by Argentina; the blame for this was mainly given to the tactics and formations of the coach Julio César Uribe, who did not call the appropriate players to the national team. After this situation, Peru replaced Uribe for José del Solar. Squad Head coach: Julio César Uribe

Group stage

Group A

Uruguay vs Peru

GK1Fabián CariniRB14Carlos DiogoCB2Diego Lugano (c)CB3Diego GodínLB6Darío RodríguezDM5Pablo GarcíaRM15Diego PérezLM11Fabián EstoyanoffAM18Fabián CanobbioFW21Diego ForlánFW22Vicente SánchezSubstitutions:MF7Cristian RodríguezFW13Sebastián AbreuMF9Gonzalo VargasManager:Óscar TabárezGK1Leao ButrónRB22John GalliquioCB2Miguel VillaltaCB3Santiago AcasieteCB5Alberto RodríguezLB4Walter VílchezCM18Pedro GarcíaCM8Juan Carlos BazalarCAM17Jefferson FarfánFW9Paolo GuerreroFW14Claudio Pizarro (c)Substitutions:MF10Juan Carlos MariñoFW16Andrés MendozaDF13Paolo de la HazaManager:Julio César Uribe

Venezuela vs Peru