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.

Paraguay can historically be considered South America's 'Best of the Rest' as they are ranked fourth in the Copa Américas All-Time table behind CONMEBOL's big three: Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.

However, Paraguay's most successful era continentally was in the late 1940s culminating in their first tournament victory in 1953 while in recent decades Paraguay produced mediocre results. Even the 'Golden Generation', which continually qualified and produced good results at the FIFA World Cups from 1998–2010, never advanced beyond the quarter-finals at a Copa América until reaching the final once in 2011.

Overall record

South American Championship / Copa América recordYearRoundPosition*Squad 1916Not a CONMEBOL member 1917 1919 1920 1921Fourth place4th310227 Squad 1922Runners-up2nd421153 Squad 1923Third place3rd310246 Squad 1924Third place3rd311144 Squad 1925Third place3rd4004413 Squad 1926Fourth place4th4103820 Squad 1927Did not enter 1929Runners-up2nd320194 Squad 1935Did not enter 1937Fourth place4th5203816 Squad 1939Third place3rd420298 Squad 1941Did not enter 1942Fourth place4th62221110 Squad 1945Did not enter 1946Third place3rd521288 Squad 1947Runners-up2nd75111611 Squad 1949Runners-up2nd86022113 Squad 1953Champions1st7421148 Squad 1955Fifth place5th5113714 Squad 1956Fifth place5th502338 Squad 1957Did not enter 1959Third place3rd63031212 Squad 1959Fifth place5th4013611 Squad 1963Runners-up2nd6411137 Squad 1967Fourth place4th5203913 Squad 1975Group stage7th411255 Squad 1979Champions1st633093 Squad 1983Third place3rd202011 Squad 1987Group stage9th201103 Squad 1989Fourth place4th7313910 Squad 1991Group stage6th420278 Squad 1993Quarter-finals8th411227 Squad 1995Quarter-finals6th421165 Squad 1997Quarter-finals7th411225 Squad 1999Quarter-finals6th422061Squad 2001Group stage10th302146 Squad 2004Quarter-finals5th421155 Squad 2007Quarter-finals5th420288 Squad 2011Runners-up2nd605158 Squad 2015Fourth place4th6132612 Squad 2016Group stage12th301213 Squad 2019Quarter-finals8th403134 Squad 2021Quarter-finals6th521286 Squad 2024Group stage14th300338 SquadTotal2 Titles39/48180644373267311— * Includes a 2–2 draw awarded to Peru.

Winning tournaments 1953 South American Championship

After coach Manuel Fleitas Solich took charge of the Paraguay national team in 1947, he developed an already skillful team into title contestants. In 1947 and 1949, Los Guaraníes were consecutive vice-champions.

In 1949 and 1953 Paraguay was in the same situation before their last match of the group phase: Anything less than a win against Brazil would mean tournament victory for the opponent, while a win would force both teams into a play-off. Both times Paraguay won 2–1.

In the 1949 play-off, Brazil thrashed Paraguay 7–0 on home soil, taking revenge for the group match defeat along with tournament victory. In 1953 however, the Paraguayan's scored two early goals in the play-off, and led 3–0 by half-time, winning the match 3–2.

1979 Copa América

1979 was the second edition of a revised Copa América which was not held as a local tournament, but spread over several months in a number of home-and-away-matches. In the group phase, opponent Uruguay slipped up in their first match against Ecuador, losing 1–2, and were held at bay by Paraguay with two draws. A closely contested semi-final saw Paraguay win 4–3 on aggregate over Brazil.

The rules for the final against Chile were that a play-off on neutral ground was to be played if the teams were equal on points after two legs. Goal difference would only come into play if the play-off also ended in a draw. After a 3–0 home win, but a 1–0 away defeat, the play-off was scheduled in Buenos Aires six days later. Drawing 0–0, Paraguay won on aggregate goals after that play-off. In total, Paraguay had to play nine matches to be crowned champions, a tournament record tied with Peru, who went through a similar ordeal four years earlier.

Record by opponent Paraguay's highest victory at a Copa América was a 7–0 win against Bolivia in 1949. Their highest defeat was a 0–8 loss against Argentina in 1926.

Copa América matches (by team)Opponent06202623788211131871114323165132722383151612171311132293315261510011010014011132777418352501012210123266152733554206168Total644373180267311

Record players

RankPlayerMatchesTournaments1Manuel Gavilán201947, 1949 and 1953Salvador Villalba201955, 1956, 1959 (ARG) and 1959 (ECU)3Sinforiano García191946, 1947 and 1949Juan Torales191979, 1983, 1987 and 1989Carlos Gamarra191993, 1995, 1997, 1999 and 20046Gerardo Rivas181921, 1922, 1923, 1924 and 1925Manuel Fleitas Solich181921, 1922, 1924, 1925 and 1926Roberto Fernández181979, 1983, 1987 and 1989Roque Santa Cruz181999, 2007, 2011 and 2015Paulo da Silva182007, 2011, 2015 and 2016

Top goalscorers

RankPlayerGoalsTournaments (goals)1Juan Bautista Villalba91946 (4) and 1947 (5)2Marcial Barrios81939 (3), 1942 (3) and 1949 (2)3Gerardo Rivas71921 (1), 1922 (2), 1923 (1), 1924 (1) and 1925 (2)Aurelio González71929 (5) and 1937 (2)Dionisio Arce71949Jorge Duílio Benítez71949Maximo Rolón71955 (5) and 1956 (2)Roque Santa Cruz71999 (3), 2007 (3) and 2011 (1)9Ildefonso López61921 (1), 1922 (1), 1923 (1), 1924 (2) and 1926 (1)Leocadio Marín61947José Aveiro61959 (ARG)

Awards and records

Team Awards Champions 2x (1953, 1979) Second Place 6x (1922, 1929, 1947, 1949, 1963, 2011) Third Place 7x (1923, 1924, 1925, 1939, 1959 (ARG), 1983)

Individual Awards Most Valuable Player 1953: Heriberto Herrera Top Scorer 1929: Aurelio González (5 goals) Top Scorer 1979: Eugenio Morel (4 goals) (shared) Best Goalkeeper 2011: Justo Villar

See also

Paraguay at the FIFA World Cup

References

External links RSSSF archives and results Soccerway database