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 recordYearRoundPosition*Squad 1916 Champions 1st 3 2 1 0 6 1Squad 1917 Champions 1st 3 3 0 0 9 0Squad 1919 Runners-up 2nd 4 2 1 1 7 5Squad 1920 Champions 1st 3 2 1 0 9 2Squad 1921 Third place 3rd 3 1 0 2 3 4Squad 1922 Third place 3rd 4 2 1 1 3 1Squad 1923 Champions 1st 3 3 0 0 6 1Squad 1924 Champions 1st 3 2 1 0 8 1Squad 1925Withdrew 1926 Champions 1st 4 4 0 0 17 2Squad 1927 Runners-up 2nd 3 2 0 1 15 3Squad 1929 Third place 3rd 3 1 0 2 4 6Squad 1935 Champions 1st 3 3 0 0 6 1Squad 1937 Third place 3rd 5 2 0 3 11 14Squad 1939 Runners-up 2nd 4 3 0 1 13 5Squad 1941 Runners-up 2nd 4 3 0 1 10 1Squad 1942 Champions 1st 6 6 0 0 21 2Squad 1945 Fourth place 4th 6 3 0 3 14 6Squad 1946 Fourth place 4th 5 2 0 3 11 9Squad 1947 Third place 3rd 7 5 0 2 21 8Squad 1949 Sixth place 6th 7 2 1 4 14 20Squad 1953 Third place 3rd 6 3 1 2 15 6Squad 1955 Fourth place 4th 5 2 1 2 12 12Squad 1956 Champions 1st 5 4 1 0 9 3Squad 1957 Third place 3rd 6 4 0 2 15 12Squad 1959 Sixth place 6th 6 2 0 4 15 14Squad 1959 Champions 1st 4 3 1 0 13 1Squad 1963Withdrew 1967 Champions 1st 5 4 1 0 13 2Squad 1975 Semifinals 3rd 2 1 0 1 1 3Squad 1979 Group stage 6th 4 1 2 1 5 5Squad 1983 Champions 1st 8 5 2 1 12 6Squad 1987 Champions 1st 2 2 0 0 2 0Squad 1989 Runners-up 2nd 7 4 0 3 11 3Squad 1991 Group stage 5th 4 1 3 0 4 3Squad 1993 Quarter-finals 6th 4 1 2 1 5 5Squad 1995 Champions 1st 6 4 2 0 11 4Squad 1997 Group stage 9th 3 1 0 2 2 2Squad 1999 Runners-up 2nd 6 1 2 3 4 9Squad 2001 Fourth place 4th 6 2 2 2 7 7Squad 2004 Third place 3rd 6 3 2 1 12 10Squad 2007 Fourth place 4th 6 2 2 2 8 9Squad 2011 Champions 1st 6 3 3 0 9 3Squad 2015 Quarter-finals 7th 4 1 1 2 2 3Squad 2016 Group stage 11th 3 1 0 2 4 4Squad 2019 Quarter-finals 6th 4 2 2 0 7 2Squad 2021 Quarter-finals 5th 5 2 2 1 4 2Squad 2024 Third place 3rd 6 3 2 1 11 4Squad 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.
YearMatch typeOpponentResultManagerUruguay scorersFinal location 1916Round Robin0–0 Alfredo FoglinoAvellaneda 1917Round Robin1–0 Ramón PlateroH. ScaroneMontevideo 1920Round Robin2–1 Ernesto FígoliÁ. Romano, J. PérezVina del Mar 1923Round Robin2–0 Leonardo De LuccaP. Petrone, P. SommaMontevideo 1924Round Robin0–0 Ernesto MelianteMontevideo 1926Round Robin6–1 Ernesto FígoliH. Castro (4), Z. Saldombide (2)Santiago 1935Round Robin3–0 Raúl BlancoH. Castro, J. Taboada, A. CioccaLima 1942Round Robin1–0 Pedro CeaB. ZapirainMontevideo 1956Round Robin1–0 Hugo MagnuloJ. AmbroisMontevideo 1959Round Robin–4–1 Juan Carlos CorazzoGuayaquil 1967Round Robin1–0 Juan Carlos CorazzoP. RochaMontevideo1983Final, Second Leg1–1 Omar BorrásC. AguileraSalvador da Bahia 1987Final1–0 Roberto FleitasP. BengoecheaBuenos Aires 1995Final1–1 Héctor NúñezP. BengoecheaMontevideo 2011Final3–0 Óscar TabárezL. Suárez, D. Forlán (2)Buenos Aires
Record by opponent Copa América matches (by team)Opponent13415323643141217556999274037010122195731632963413181011023214131866110112232002400101221236711100131156627553312362142252002206219216Total1154057212421226
Record players
RankPlayerMatchesTournaments1Fernando Muslera222011, 2015, 2016, 2019 and 20212Ángel Romano211916, 1917, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1924 and 1926Schubert Gambetta211941, 1942, 1945 and 1947José Giménez212015, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 20245Roberto Porta201939, 1941, 1942 and 1945Obdulio Varela201939, 1941, 1942, 1945 and 1946Diego Pérez202001, 2004, 2007 and 20118Pascual Somma191916, 1917, 1920, 1921, 1922 and 1923William Martínez191953, 1955, 1956 and 1959 (ARG)Diego Godín192007, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2021Edinson Cavani192011, 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2021Luis Suárez192011, 2019, 2021 and 2024
Top goalscorers
RankPlayerGoalsTournaments (goals)1Severino Varela151937 (5), 1939 (5) and 1942 (5)2Héctor Scarone131917 (2), 1919 (1), 1923 (1), 1926 (6) and 1927 (3)3Ángel Romano121917 (4), 1920 (3), 1921 (2), 1924 (2) and 1926 (1)Roberto Porta121939 (3), 1941 (1), 1942 (5) and 1945 (3)5Pedro Petrone101923 (3), 1924 (4) and 1927 (3)Héctor Castro101926 (6), 1927 (2) and 1935 (2)Javier Ambrois101956 (1) and 1957 (9)8Nicolás Falero91945 (1) and 1947 (8)9Luis Suárez82011 (4), 2019 (2), 2021 (1) and 2024 (1)10José María Medina71946Guillermo Escalada71956 (3), 1959 [ARG] (2) and 1959 [ECU] (2)José Sasia71957 (1), 1959 [ARG] (3) and 1959 [ECU] (3)
Players with multiple titles
RankPlayerChampionships1Ángel Romano6 (1916, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1926)2Pascual Somma4 (1916, 1917, 1920, 1923)Héctor Scarone4 (1917, 1923, 1924, 1926)José Nasazzi4* (1923, 1924, 1926, 1935)5Alfredo Foglino3 (1916, 1917, 1920)José Pérez3 (1916, 1917, 1920)Antonio Urdinarán3 (1916, 1917, 1920)José Piendibene3 (1916, 1917, 1920)Alfredo Zibechi3 (1916, 1920, 1924)José Vanzzino3 (1916, 1917, 1926)José Leandro Andrade3 (1923, 1924, 1926)Alfredo Ghierra3 (1923, 1924, 1926)Andrés Mazali3 (1923, 1924, 1926)Santos Urdinarán3 (1923, 1924, 1926)Enzo Francéscoli3 (1983, 1987, 1995)1628 players2 * Additionally, José Nasazzi won the title once as head coach of Uruguay in 1942.
Awards and records
Team awards Champions (15): 1916, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1935, 1942, 1956, 1959 (Ecuador), 1967, 1983, 1987, 1995, 2011 Runners-up (6): 1919, 1927, 1939, 1941, 1989, 1999 Third place (9): 1921, 1922, 1929, 1937, 1947, 1953, 1957, 2004, 2024 Fair Play Award: 2011
Individual awards MVP 1916: Isabelino Gradín MVP 1917: Héctor Scarone MVP 1920: José Piendibene MVP 1923 and 1935: José Nasazzi MVP 1924: Pedro Petrone MVP 1926: José Leandro Andrade MVP 1942: Obdulio Varela MVP 1956: Oscar Míguez MVP 1959 (Ecuador): Alcides Silveira MVP 1967: Pedro Rocha MVP 1983 and 1995: Enzo Francéscoli MVP 1989: Ruben Sosa MVP 2011: Luis Suárez Top scorer 1916: Isabelino Gradín (3 goals) Top scorer 1917: Ángel Romano (4 goals) Top scorer 1920: Ángel Romano and José Pérez (3 goals each) (shared) Top scorer 1923: Pedro Petrone (3 goals) (shared) Top scorer 1924: Pedro Petrone (4 goals) Top scorer 1927: Pedro Petrone, Héctor Scarone and Roberto Figueroa (3 goals each) (shared) Top scorer 1946: José María Medina (7 goals) Top scorer 1947: Nicolás Falero (8 goals) Top scorer 1957: Javier Ambrois (9 goals) (shared) Top scorer 1983: Carlos Aguilera (3 goals) (shared) Best young player 2011: Sebastián Coates
Team records Most titles: 15 (shared with Argentina) Most matches played: 212
Individual records Most goals in one tournament: Javier Ambrois (9 goals in 1957, shared with Jair in 1949 and Humberto Maschio in 1957) Most tournament participations: Ángel Romano (9, 1916–1926)
See also Uruguay at the FIFA World Cup
References
External links RSSSF archives and results Soccerway database