The 1979 edition of the Copa América association football tournament was played between 18 July and 12 December. It was not held in a particular country, all matches were played on a home and away basis. Defending champions Peru were given a bye into the semi-finals.
Squads
Group stage The teams were drawn into three groups, consisting of three teams each. Each team played twice (home and away) against the other teams in their group, with two points for a win, one point for a draw, nil points for a loss. The winner of each group advanced to the semi-finals.
Peru qualified automatically as holders for the semifinal.
Group A Team 4211102+85 421152+35 4022112−112
Group B
Team 421175+25 420247−34 411276+13
Group C Team 422063+36 41215504 410347−32
Knockout stage
Semi-finals
Chile won 3–1 on points.
Paraguay won 3–1 on points.
Finals
As the teams were tied 2–2 on points, a play-off on a neutral ground was required to determine the winner.
The play-off match finished tied after extra time expired, meaning the teams finished 3–3 on points. Paraguay won on aggregate 3–1.
Goalscorers With four goals, Jorge Peredo and Eugenio Morel are the top scorer in the tournament. In total, 63 goals were scored by 41 different players, with none of them credited as own goal.
4 goals Jorge Peredo Eugenio Morel
3 goals
Sócrates Carlos Caszely Carlos Rivas Romerito
2 goals
Daniel Passarella Carlos Aragonés Jesús Reynaldo Tita Zico Milcíades Morel Hugo Talavera Waldemar Victorino
1 goal
Hugo Coscia Roberto Osvaldo Díaz Jorge Gáspari Carlos Angel López Diego Maradona Paulo Roberto Falcão Palhinha Roberto Dinamite Mario Soto Leonardo Véliz Patricio Yáñez José Chaparro Ernesto Díaz Arnoldo Iguarán Jaime Morón César Valverde Jorge Luis Alarcón Fausto Klinger Mario Tenorio Carlos Torres Garcés Juvencio Osorio Alicio Solalinde Roberto Mosquera Alberto Bica Denis Milar Rubén Paz Rodolfo Carbajal
References
External links Copa América 1979 at RSSSF Attendance information