Uruguay at the Copa América

The Copa América is South America's major tournament in senior men's soccer 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.

Uruguayan players celebrating the 3–0 victory against Paraguay in the 2011 Copa América Final.
The Uruguayan squad that won the inaugural South American Championship in 1916.

Uruguay won the inaugural tournament in Argentina, making them the first nation to hold an international football title worldwide. They are the joint-most successful team in tournament history with fifteen titles, tied with their rivals Argentina.

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
1916Champions1st321061 Squad
1917Champions1st330090 Squad
1919Runners-up2nd421175 Squad
1920Champions1st321092 Squad
1921Third place3rd310234 Squad
1922Third place3rd421131 Squad
1923Champions1st330061 Squad
1924Champions1st321081 Squad
1925Withdrew
1926Champions1st4400172 Squad
1927Runners-up2nd3201153 Squad
1929Third place3rd310246 Squad
1935Champions1st330061 Squad
1937Third place3rd52031114 Squad
1939Runners-up2nd4301135 Squad
1941Runners-up2nd4301101 Squad
1942Champions1st6600212 Squad
1945Fourth place4th6303146 Squad
1946Fourth place4th5203119 Squad
1947Third place3rd7502218 Squad
1949Sixth place6th72141420 Squad
1953Third place3rd6312156 Squad
1955Fourth place4th52121212 Squad
1956Champions1st541093 Squad
1957Third place3rd64021512 Squad
1959Sixth place6th62041514 Squad
1959Champions1st4310131 Squad
1963Withdrew
1967Champions1st5410132 Squad
1975Fourth place4th210113 Squad
1979Group stage6th412155 Squad
1983Champions1st8521126 Squad
1987Champions1st220020 Squad
1989Runners-up2nd7403113 Squad
1991Group stage5th413043 Squad
1993Quarter-finals6th412155 Squad
1995Champions1st6420114 Squad
1997Group stage9th310222 Squad
1999Runners-up2nd612349 Squad
2001Fourth place4th622277 Squad
2004Third place3rd63211210 Squad
2007Fourth place4th622289 Squad
2011Champions1st633093 Squad
2015Quarter-finals7th411223 Squad
2016Group stage11th310244 Squad
2019Quarter-finals6th422072 Squad
2021Quarter-finals5th522142 Squad
2024Qualified
Total15 Titles45/472061123856410222—

Winning 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 Goalscorer(s) Final location
1916Round Robin Argentina0–0 Alfredo FoglinoAvellaneda
1917Round Robin Argentina1–0 Ramón PlateroH. ScaroneMontevideo
1920Round Robin Chile2–1 Ernesto FígoliÁ. Romano, J. PérezVina del Mar
1923Round Robin Argentina2–0 Leonardo De LuccaP. Petrone, P. SommaMontevideo
1924Round Robin Argentina0–0 Ernesto MelianteMontevideo
1926Round Robin Paraguay6–1 Ernesto FígoliH. Castro (4), Z. Saldombide (2)Santiago
1935Round Robin Argentina3–0 Raúl BlancoH. Castro, J. Taboada, A. CioccaLima
1942Round Robin Argentina1–0 Pedro CeaB. ZapirainMontevideo
1956Round Robin Argentina1–0 Hugo MagnuloJ. AmbroisMontevideo
1959Round Robin Argentina -  Brazil4–1 Juan Carlos CorazzoGuayaquil
1967Round Robin Argentina1–0 Juan Carlos CorazzoP. RochaMontevideo
1983Final, Second Leg Brazil1–1 Omar BorrásC. AguileraSalvador da Bahia
1987Final Chile1–0 Roberto FleitasP. BengoecheaBuenos Aires
1995Final Brazil1–1
(5–3 p)		 Héctor NúñezP. BengoecheaMontevideo
2011Final Paraguay3–0 Óscar TabárezL. Suárez, D. Forlán (2)Buenos Aires

Record by opponent
Copa América matches (by team)
Opponent W D L Pld GF GA
 Argentina13414313642
 Bolivia121215486
 Brazil989264037
 Chile1947306228
 Colombia62311189
 Costa Rica110232
 Ecuador1413186611
 Honduras011223
 Jamaica200240
 Japan010122
 Mexico1236711
 Paraguay1466265433
 Peru1236214225
 United States100110
 Venezuela6219216
Total1103655201406220

Record players
Fernando Muslera is Uruguay's all-time record appearance holder at the Copa América.
Ángel Romano is a six-time South American champion and Uruguay's record participant in number of tournaments. In addition, he scored twelve goals during that time, ranking him third in Uruguay's top scorer list at continental championships.
Rank Player Matches Tournaments
1Fernando Muslera222011, 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2021
2Ángel Romano211916, 1917, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1924 and 1926
Schubert Gambetta211941, 1942, 1945 and 1947
4Roberto Porta201939, 1941, 1942 and 1945
Obdulio Varela201939, 1941, 1942, 1945 and 1946
Diego Pérez202001, 2004, 2007 and 2011
7Pascual Somma191916, 1917, 1920, 1921, 1922 and 1923
William Martínez191953, 1955, 1956 and 1959 (ARG)
Diego Godín192007, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2021
Edinson Cavani192011, 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2021

Top goalscorers
Severino Varela scored five goals each at three separate continental championships, making him Uruguay's top scorer at continental championships.
Rank Player Goals Tournaments (goals)
1Severino Varela151937 (5), 1939 (5) and 1942 (5)
2Héctor Scarone131917 (2), 1919 (1), 1923 (1), 1926 (6) and 1927 (3)
3 Ángel Romano121917 (4), 1920 (3), 1921 (2), 1924 (2) and 1926 (1)
Roberto Porta121939 (3), 1941 (1), 1942 (5) and 1945 (3)
5 Pedro 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)
9 José María Medina71946
Guillermo Escalada71956 (3), 1959 [ARG] (2) and 1959 [ECU] (2)
José Sasia71957 (1), 1959 [ARG] (3) and 1959 [ECU] (3)
Luis Suárez72011 (4), 2019 (2) and 2021 (1)

Players with multiple titles
Rank Player Championships
1Ángel 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 15x (1916, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1935, 1942, 1956, 1959 [ECU], 1967, 1983, 1987, 1995, 2011)
  • Second Place 6x (1919, 1927, 1939, 1941, 1989, 1999)
  • Third Place 8x (1921, 1922, 1929, 1937, 1947, 1953, 1957, 2004)
  • Fair Play Award 1x (2011)

Individual Awards[1]

Team records

  • Most titles: 15 (shared with Argentina)
  • Most matches played: 201

Individual records

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