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 most successful team in tournament history with 15 titles, leading their rivals from 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).
Record at the Copa América
| South American Championship | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA |
 1916 | Champions | 1st | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
 1917 | Champions | 1st | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 1919 | Runners-up | 2nd | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 5 |
 1920 | Champions | 1st | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
| 1921 | Third Place | 3rd | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 1922 | Third Place | 3rd | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 1923 | Champions | 1st | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 1924 | Champions | 1st | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| 1925 | Withdrew | |||||||
| 1926 | Champions | 1st | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 1927 | Runners-up | 2nd | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 3 |
| 1929 | Third Place | 3rd | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
 1935 | Champions | 1st | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 1937 | Third Place | 3rd | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 14 |
| 1939 | Runners-up | 2nd | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 5 |
| 1941 | Runners-up | 2nd | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1 |
| 1942 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 2 |
| 1945 | Fourth Place | 4th | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 6 |
| 1946 | Fourth Place | 4th | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 9 |
 1947 | Third Place | 3rd | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 8 |
| 1949 | Sixth Place | 6th | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 20 |
| 1953 | Third Place | 3rd | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 6 |
| 1955 | Fourth Place | 4th | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 12 |
| 1956 | Champions | 1st | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 |
| 1957 | Third Place | 3rd | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 12 |
| 1959 | Sixth Place | 6th | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 14 |
| 1959 | Champions | 1st | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 1 |
 1963 | Withdrew | |||||||
| 1967 | Champions | 1st | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 2 |
| Copa América | ||||||||
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA |
 1975 | Semi-finals | 4th | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 1979 | Group Stage | 6th | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| 1983 | Champions | 1st | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 6 |
| 1987 | Champions | 1st | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 1989 | Runners-up | 2nd | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 3 |
| 1991 | Group Stage | 5th | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| 1993 | Quarter-finals | 6th | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| 1995 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 4 |
| 1997 | Group Stage | 9th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 1999 | Runners-up | 2nd | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
 2001 | Fourth Place | 4th | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 7 |
| 2004 | Third Place | 3rd | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 10 |
 2007 | Fourth Place | 4th | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 9 |
| 2011 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 3 |
| 2015 | Quarter-finals | 7th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
 2016 | Group stage | 11th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
 2019 | Quarter-finals | 6th | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 2 |
| 2021 | Eligible to enter | |||||||
| 2024 | ||||||||
| Total | 15 titles | 44/46 | 200 | 110 | 36 | 54 | 406 | 219 |
* Draws include matches decided on penalties.
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.
Record by Opponent
| CONCACAF Championship/Gold Cup matches (by team) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Wins | Draws | Losses | Total | Goals Scored | Goals Conceded |
| Argentina | 13 | 4 | 14 | 31 | 36 | 42 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Bolivia | 12 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 48 | 6 |
| Brazil | 9 | 8 | 9 | 26 | 40 | 37 |
| Chile | 19 | 4 | 7 | 30 | 62 | 28 |
| Colombia | 6 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 18 | 9 |
 Costa Rica | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Ecuador | 14 | 1 | 3 | 18 | 66 | 11 |
 Honduras | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
 Jamaica | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
 Japan | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
 Mexico | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 11 |
 Paraguay | 14 | 6 | 6 | 26 | 54 | 33 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Peru | 12 | 3 | 6 | 21 | 42 | 25 |
| United States | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Venezuela | 6 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 21 | 6 |
| TOTAL | 110 | 36 | 55 | 201 | 406 | 220 |
Record Players
Ángel Romano is a sixtuple South American champion and Uruguay's record participant both in number of tournaments and in number of matches. In addition, he scored 12 goals during that time, ranking him Third in Uruguay's top scorer list at continental championships.
| No. | Name | Matches | Tournaments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ángel Romano | 21 | 1916, 1917, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1924 and 1926 |
| Schubert Gambetta | 21 | 1941, 1942, 1945 and 1947 | |
| 3 | Roberto Porta | 20 | 1939, 1941, 1942 and 1945 |
| Obdulio Varela | 20 | 1939, 1941, 1942, 1945 and 1946 | |
| Diego Pérez | 20 | 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2011 | |
| 6 | Pascual Somma | 19 | 1916, 1917, 1920, 1921, 1922 and 1923 |
| William Martínez | 19 | 1953, 1955, 1956 and 1959 (ARG) | |
| 8 | Héctor Scarone | 18 | 1917, 1919, 1923, 1924, 1926 and 1927 |
| Diego Forlán | 18 | 2004, 2007 and 2011 | |
| Maxi Pereira | 18 | 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2016 | |
Top Goalscorers
Severino Varela scored five goals each at three separate continental championships, making him Uruguay's top scorer at continental championships.
| No. | Name | Goals | Tournaments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Severino Varela | 15 | 1937 (5), 1939 (5) and 1942 (5) |
| 2 | Héctor Scarone | 13 | 1917 (2), 1919 (1), 1923 (1), 1926 (6) and 1927 (3) |
| 3 | Ángel Romano | 12 | 1917 (4), 1920 (3), 1921 (2), 1924 (2) and 1926 (1) |
| Roberto Porta | 12 | 1939 (3), 1941 (1), 1942 (5) and 1945 (3) | |
| 5 | Pedro Petrone | 10 | 1923 (3), 1924 (4) and 1927 (3) |
| Héctor Castro | 10 | 1926 (6), 1927 (2) and 1935 (2) | |
| Javier Ambrois | 10 | 1956 (1) and 1957 (9) | |
| 8 | Nicolás Falero | 9 | 1945 (1) and 1947 (8) |
| 9 | José María Medina | 7 | 1946 |
| Guillermo Escalada | 7 | 1956 (3), 1959 [ARG] (2) and 1959 [ECU] (2) | |
| José Sasia | 7 | 1957 (1), 1959 [ARG] (3) and 1959 [ECU] (3) | |
Players with several titles
| No. | Name | Championships |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ángel Romano | 6 (1916, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1926) |
| 2 | Pascual Somma | 4 (1916, 1917, 1920, 1923) |
| Héctor Scarone | 4 (1917, 1923, 1924, 1926) | |
| José Nasazzi | 4* (1923, 1924, 1926, 1935) | |
| 5 | Alfredo Foglino | 3 (1916, 1917, 1920) |
| José Pérez | 3 (1916, 1917, 1920) | |
| Antonio Urdinarán | 3 (1916, 1917, 1920) | |
| José Piendibene | 3 (1916, 1917, 1920) | |
| Alfredo Zibechi | 3 (1916, 1920, 1924) | |
| José Vanzzino | 3 (1916, 1917, 1926) | |
| José Leandro Andrade | 3 (1923, 1924, 1926) | |
| Alfredo Ghierra | 3 (1923, 1924, 1926) | |
| Andrés Mazali | 3 (1923, 1924, 1926) | |
| Santos Urdinarán | 3 (1923, 1924, 1926) | |
| Enzo Francéscoli | 3 (1983, 1987, 1995) | |
| 16 | 28 players | 2 |
* 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]
- 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 [ECU]: Alcides Silveira
- MVP 1967: Pedro Rocha
- MVP 1983 and 1995: Enzo Francéscoli
- MVP 1989: Ruben Sosa
- MVP 2011: Luis Suárez
- MVP 2019: Dani Alves
- Top scorer 1916: Isabelino Gradín (3 goals)
- Top scorer 1917: Ángel Romano (4 goals)
- Top scorer 1920: Ángel Romano+José Pérez (3 goals) (shared)
- Top scorer 1923: Pedro Petrone (3 goals) (shared)
- Top scorer 1924: Pedro Petrone (4 goals)
- Top scorer 1927: Pedro Petrone+Héctor Scarone+Roberto Figueroa (3 goals) (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
- Most matches played: 201
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)
References
- "The Copa América Archive". July 19, 2007. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
External links
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