The 1926 South American Championship () was the 10th international association football championship for members of the Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (CONMEBOL). Hosted by Chile, the competition ran from 12 October – 3 November 1926 and was contested by the national teams of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.
In the penultimate round of matches of the round-robin tournament, Uruguay were crowned champions for the sixth time after defeating Paraguay 6–1 in their final match.
Background In 1910, the Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (AFA) organised a tournament to mark the 100th anniversary of the May Revolution. The Copa Centenario Revolución de Mayo was contested by the national teams of Argentina, Chile and Uruguay and is considered to be a precursor to the South American Championship. Six years later, the AFA organised a second tournament, this time to celebrate the centenary of the Argentine Declaration of Independence. Alongside the three who had contested the Copa Centenario Revolución de Mayo, Brazil were invited to compete and the South American Championship was born. During the competition, the four associations of the competing teams met on 9 July 1916 and founded the Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (CONMEBOL).
Argentina were the defending champions having won the 1925 edition after drawing with Brazil in the final match of the competition. Uruguay were the most successful team in the history of the competition having won the five of the first nine editions.
Brazil withdrew prior to the start of the competition so only five of the six CONMEBOL members would compete.
Format The tournament was played as a round-robin where each team would play all of the others once. The winner would be decided by the total number of points obtained across all matches played.
Participants
Squads
Venue All matches were held at the Estadio Sport de Ñuñoa in Santiago. SantiagoEstadio Sport de ÑuñoaCapacity: 20,000
Summary
The competition began on 12 October when four goals from David Arellano helped hosts Chile to a 7–1 win against Bolivia. Four days later, defending champions Argentina began the competition with a 5–0 win against Bolivia. On 17 October, Uruguay defeated Chile 3–1. Three days later, four goals from Gabino Sosa helped Argentina to an 8–0 win against Paraguay. On 23 October, Paraguay defeated Bolivia 6–1. With half the matches played, Argentina were top of the table with four points, two ahead of Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The following day, Uruguay defeated Argentina 2–0 to pull level on points with their opponents at the top of the table. On 28 October, Uruguay pulled clear at the top after Héctor Scarone scored five times as they won 6–0 against Bolivia. Three days later, Chile and Argentina drew 1–1. On 1 November, Héctor Castro scored four goals to help Uruguay win the title with their fourth win in four matches following a 6–1 win against Paraguay. In the final match of the competition two days later, Arellano scored a hat-trick as Chile defeated Paraguay 5–1.
Table
Results
Goalscorers
References