1919 South American Championship

Updated on Dec 02, 2023

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Host country Brazil Venue(s) 1 (in 1 host city) Fourth place Chile Start date 1919 Teams 4		Dates May 11 – May 29 Runners-up Uruguay Matches played 7 End date May 29, 1919 Goals scored 27

Champion Brazil national football team Third place Argentina national football team Similar 1924 South American Championship, 1916 South American Championship, 1926 South American Championship, 1929 South American Championship, 1955 South American Championship

The 1919 South American Championship of Nations was the third continental championship for South American national football teams. It was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from May 11 to May 29, 1919.

The participating countries were Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay as the defending champion.

After finishing tied in the group positions, host Brazil beat Uruguay in the playoff match and obtained their first title. This was the longest match in the competition, since it was needed an extra time, which oddly consisted of four periods of 15 minutes each, and not two of 15 as is still usual nowadays.

Format

There was no qualifying for the tournament. The participating countries were Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay. All teams competed between each other in a single group. Two points were awarded for a win, one for a draw and zero for a defeat. If there was a tie of points at the top of the standings, a playoff match would be held to determine the champion.

Final round

Each team played one match against each of the other teams. Two (2) points were awarded for a win, one (1) point for a draw and zero (0) points for a defeat.