| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Uruguay |
| Dates | January 10 – February 7 |
| Teams | 7 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Uruguay (8th title) |
| Runners-up |  Argentina |
| Third place | .svg.png){kind=small} Brazil |
| Fourth place | .svg.png){kind=small} Paraguay |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 21 |
| Goals scored | 81 (3.86 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Herminio Masantonio José Manuel Moreno (7 goals each) |
The seventeenth edition of the South American Championship was held in Montevideo, Uruguay from January 10 to February 7.
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For the first time seven teams took part of the event; the participating countries were Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.
Bolivia, and Colombia withdrew from the tournament.
The tournament featured a match between Argentina and Ecuador in which Argentina's José Manuel Moreno surpassed the 500-goal mark for goals in Copa América history, scoring 5 in a 12–0 drubbing of Ecuador. As of 2015, the 12-goal difference of that match remains the widest ever in Copa Américas. José Manuel Moreno and Herminio Masantonio of Argentina were joint top scorers of the tournament, with 7 goals each.
Venues
| Montevideo |
|---|
| Estadio Centenario |
| Capacity: 65,235 |
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Final round
Each team played against each of the other teams. Two (2) points were awarded for a win, one (1) point for a draw and no (0) points for a defeat.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uruguay | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 2 | +19 | 12 |
| Argentina | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 6 | +15 | 10 |
| Brazil | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 7 | +8 | 7 |
| Paraguay | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 10 | +1 | 6 |
.svg.png){kind=small} Peru | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | −5 | 4 |
 Chile | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 15 | −11 | 3 |
 Ecuador | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 31 | −27 | 0 |
| Uruguay | 6–1 | Chile |
|---|---|---|
L. E. Castro  7', 76' O. Varela 12' Ciocca 15' Zapirain 37' Porta 54' | Contreras 1' |
| Argentina | 4–3 | Paraguay |
|---|---|---|
| Sandoval 9' Masantonio 30', 47' Perucca 88' | Sánchez 59' Aveiro 75', 86' |
| Brazil | 6–1 | Chile |
|---|---|---|
| Patesko 1', 78' Pirillo 23', 63', 86' Cláudio 66' | Domínguez 35' |
| Argentina | 2–1 | Brazil |
|---|---|---|
| E. García 3' Masantonio 27' | Servílio 37' |
| Uruguay | 7–0 | Ecuador |
|---|---|---|
| Zapirain 1' Gambetta 13' S. Varela 16', 24', 29' Porta 23', 42' |
| Paraguay | 1–1 | Peru |
|---|---|---|
| Barrios 35' | Magallanes 1' |
| Brazil | 2–1 | Peru |
|---|---|---|
| Amorim 43', 56' | Fernández 73' |
| Paraguay | 2–0 | Chile |
|---|---|---|
| Barrios 33' Baudo Franco 54' |
| Argentina | 12–0 | Ecuador |
|---|---|---|
| E. García 2' Moreno 12', 16', 22', 32', 89' Pedernera 25' Masantonio 54', 65', 68', 70' Perucca 88' |
| Uruguay | 1–0 | Brazil |
|---|---|---|
| S. Varela 32' |
| Paraguay | 3–1 | Ecuador |
|---|---|---|
| Baudo Franco 5' Mingo 57' Ibarrola 62' | Jiménez 46' |
| Argentina | 3–1 | Peru |
|---|---|---|
| Heredia 12' Moreno 65', 72' | Fernández 17' |
| Peru | 2–1 | Ecuador |
|---|---|---|
| Quiñónez 32' Guzmán 62' | Jiménez 52' |
| Uruguay | 3–1 | Paraguay |
|---|---|---|
| S. Varela 9' Porta 26' Ciocca 65' | Barrios 58' |
| Argentina | 0–0 | Chile |
|---|---|---|
Argentina was awarded a victory but with no goals.
| Brazil | 5–1 | Ecuador |
|---|---|---|
| Tim 10' Pirillo 12', 29', 76' Zizinho 60' | Alvarez 19' (pen.) |
| Uruguay | 3–0 | Peru |
|---|---|---|
| Chirimini 47' L. E. Castro 54' Porta 77' |
| Chile | 2–1 | Ecuador |
|---|---|---|
| Domínguez 20' Armingol 42' | Alcívar 5' |
| Brazil | 1–1 | Paraguay |
|---|---|---|
| Zizinho 5' | Baudo Franco 23' |
| Chile | 0–0 | Peru |
|---|---|---|
| Uruguay | 1–0 | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| Zapirain 57' |
Result
| 1942 South American Championship Champions |
|---|
 Uruguay Eighth title |
Goal scorers
7 goals
6 goals
5 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal