As hosts of the 1941 Copa America, Chile once again organized the tournament four years later. At the spectacular Nacional Stadium, in Santiago, the competition took place again with seven national teams, one of which debutant Colombia.
Boasting four powerful squads, the Cup was considered of the highest standard ever. Uruguay’s starting line-up consisted of keeper Roque Máspoli, superstar Obdulio Varela and the basis of the 1942 winning team. Brazil, who fielded genial defender Domingos da Guia, mounted a squad with Tesourinha, Zizinho, Heleno de Freitas, Jair Rosa Pinto and Ademir. Chile performed well at home and disclosed star striker Alcántara, author of five goals in the Cup.
However, none of the three managed to stop Argentina and Mario Boyé, René Pontoni, Rinaldo Martino, Félix Loustau and Norberto Méndez (top scorer with 6 goals, alongside Heleno de Freitas). With three hammerings (4-nil against Ecuador, 4-2 against Peru and 9-1 against Colombia), the side coached by Guillermo Stábile were held by Chile (1-all) but won their two last fixtures (Brazil and Uruguay) before lifting the title for the seventh time in history.
The first Copa América edition took place in 1916 in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Argentina’s independence. In that year, Confederação Sul-Americana de Futebol (CONMEBOL) was founded.