Ecuador 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.
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Ecuador are one of only two CONMEBOL members who have never won a continental title, the other one being Venezuela. Both teams have never even placed in the top three.
With six goals in 1963, Carlos Alberto Raffo became that tournament's top scorer and the only Ecuadorian to ever receive an individual award at a continental championship. In spite of Raffo's goals, however, Ecuador only placed sixth out of seven nations that year.
Overall record
| South American Championship / Copa América record | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Squad |
 1916 | Did not participate | ||||||||
 1917 | |||||||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 1919 | |||||||||
 1920 | |||||||||
| 1921 | |||||||||
| 1922 | |||||||||
| 1923 | |||||||||
| 1924 | |||||||||
| 1925 | |||||||||
| 1926 | |||||||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 1927 | |||||||||
| 1929 | |||||||||
| 1935 | |||||||||
| 1937 | |||||||||
| 1939 | Fifth place | 5th | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 18 | Squad |
| 1941 | 5th | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 21 | Squad | |
| 1942 | Seventh place | 7th | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 31 | Squad |
| 1945 | 7th | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 27 | Squad | |
| 1946 | Withdrew | ||||||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 1947 |
Sixth place | 6th | 7 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 17 | Squad |
| 1949 | Seventh place | 7th | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 21 | Squad |
 1953 | 7th | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 13 | Squad | |
| 1955 |
Sixth place | 6th | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 22 | Squad |
| 1956 | Withdrew | ||||||||
| 1957 |
Seventh place | 7th | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 23 | Squad |
| 1959 | Withdrew | ||||||||
| 1959 |
Fourth place | 4th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 9 | Squad |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 1963 |
Sixth place | 6th | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 18 | Squad |
| 1967 |
Did not qualify | ||||||||
| 1975 | Group stage | 9th | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 | Squad |
| 1979 | 9th | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 7 | Squad | |
| 1983 | 9th | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 | Squad | |
| 1987 | 8th | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | Squad | |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 1989 | 7th | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | Squad | |
| 1991 | 7th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 5 | Squad | |
| 1993 |
Fourth place | 4th | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 5 | Squad |
| 1995 |
Group stage | 9th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | Squad |
| 1997 |
Quarter-finals | 5th | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | Squad |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 1999 | Group stage | 11th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | Squad |
 2001 | 9th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | Squad | |
| 2004 | 12th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | Squad | |
 2007 | 11th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | Squad | |
| 2011 | 10th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | Squad | |
| 2015 | 10th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | Squad | |
 2016 |
Quarter-finals | 8th | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 4 | Squad |
 2019 |
Group stage | 11th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | Squad |
| 2021 |
Quarter-finals | 8th | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 9 | Squad |
| 2024 | Qualified | ||||||||
| Total | Fourth place | 29/47 | 126 | 16 | 26 | 84 | 134 | 327 | — |
Record by opponent
Ecuador fell victim to the highest defeat in tournament history when they were beaten 12–0 by Argentina in 1942.
Their own highest victory was a 6–1 win against Venezuela in 1993. Venezuela is the only other CONMEBOL member, against which Ecuador have a positive head-to-head record.
| Copa América matches (by team) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | W | D | L | Pld | GF | GA |
| Argentina | 0 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 12 | 52 |
 Bolivia | 1 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 13 | 12 |
| Brazil | 0 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 11 | 52 |
| Chile | 1 | 1 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 47 |
| Colombia | 2 | 1 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 22 |
 Haiti | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
 Japan | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
 Mexico | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 8 |
 Paraguay | 3 | 3 | 9 | 15 | 15 | 26 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Peru | 1 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 28 |
| Uruguay | 3 | 1 | 14 | 18 | 16 | 66 |
| United States | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Venezuela | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 2 |
| Total | 16 | 23 | 82 | 121 | 129 | 318 |
Record players
Álex Aguinaga took part in eight Copa Américas. The only other player with that number of tournaments is Uruguayan striker Ángel Romano who competed in a time when the continental championship was held annually.
| Rank | Player | Matches | Tournaments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Álex Aguinaga | 25 | 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2001 and 2004 |
| 2 | Luis Capurro | 22 | 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995 and 1997 |
| 3 | Luis Antonio Mendoza | 21 | 1941, 1942, 1945 and 1947 |
| 4 | José María Jiménez | 20 | 1942, 1945, 1947 and 1949 |
| 5 | Jorge Henríquez | 18 | 1945, 1947 and 1953 |
| Carlos Sánchez | 18 | 1947, 1949, 1953 and 1957 | |
| 7 | Enrique Álvarez | 17 | 1942, 1945 and 1947 |
| Napoleón Medina | 17 | 1942, 1945 and 1947 | |
| Félix Zurita | 17 | 1942, 1945 and 1947 | |
| José Vargas | 17 | 1947, 1949, 1953 and 1957 | |
| Iván Hurtado | 17 | 1993, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2004 and 2007 | |
Top goalscorers
| Rank | Player | Goals | Tournaments (goals) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Alberto Raffo | 8 | 1959 [Ecuador] (2) and 1963 (6) |
| 2 | Ney Avilés | 6 | 1989 (1), 1991 (2) and 1993 (3) |
| 3 | José María Jiménez | 5 | 1942 (2), 1945 (1) and 1947 (2) |
| Enner Valencia | 5 | 2015 (2), 2016 (2) and 2019 (1) | |
| 5 | Víctor Aguayo | 4 | 1945 |
| Jorge Cantos | 4 | 1949 (1) and 1957 (3) | |
| Jorge Larraz | 4 | 1957 | |
| Álex Aguinaga | 4 | 1991 (2) and 1993 (2) | |
| Agustín Delgado | 4 | 2001 (2) and 2004 (2) |
Awards and records
Individual awards[1]
- Top scorer 1963: Carlos Alberto Raffo (6 goals)
Team records
- Most goals conceded (311)
- Most matches until first victory (34, 4–1 against Colombia in 1949)
- Highest defeat (0–12, against Argentina in 1942)
- Match with most goals (12, Argentina 12-0 Ecuador in 1942)
Individual records
- Most tournament participations: Álex Aguinaga (8, 1987–2004) (shared with Ángel Romano, 1916–1926)
- Longest time span between first and last match: Álex Aguinaga (17y 9d, 4 July 1987, against Peru at age 18 – 13 July 2004, against Mexico at age 36)
- Most own goals in one match: Honorato Gonzabay (2, 2–4 against Peru in 1955)
References
- "The Copa América Archive". July 19, 2007. Retrieved April 4, 2019.