1953 South American Championship Play-Off

The match took place on April 1, 1953, at Estadio Nacional in Lima, Peru.

1953 South American Championship play-off

Estadio Nacional de Lima, venue
Event	1953 South American Championship
Paraguay Brazil 3 2
Date	April 1, 1953
Venue	Estadio Nacional, Lima
Referee	Charles Dean (England)
Attendance	35,000

Paraguay won the match 3–2, winning its first continental title.

Some journalists stated that Paraguay's best moments in football were during those years. In fact, the Paraguayan side achieved some notable results such as the 5–1 win over Argentina (then South American champion) in July 1945.

Other good performances by the Paraguayan team had been the 3rd place in 1946 –with goalkeeper Sinforiano García (considered one of the greatest in Paraguayan football) being the most notable player–, the 2nd place in 1947 and the win over Brazil on group stage in 1949 (although the host country would thrash Paraguay 7–0 in the play-off).

After former player Manuel Fleitas Solich was appointed coach, Paraguay started a hard training routine with the purpose of being in the best shape for the 1953 South American tournament. Results were highly satisfactory so Paraguay were crowned champion unbeaten (except for a walkover), beating Brazil in the play-off and taking revenge after losing to them in the 1949 play-off.

Paraguay		Round	Brazil
Opponent	Result	Group stage	Opponent	Result
Chile	3–0	Match 1	Bolivia	8–1
Ecuador	0–0	Match 2	Ecuador	2–0
Peru	2–2	Match 3	Uruguay	1–0
Uruguay	2–2	Match 4	Peru	0–1
Bolivia	2–1	Match 5	Chile	3–2
Brazil	2–1	Match 6	Paraguay	1–2
Final standings Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts   Brazil 6 4 0 2 15 6 +9 8   Paraguay 6 3 2 1 11 6 +5 8   Uruguay 6 3 1 2 15 6 +9 7   Chile 6 3 1 2 10 10 0 7   Peru 6 3 1 2 4 6 −2 7   Bolivia 6 1 1 4 6 15 −9 3   Ecuador 6 0 2 4 1 13 −12 2

Note

Brazil and Paraguay finished tied on points so a playoff match had to be played to decide the champion.