The 1956 Panamerican Championship was the second edition of the Panamerican Championship, an international football tournament featuring national teams from North, Central and South America. It was held in Mexico City, between February 26 and March 18, in 1956.

The competition was contested by six teams, and was played in a round-robin format. All the matches were held at Estadio Olímpico Universitario. Brazil won their second consecutive title.

Teams

6 teams participated in the championship, qualifying by various means:

ConfederationTeamQualification Path
HostMexicoTournament organizer
Conmebol (South America)Brazil Argentina Chile PeruChampion of 1952 Panamerican Championship Champion of 1955 South American Championship Runner-up 1955 South American Championship Third place 1955 South American Championship
CCCF (Central America and the Caribbean)Costa RicaChampion of 1955 CCCF Championship

Squads

Venue

Estadio Olímpico Universitario

All the matches were held in University Olympic Stadium (Spanish: Estadio Olímpico Universitario) is a multi-purpose stadium located inside Ciudad Universitaria in Mexico City. It was built in 1952 and at that time was the largest stadium in Mexico.

By the time of the tournament, the stadium had a capacity of 69,000. The first major event held in the stadium was the 1955 Pan American Games. During the 1950s and the 1960s this stadium was used mostly for college American football games. It then became the Olympic Stadium for the 1968 Summer Games.

The stadium was also one of the venues of the 1968 Summer Olympics. It was the location of the track and field competitions, equestrian events, certain association football matches, the arrival of the marathon and the opening and closing ceremonies.

Referees

Matches

Mexico1–1Costa Rica
Calderón 40'Monge 57'

Argentina0–0Peru

Brazil2–1Chile
Luizinho 13' Klein 67'Tello 71'

Mexico0–2Peru
Drago 26' Gómez Sánchez 71'

Argentina4–3Costa Rica
Maschio 27' Sívori 60', 79', 85'Montero 3' Vairo 42' (o.g.) Monge 48'

Brazil1–0Peru
Larry 41'

Costa Rica2–1Chile
Herrera 28' Monge 35'Hormazábal 71'

Brazil2–1Mexico
Bodinho 17' Bravo 73' (o.g.)del Águila 56'

Argentina3–0Chile
Maschio 38', 65' Sívori 50'

Brazil7–1Costa Rica
Larry 7', 37', 51' Chinesinho 12', 63', 83' Bodinho 74'Cordero 53'

Mexico0–0Argentina

Peru2–2Chile
Lama 23' Mosquera 73'Díaz 18' Cortés 85'

Costa Rica4–2Peru
Murillo 17', 84' Herrera 42' Monge 43'Salinas 55', 69'

Mexico2–1Chile
Calderón 4', 79'Tello 38'

Brazil2–2Argentina
Chinesinho 24' Andrade 58'Yudica 36' Sívori 85'
1956 Panamerican Championship
Brazil 2nd title

Final table

RankTeamPtsPldWDLGFGAGD
1Brazil954101459
2Argentina75230954
3Costa Rica552121115–4
4Peru4512267–1
5Mexico4512246–2
6Chile15014511–6

Top goalscorers

Enrique Omar Sívori, top scorer with 5 goals

There were 49 goals scored in 15 matches, for an average of 3.27 goals per match.

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

Source: RSSSF