# 1979 South American U-20 Championship

The South American Youth Championship 1979 was held in Montevideo and Paysandú, Uruguay. It also served as qualification for the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship.

## Teams

The following teams entered the tournament:
* Argentina
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Chile
* Colombia
* Ecuador
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Uruguay (host)

## First round
### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Uruguay | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | +9 | 6 | Advance to Final round |
| 2 | Argentina | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 4 | Advance to Final round |
| 3 | Peru | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 2 | |
| 4 | Ecuador | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12 | −12 | 0 | |
| 12 January | Uruguay | 5–0 | Ecuador |
| 13 January | Argentina | 4–0 | Peru |
| 18 January | Argentina | 5–0 | Ecuador |
| | Uruguay | 3–0 | Peru |
| 22 January | Peru | 2–0 | Ecuador |
| | Uruguay | 1–0 | Argentina |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Paraguay | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 1 | +12 | 7 | Advance to Final round |
| 2 | Brazil | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 5 | Advance to Final round |
| 3 | Chile | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 4 | |
| 4 | Colombia | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 4 | |
| 5 | Bolivia | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 12 | −10 | 0 | |
| 12 January | Paraguay | 6–0 | Chile |
| | Colombia | 2–1 | Brazil |
| 14 January | Colombia | 5–1 | Bolivia |
| | Brazil | 1–0 | Chile |
| 17 January | Paraguay | 5–0 | Colombia |
| | Brazil | 1–0 | Bolivia |
| 19 January | Chile | 2–0 | Colombia |
| | Paraguay | 1–0 | Bolivia |
| 22 January | Chile | 5–1 | Bolivia |
| | Brazil | 1–1 | Paraguay |

### Fifth-place match
## Final round

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Uruguay | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 5 | Qualification for 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship |
| 2 | Argentina | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 4 | Qualification for 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship |
| 3 | Paraguay | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | Advance to Inter-continental qualification |
| 4 | Brazil | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 0 | |
| 25 January | Argentina | 0–0 | Paraguay |
| | Uruguay | 1–0 | Brazil |
| 28 January | Paraguay | 2–1 | Brazil |
| | Uruguay | 0–0 | Argentina |
| 31 January | Argentina | 1–0 | Brazil |
| | Uruguay | 2–1 | Paraguay |
* 1979 South American Youth Championship
* Uruguay Sixth title

## Inter-continental qualification

The two best performing teams qualified directly for the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship.
* Argentina
* Uruguay
Paraguay also qualified, after winning an intercontinental play-off against Israel and Australia. Matches were played in Asunción, Paraguay.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Paraguay | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | +9 | 8 | Qualification for 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship |
| 2 | Israel | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 2 | |
| 3 | Australia | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | −5 | 2 | |
| 7 February | Paraguay | 2–0 | Australia |
| 9 February | Israel | 0–0 | Australia |
| 11 February | Paraguay | 3–0 | Israel |
| 14 February | Australia | 0–0 | Israel |
| 16 February | Paraguay | 3–0 | Australia |
| 18 February | Paraguay | 2–1 | Israel |