Playing for the Argentine national team, Pedernera won the Copa América in 1941 and 1946, being named the "Best Player" of the latter. He also was elected the 12th-best South American footballer of the 20th century in a poll by the IFFHS in 2000, and his name appears in the list of the 100 greatest all time footballers selected from the magazine "FourFourTwo" in 2017, in which he holds the 58th place.