- Salomón Rondón scored the only goal of the night at SoFi Stadium on a penalty kick.
- La Vinotinto is the second team in this CONMEBOL Copa América 2024™ to earn a spot in the Final Phase.
Highlights
- Mexico created few chances and had a penalty in their favor, but ran into the performance of Rafael Romo.
- Venezuela came back well for the second half to get the winning goal.
- Mexico faces Ecuador for the other spot in QFs from Group B.
Match recap
Buoyed by their good results in the opening round, Venezuela and Mexico took advantage of the passion coming from the stands at SoFi Stadium to provide an exciting match. Despite the equality of points in the table, it was El Tri who dominated play throughout the first half and kept possession of the ball for longer.
On the other hand, the Mexicans created few clear chances – and did not take advantage when they came: in the 19th minute, Santi Giménez came free in front of goal after receiving a long throw-in, but was stopped by Romo. Quiñones crossed in the 25th minute, but Rodríguez headed weakly into the hands of the Venezuelan goalkeeper. Vinotinto's response only came in the 34th minute, when Rondón received a throw-in from Savarino and shot a cross, hitting the post.
As Mexico kept up the pressure at the end of the first half, Venezuela came back from the break with renewed spirits and started play in their opponents half: in a span of 10 minutes, Soteldo forced González to save a good shot and Rondón had two shots saved at least two more times. Aramburu then made a quick combination on the right side, invaded the area and was brought down. A penalty that Rondón converted, putting the team ahead.
From then on, Fernando Batista's team started to manage the result, trying to exploit the plays at speed and reinforcing the defensive part. Mexico went for all or nothing and were sometimes stopped at the defenders' blocks, sometimes by the gigantic performance of Rafael Romo: in the 85th minute, VAR signaled a penalty for the Mexicans after a handball in the area and, on Pineda's kick, the goalkeeper dived into the corner to keep it 1-0.
In the end, despite pressure from El Tri, the Venezuelans were valiant to maintain the result and secure early qualification for the next round.
What's next?
Venezuela reaches 6 points and is at the top of Group B ahead of the final round of this Group Stage: Vinotinto's next opponent is Jamaica, who have yet to earn points in the tournament, at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas, on the 30th. Also on Sunday, Mexico faces Ecuador for one of the spots in the next phase of the competition, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Lineups & info
Venezuela: Rafael Romo; Jon Aramburu, Nahuel Ferraresi, Yordan Osorio, Miguel Navarro; José Martínez, Yangel Herrera, Eduard Bello, Jefferson Savarino, Yeferson Soteldo; Salomón Rondón.
Substitutes used: Darwin Machís, Cristian Cáceres Jr.
Cards: Ferraresi (yellow), Navarro (yellow)
Coach: Fernando Batista
México: Julio González; Jorge Sánchez, César Montes, Johan Vásquez, Gerardo Arteaga; Luis Romo, Luis Chávez, Uriel Antuna, Carlos Rodríguez, Julián Quiñones; Santiago Gímenez.
Substitutes used: Israel Reyes, Guillermo Martínez, Alexis Vega, Cesar Huerta, Orbelín Pineda.
Cards: Vega (yellow), Giménez (yellow).
Coach: Jaime Lozano
Superior Player of the Match Michelob ULTRA: Salomón Rondón (Venezuela)
Goal: 57', Salomón Rondón (Venezuela)
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Venue: SoFi Stadium – Inglewood, California
