- First comeback in Vinotinto's history at CONMEBOL Copa América™.
- Both goals were scored by substitutes.
Venezuela started 2024 CONMEBOL Copa América™ with a 2-1 victory over Ecuador. Fernando Batista's team took a strong first step in Group B. This Vinotinto victory marked the first comeback in Venezuela's history at CONMEBOL Copa América™: in previous matches where they fall behind, they had accumulated two draws and 43 defeats.
The two goals that turned the match around came from substitutes and also marked the first tournament goals for Cádiz and Bello in their debut. They are the seventh and eighth Venezuelans to achieve this; the last to do so was José Manuel Velázquez in the 2016 edition.
Additionally, Salomón Rondón has now been involved in six goals for the Vinotinto since his debut at CONMEBOL Copa América 2011™, with 4 goals and 2 assists. This is double the number of goal contributions of the next best players for Venezuela since then: Alejandro Guerra (3 assists) and Miku Fedor (2 goals + 1 assist).
Rondón also reached 18 appearances in the world’s oldest national team tournament, equaling José Manuel Rey and now only two behind Juan Arango, the Venezuelan with the most appearances in the tournament.
As a sign of Venezuela's significant growth, this is the sixth time in their last seven debuts that they have avoided defeat: three wins, three draws, and one loss during this period.
Vinotinto's next match in the tournament will be against Mexico on June 26.
CONMEBOL.com/OPTA.
