Venezuela and Mexico duel for the top of Group B in CONMEBOL Copa América 2024™

With wins on their debut, La Vinotinto and El Tri can guarantee early qualification to the Quarterfinals with three more points in the clash this Wednesday, June 26

June 26, 2024

Venezuela is coming off its first comeback win in the history of the CONMEBOL Copa América™.
El Tri lost captain Edson Álvarez, injured, for the remainder of the competition.

Venezuela and Mexico take the field this Wednesday, June 27, in search of three points that can give one of them one of the spots in Group B in the Quarterfinals. The match takes place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, at 6 pm local time, and is valid for the second matchday of the CONMEBOL Copa América USA 2024™ Group Stage.

Buoyed by good performances before this edition, Venezuela gathered strength to beat Ecuador 2-1 in their debut, the first time they managed a victory after coming from behind in the history of the tournament. Fernando Batista made a sure bet with Eduard Bello and Jhonder Cádiz, who came off the bench to score the winning goals – although, now, they should remain as alternatives for the duel against the Mexicans.

The Concacaf team, on the other hand, comes confident after a solid performance in its first match, against an organized Jamaica. With a squad full of CONMEBOL Copa América™ debutants, Arteaga's goal was enough to secure the first three points last weekend. The doubt for coach Jaime Lozano at the moment is the sequence in the tournament without the presence of captain Edson Álvarez, who suffered an injury in the debut and is out of contention. Luis Romo, who came in his place, is the main candidate for the vacancy among the starters.

Venezuela and Mexico have 3 points each in Group B against none for Ecuador and Jamaica – who play hours earlier in the same matchday.

Where to watch Venezuela vs. Mexico live?

The match kicks off at 6 p.m. California time (GMT-7) - 7 p.m. Mexico City, 9 p.m. Caracas (Venezuela). It can be watched on the following channels and streaming services:

Venezuela: Televen.
Mexico: Canal 5, TUDN, VIX, TV Azteca.
United States: Univision, Unimas, TUDN, Fox, FS1, FS2.
Canada: RDS, TSN, TSN+.
UK & Ireland: Premier Sports.

Venezuela vs. Mexico: history in the CONMEBOL Copa América™

The two teams have faced each other three times in the history of the CONMEBOL Copa América™, with two wins for the Mexicans and a draw: the first Venezuela vs. Mexico took place in 1995, and the most recent, in 2016.

The last 5 results between the teams (all competitions):

Mexico 3-1 Venezuela – Friendly (2019)
Mexico 1-1 Venezuela – CONMEBOL Copa América™ (2016)
Mexico 3-1 Venezuela – Friendly (2012)
Mexico 0-3 Venezuela – Friendly (2011)
Mexico 1-1 Venezuela – Friendly (2011)

Key Facts

Venezuela is the only opponent Mexico has faced more than once in CONMEBOL Copa America™ history without ever losing a game. The Mexicans managed two wins (1995 and 1999) and a draw (2016) against the Venezuelans in the tournament.
Venezuela have scored goals in each of their games against Concacaf rivals in the CONMEBOL Copa América™ (W1 D2 L2). La Vinotinto has not lost any of its most recent matches in this run: 1-0 over Jamaica and 1-1 with Mexico, both also played in the United States, in 2016.
If they beat Mexico, Venezuela will be able to win back-to-back CONMEBOL Copa América™ for the second time in their history. The first was at the beginning of the 2016 edition when they beat Jamaica and Uruguay, both by 1-0.
Venezuela (14) and Mexico (13) were the teams in Group B that made the most sequences of at least 10 passes in their debut matches in the CONMEBOL Copa América 2024™. Both had more than triple their opponents in that regard: Ecuador (3) and Jamaica (1).
Venezuela's Yangel Herrera was the Group B player with the most accurate passes in the first round of the 2024™ CONMEBOL Copa América, hitting 66 attempts. Since 2015, only one Vinotinto athlete has surpassed this record in a single match in the competition: Júnior Moreno against Peru in 2021 (70).

Source: OPTA

Probable lineups

Venezuela: Rafael Romo; Alexander González, Nahuel Ferraresi, Yordan Osorio, Miguel Navarro; José Martínez, Yangel Herrera, Darwin Machís (Jefferson Savarino), Cristian Cáceres Jr., Yeferson Soteldo; Salomón Rondon.

Coach: Fernando Batista.

Mexico: Julio González; Jorge Sánchez, César Montes, Johan Vásquez, Gerardo Arteaga; Luis Romo, Uriel Antuna, Orbelín Pineda, Julián Quiñones; Santiago Giménez.

Coach: Jaime Lozano.