Venezuela earned respect, says Josef Martínez

Venezuela had the respect of everyone by advancing, undefeated, to the quarterfinals of the Copa América in Brazil-2019 but now must look forward, said his attacker Josef Martinez.

«We’ve earned everyone’s respect. We dedicate this to the whole country, which is always looking out for us», said Martínez, who scored the third goal in the 3-1 win over Bolivia at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte.

«Now we have to keep going,» added the striker who plays for MLS Atlanta United. «We don’t think about who the next opponent is. We think only of ourselves.

The Fact: Josef Martínez needed just 18 minutes on the field to score his first goal in the 2019 Copa América (he had played 5 minutes against Brazil, and scored 13 minutes after entering against Bolivia).

For his part, the hero of the Vinotinto’s victory on Saturday in the third matchday of Group A, Darwin Machí­s, author of a double, said that «it was a complicated game. We come here with the same concentration as the previous players and with respect for our opponents.

Machí­s was «happy for the two goals that helped the victory», which left Venezuela second in Group A with five points, behind Brazil who beat Peru 5-0 and finished with seven points as key leader.

The Fact: Darwin Machí­s scored the fastest goal of the century in Copa América (1:15); he also became the fourth Venezuelan to score a double in the history of this tournament, and the first to do so since 1993: José Luis Dolgetta vs. United States (Carlos Maldonado in 1989 vs. Colombia; Antonio Ravelo in 1967 vs. Bolivia).