Venezuela vs Mexico-After winning their historic opening match in the Copa America, Venezuela will face Mexico at the Sofia Stadium on Wednesday as the second leg of the match continues.
Both teams came away victorious from their opening Group B matches, with La Vinotinto returning to beat Ecuador 2–1, while El Tri edged Jamaica with a narrow 1–0 win.
Match preview
Venezuela vs Mexico-The Venezuelan side didn’t let their early goal in the first leg stop them, scoring two second-half strikes in 10 minutes to secure their first-ever Copa America victory.
It also ended a five-match winless run for Fernando Bautista’s men in all competitions, as they won their opening match at the tournament for the first time since 2016 (1-0 win over Jamaica).
A win on Wednesday would mark their first back-to-back wins at the tournament since 2016, more than a year since they last won back-to-back internationals in June 2023.
Venezuela vs Mexico-Their win on Saturday marked the first time they have won the Copa America competition when they conceded the opening goal, with Venezuela returning to positive results after going 1-0 down in two of their previous five encounters this year.
Meanwhile, they have won four straight matches while scoring the opening goal, failing to concede in any of those contests.
They are unbeaten in six consecutive meetings against CONCACAF sides, losing only once (a 2–2 draw with Panama in November 2022). Venezuela vs Mexico-El Tri survived some nervy moments in their opener but eventually came away as worthy winners, with possession and 9 attempts on target.
Had Mikel Antonio’s strike not been ruled out for offside, things could have been different for Jaime Lozano’s men, who ended a two-match losing streak with that win.
It extended their unbeaten run in the group stage of the tournament to four matches, while they had not lost in their previous three opening matches in the Copa America.
In the last 13 matches in which they have conceded the opener, Mexico have won 12, with their only loss coming against Colombia in Los Angeles last December (3-2).
On Wednesday, the Mexicans had the opportunity to post consecutive clean sheets in the tournament’s group stage for the first time since 2001.
Mexico are unbeaten in 13 all-time meetings against the Venezuelans, winning two of the three Copa Americas played against them. Football.
Team News
Pachuca striker Salomon Rondon made his 18th appearance for Venezuela at the tournament over the weekend, tied with Jose Manuel Rey for second all-time.
Goals from Famalicao’s Jhonder Cadiz and Mazatlan midfielder Eduard Bello helped them erase a 1-0 deficit on matchday one, as they both became the first Venezuelans to score on their Copa America debuts since Jose Manuel Velazquez in 2016.
Venezuela vs Mexico-The Mexican win over Jamaica came at a cost, as captain Edson Alvarez was sidelined with a hamstring strain, leaving his status in question for the rest of the tournament.
A wonder strike courtesy of Gerardo Arteaga was all El Tri needed to claim victory on matchday one, his first with the national team, as Julio Gonzalez made four stops for his first clean sheet internationally.
Venezuela Probable Starting Lineup:
Romo; Gonzalez, Ferraresi, Osorio, Navarro; Martinez, Herrera; Saverino, Caceres, Soteldo; Rondon
Mexico’s probable starting lineup:
Gonzalez; Sanchez, Montes, Vasquez, Arteaga; Romo, Chavez; Vega, Pineda, Quinones; Jimenez
Venezuela vs Mexico prediction: Venezuela 2-1 Mexico
Venezuela vs Mexico-Losing Alvarez is a big blow for the Mexicans, who have struggled with consistency since Lozano took over, looking shaky in many areas against the Reggae Boys.
Venezuela will be full of confidence after their first win, and we believe they have the quality to unlock the Mexican backline and pull off another surprise.