Venezuela hit the table in the Copa América: with dedication, great defense and a dose of luckmanaged to beat Mexico 1-0 for the first time in history and qualified for the quarterfinals of the tournament, at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood (Caifornia).
According to the criteria of
Mexico was much superior in the first half: they subdued Venezuela, but were not able to score a goal against a tight defense and against a team that did not have the same freedoms as on the first date, when they beat Ecuador well.
From the first minute, Mexico put pressure on, with a shot by Santiago Giménez that found no destination. At 9, a shot by Julián Quiñones generated a rebound that Carlos Rodríguez did not take advantage of. And at 18, a great bail by goalkeeper Rafael Romo prevented Giménez from scoring.
When Mexico looked stronger, Venezuela gave them the first scare, at 33, with a shot by Salomón Rondón that hit the post. And from there, the Mexicans regained control, but they never again posed the same danger.
Venezuela came out with everything and found the advantage in the second half
Another thing was the second half, in which Venezuela came out with everything to score a goal and take advantage of a new misfortune for Mexico, which had lost Edson Álvarez on the first day and now had to leave out its best defender, César Montes , also due to injury.
It took Fernando Batista’s team four minutes to cause the first scare, with a shot by Yeferson Soteldo that was saved by goalkeeper Julio González. And at 9, the nationalized Colombian Julián Quiñones knocked down Jon Aramburu in the area. Clear penalty awarded by Brazilian referee Raphael Claus. Salomón Rondón defeated González and at 11, Venezuela was already on top.
Mexico had to tie it, but missed a penalty
With the 1-0, Mexico went with everything again, now forced, in search of a tie. Coach Jaime Lozano changed the entire attacking formula. Venezuela held on as best it could and the lack of aim saved Vinotinto.
However, five minutes from the end of the game, the VAR detected a clear handball by Miguel Navarro and notified Claus, who gave Mexico one more life.
However, Orbelín Pineda, Quiñones’ replacement, kicked softly and announcedly and allowed goalkeeper Rafael Romo to shine, maintaining the Venezuelan advantage.
The last minutes were played around the Venezuelan area, with a Mexican team desperate to find a goal that did not come. And so, Venezuela, with a date in advance, achieved its classification to the quarterfinals.
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