This Saturday, the South American Football Confederation appointed the judges for the last four matches of the group stage of the Copa América, among which is the duel between Brazil and Colombia.
In that match, which will be played this Tuesday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara (California), at 8 pm in Colombia, Néstor Lorenzo’s team will seek first place in group D, while Brazil goes for a victory that will ensure its qualification.
Jesus Valenzuela, the referee of the game between Brazil and Colombia
The central referee of the match will be the Venezuelan Jesús Valenzuela, accompanied on the lines by his compatriots Jorge Urrego and Alberto Ponte. The Argentine Mauro Vigliano and the Peruvian Jonny Bossio will be on the VAR.
Valenzuela, 41 years old and an international since 2013, is one of the referees who has officiated the most games for the Colombian National Team in all of history. This will be his eighth match and with that he equals the Argentine Horacio Elizondo. Only the Brazilian Marcio Rezende, with 10 games, and the Uruguayan Jorge Larrionda, with 9, have more.
Jesus Valenzuela
Photo:Getty Images via AFP
Valenzuela’s background in matches for the Colombian National Team
Colombia’s track record is not good when Valenzuela is the center back. He only won one of the seven previous matches he refereed. The most recent was on November 21, 2023, when he won 0-1 as a visitor against Paraguay in Asunción, in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup in North America.
The Venezuelan was the central referee in two painful defeats of the National Team in the qualifiers for the Qatar 2022 World Cup: one, 6-1 against Ecuador in Quito, which cost the Portuguese Carlos Queiroz his job, and the other, the 0-1 against Peru in Barranquilla, which practically sentenced the elimination, already with Reinaldo Rueda on the bench.
He also directed the match in which Colombia lost the option to go to the final of the Copa América 2021, the goalless draw against Argentina, which then decided on the side of the current world champion in shots from the penalty spot.
The other three games that Valenzuela has refereed ended in draws: 1-1 against Brazil in Barranquilla, in the qualifiers for Russia 2018; 0-0 against Uruguay in Montevideo, in the qualifiers for Qatar 2022, and 0-0 against Chile in Santiago, in the current pre-World Cup.
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