08:08 AM
The good performance that the Venezuelan national team It is one of the surprises of the Copa America 2024. The vinotinto came into the tournament without being one of the favorites to advance to the quarterfinals in Group B.
They had favoritism in that area Ecuador and Mexico, teams that were in the last World Cup. At least that’s what the international press said. However, Venezuela is already among the best 8 teams in the continental tournament. Mexicans and Ecuadorians will have to “fight to the death” for second place.
Venezuela beat Mexico 1-0 on the night of Wednesday, June 26 and became, along with Argentina, the second team to qualify for the final phase of the Copa América after reaching six points, a product of the two wins it has so far.
But achieving it was not easy. First he had to turn the score around against Ecuador, in his debut, when he started losing. Afterwards, he had to wait for the stellar appearance of his new “angel”, goalkeeper Rafael Romo, at a moment of high tension in the duel against Mexico.
There were five minutes left in regulation time. The central judge of the match whistled a penalty in favor of the Mexicans. Orbelín Pineda collected it. He kicked at the goalkeeper’s right hand. Romo stopped it. The thousands of Venezuelans who were in the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California, exploded with joy: against all odds they managed to qualify.
Romo, an experienced 34-year-old goalkeeper who plays at the Catholic University of Ecuador, brought immense joy to the nearly 545,000 Venezuelans living in the United States, who have been happy to have their country’s team competing in the continental tournament. .
“We are happy because we knew it was going to be difficult. Mexico is a great team that plays very well. We have the humility to recognize our rivals. We do not have the ignorance that many Mexican journalists have who underestimated us,” Romo commented in statements after the end of the meeting.
The Venezuelan national team will play its third match of the Copa América group stage against Jamaica on Sunday, June 30. The action will begin at 7:00 pm (Colombian time).
