Mexico have a significant injury headache for their 2024 Copa America match against Venezuela with captain and starting midfielder Edson Alvarez sidelined by a hamstring injury.
El Tri coach Jaime Lozano will have to replace the West Ham star for the Group B match in front of what's expected to be a packed house at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California on Wednesday, June 26.
Mexico veterans like Orbelin Pineda, Uriel Antuna, and Luis Chavez will be relied on even more in Alvarez's absence, while his likely replacement, Luis Romo, will have to fill some huge boots and an important role to fill against a Venezuela team high on confidence.
Both Mexico and Venezuela enter the second matchday with three points, but Venezuela acquired theirs in dramatic fashion as they came back from a goal down against Ecuador to win, 2-1. Both halftime substitutions from coach Fernando Batista scored paid off as Jhonder Cadiz and Eduard Bello got the goals to complete the turnaround. Following a strong start in World Cup qualifying, Venezuela believe they can make a deep run in this Copa America.
MORE: Who is leading the Copa America Golden Boot chase?
What time is Mexico vs. Venezuela kickoff?
This Copa America matchup kicks off from SoFi Stadium on Wednesday, June 26 at 6:00 p.m. local time in Los Angeles, California.
Here's how that time translates across all of the time zones in North America:
| Date | Kickoff time | |
| Eastern Time | Wed, Jun. 26 | 9:00 p.m. |
| Central Time | Wed, Jun. 26 | 8:00 p.m. |
| Mountain Time | Wed, Jun. 26 | 7:00 p.m. |
| Pacific Time | Wed, Jun. 26 | 6:00 p.m. |
| Alaska ST | Wed, Jun. 26 | 5:00 p.m. |
| Hawaii ST | Wed, Jun. 26 | 4:00 p.m. |
Mexico vs. Venezuela live stream, TV channel
- TV channel (US): Fox Sports 1, Univision, TUDN
- Streaming (US): Fubo, Fox Sports App, TUDN App, ViX
- TV channel (Canada): TSN 1, TSN 3, RDS
- Streaming (Canada): TSN+, RDS App
USA: Mexico vs Veuezuela from SoFi Stadium will be televised in the United States in English on Fox Sports 1, with a Spanish-language broadcast via Univision and TUDN. All three channels are available to stream on Fubo with the latter offering a FREE seven-day trial.
Canada: All Copa America matches can be seen in Canada on TSN's respective TV channel and live streaming services.
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Mexico vs. Venezuela lineups & team news
After losing Alvarez, coach Jaime Lozano will have to make at least one change to his lineup ahead of facing Venezuela. Luis Romo came off the bench to replace Alvarez and he is the most likely to take Alvarez's place in the lineup, as he currently plays as a holding midfielder for his club, Monterrey. But Carlos Rodriguez and Erick Sanchez are options too, as is moving Johan Vasquez into holding midfield and putting in another centerback, such as Jesus Orozco.
The wingers are also interchangeable, and while you can see Lozano going again with Julian Quinones and Uriel Antuna, it's certainly possible to see Alexis Vega or Marcelo Flores earning the start.
Mexico predicted: (4-3-3, right to left): Gonzalez — Sanchez, Montes, Vasquez, Arteaga — Romo, Chavez, Pineda — Antuna, Gimenez, Quinones.
Injured: Edson Alvarez.
Suspended: None
Venezuela coach Fernando Batista got a great reaction from his team after being down a goal at halftime despite being up a man. Eduard Bello, who entered at halftime and scored the game-winning goal, could be in line to start against Mexico. Bello should know many of the opponents well - he plays his club soccer for Mazatlan.
Otherwise, Venezuela had no injuries or suspensions from the first game, so we shouldn't expect to see too much change from the first match to this upcoming game.
Venezuela predicted (4-3-3, right to left): Romo — Gonzalez, Ferraresi, Osorio, Navarro — Bello, Herrera, Martinez — Machis, Rondon, Soteldo.
Injured: None
Suspended: None