Venezuela's national team is in the ascendency, and Wednesday's Copa America result against Mexico only helped to reinforce the rise of the Vinotinto.
Venezuela beat Mexico, 1-0, in front of a packed house at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, in both teams' second group stage match. With the win, Venezuela qualifies for the knockout stage, while Mexico will rue their many missed chances and poor finishing with the defeat.
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In a game with few clear cut chances, it figures that both teams would wind up with penalty kick opportunities. Venezuela legend Salomon Rondon buried his, sending Mexico goalkeeper Julio Gonzalez the wrong way in the 57th minute. But for El Tri, which was awarded a penalty kick after referee Raphael Claus consulted with the VAR monitor, it was a different outcome.
Orbelin Pineda, he of 71 caps and an eight-year tenure on the national team, stepped up and sent a slow, predictable penalty kick that Venezuela goalkeeper Rafael Romo read perfectly and knocked out of play.
Mexico couldn't get past the resolute Venezuela backline the rest of the game, and now El Tri is in a situation where they will need to beat Ecuador in the final group stage game to make it to the knockout round.
Mexico vs. Venezuela final stats
| Venezuela | Stats | Mexico |
| 10 | Shots | 18 |
| 2 | Shots on target | 5 |
| 1.19 | Expected goals (if applicable) | 2.57 |
| 38.8% | Possession | 61.2% |
| 323 | Passes | 491 |
| 2 | Corners | 7 |
| 7 | Fouls | 12 |
| 2 | Yellow cards | 2 |
| 4 | Offsides | 2 |
Mexico vs. Venezuela final score
| Final score | Goal scorers | |
| Mexico | 0 | |
| Venezuela | 1 | Rondon (57') |
Venue: SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Confirmed starting lineups:
Mexico (4-3-3, right to left): Gonzalez — Sanchez, Montes, Vasquez, Arteaga — Romo, Chavez, Rodriguez — Antuna, Gimenez, Quinones.
Venezuela (4-3-3, right to left): Romo — Aramburu, Ferraresi, Osorio, Navarro — Bello, Herrera, Martinez — Savarino, Rondon, Soteldo.
MORE: Copa America Odds and Betting Lines for Today's Games
Mexico vs. Venezuela live updates, highlights from Euro 2024
Full Time: Venezuela 1, Mexico 0. It's a shock to the heavy partisan Mexican supporting crowd at SoFi Stadium as Mexico lose in their second Copa America match. El Tri looked solid in possession but the final ball, and certainly their shooting, were poor tonight, and Pineda's penalty kick miss will loom large. Salomon Rondon meanwhile is the hero for Venezuela, scoring his penalty kick, as well as the Venezuela defensive line, which defended heroically all night and fully deserved this win.
90th+7 min: Another confrontation between Mexico and Venezuela leads to another Venezuela player down on the field and more complaining between the two teams.
90th+5 min: Chavez floats a chip into the box and Martinez rises high to head it across the box but Venezuela is just barely able to clear the danger. Another great chance for Mexico. Martinez has been a great target man during his time in the match.
90th+5 min: Mexico's problems in a nutshell. Pineda gets the ball on the left wing, feels like he has no one to pass to so he's dribbling all on his own into a corner, only for Casseras to take the ball off him and knock it off Pineda for a throw-in.
90th+2 min: Navarro fouls Sanchez down Mexico's right wing, so it's a huge free kick opportunity.
Chavez floats one towards the far post but Romo reads it all the way and skies high to crap it.
90th min: SAVE ROMO! Another chance for Mexico from close range is parried away, and Huerta's follow-up is blocked by a defender. Mexico can't seem to buy a goal tonight.
Six minutes of second half stoppage time.
89th min: Mexico earns another corner, but it's well defended by Venezuela. Their commitment to win aerial duals has been incredible all evening. Meanwhile, Venezuela brings on another defender, former Inter Miami defender Christian Makoun, in place of the former New York City FC midfielder Yangel Herrera.
87th min: SAVE VENEZUELA! Ball don't lie? Pineda fires low and to his left and Romo follows it all the way and pushes it out for a corner kick! Wowwww what a save!
86th min: The referee makes the VAR sign and awards Mexico a penalty kick! Wow, what a moment in this match. The Venezuelan defender had no chance to react from a shot from less than 5 yards away, but his arm was way over his shoulders and not in a "natural" position.
84th min: The referee Clauss is going to the monitor to take a look.
83rd min: PENALTY??? Sanchez fires a shot on goal, it's blocked by a Venezuela defender - possibly by his hand - and then the follow-up is smashed in by Vega and that may have hit a hand too. The referee says he's listening to his VAR assistants to see if there's anything there. There was no call on the field.
By the way, Venezuela just took off their best attackers, Rondon and Soteldo for Jhonder Cadiz and Wilker Angel.
80th min: How did they miss! Chavez floats a ball into the box, Sanchez crosses it across the face of goal and Martinez looks like he has a tap-in but Ferraresi makes an outstanding sliding tackle to keep Martinez from scoring.
At the other end, Machis runs forward on a break for Venezuela, lays it off for Rondon who gives it to Soteldo, but he's forced sideways until he finds Casseras, though the Ligue 1 player fires well wide.
78th min: Romo holds the ball 35 yards from goal, he sees Huerta making a darting run into the box and tries to chip it to Huerta but it isn't close and goes out of play.
77th min: Romo finds himself all alone at the top of the box on the right side, but he fires it way over the bar. Huge chance for the veteran midfielder. Meanwhile, Orbelin Pineda is on for Quinones for Mexico. And that's it on subs for Mexico tonight.
75th min: Mexico is ramping up the pressure and Martinez tries to chest a pass down to Chavez but it's cleared away.
73rd min: And another attacking change for Mexico - Cesar Huerta comes on for Uriel Antuna.
71st min: A change for Venezuela - Darwin Machis comes on for Bello after a heck of a shift from the Liga MX player.
69th min: Chance! Quinones crosses in from the left and it misses Martinez by an inch but forces a save from Romo, then Navarro is quickest to it and puts it out for a corner kick. If Navarro wouldn't have been there, it would have been a tap-in for Antuna.
68th min: Best sequence of the second half for Mexico in pinning Venezuela back, even if the final pass wasn't there. Sanchez floated a ball into the box that was partially cleared, but Mexico kept winning the ball back after Venezuela cleared it. The downside was Quinones constantly dribbling backwards instead of taking on his defender down the outside.
65th min: Casseras with some brilliant dribbling and passing down the right wing, combining with Bello to clear the ball from the Venezuela half and create a chance in Mexico's box, only for Romo to arrive late and clear it out for a throw-in.
63rd min: Vega and Navarro get mixed up and there's words between the two and a chest bump, before Vega pushes him away and Navarro dives down. Referee calls both players over and tells them to calm down, and shows a pair of yellow cards to each as well. Mexico can't afford to lose anyone to a red card at this point.
61st min: Mexico coach Jaime Lozano isn't waiting any longer. He brings on two substitutes, forwards Alexis Vega and Guillermo Martinez, into the match. They replace Gimenez and Rodriguez.
59th min: A Mexican attack breaks down and Herrera quickly starts the counter-attack for Venezuela. The ball makes its way out left to Soteldo, who floats in a cross in the box that is cleared back where it came by Vasquez. However, Sanchez accidentally touches it and Soteldo shepherds it out for a corner kick. The ensuing corner kick goes through everyone in the box, but no one from Venezuela attacks it.
57th min: GOAL VENEZUELA! Salomon Rondon puts Gonzalez the wrong way as Rondon finishes low and to the left inside the post, and Venezuela has a massive 1-0 lead early on in the second half. Let's see how Mexico responds in the next five minutes.
55th min: PENALTY FOR VENEZUELA! Aramburu gets goal-side of Quinones in the box and is bundled over and it's an easy decision from the referee. Terrific passing and connection between Aramburu and Casseras to create the opportunity.
53rd min: A turnover right to Soteldo gives the Venezuelan playmaker plenty of space to dribble forward towards goal. He finds Rondon at the top of the box but his shot on goal is deflected inches wide and out for a corner kick.
52nd min: Following a slow build-up, Sanchez tries a cross over the top to Antuna but he air-mails it out of play. Antuna gives Sanchez the thumbs-up for the idea though.
50th min: SAVE Gonzalez! The first time he's called upon all game and he produces an excellent save and clearance. Soteldo found room down the left after Rondon fed him and Gonzalez stuck out a right paw and blocked Soteldo's shot. Big moment in the game.
46th min: Former New York Red Bulls midfielder Christian Casseras Jr. comes in for Jefferson Savarino for Venezuela, as the Vinotinto look to shore up their midfield.
For Mexico, Israel Reyes enters in place of Cesar Montes.
2nd half kickoff: We're back underway from SoFi Stadium. Both teams made changes to start the second half.
Halftime: Mexico 0, Venezuela 0. That was a mostly forgettable first half for both sides, who failed to create many clear-cut chances and seemed content with a patient attack to set up a quick transition move forward. However, the final shot or final pass was lacking all half. Let's see if there are any halftime substitutes that can make an impact on this one.
45th+2 min: Johan Vasquez and Cesar Montes, El Tri's centerbacks, probably have the most touches of any Mexican player so far tonight. They've had a lot of moving the ball left and right.
Venezuela draws another foul, with whistles raining down from the crowd. Then the referee blows his whistle for halftime.
45th min: Whether due to tired legs or more fouls, the intensity of the game has dropped and the speed is down a little. The fourth official shows two minutes of stoppage time on the board.
42nd min: Vasquez makes a great tackle to win the ball back for Mexico and they set off on a break. The ball ends up at Rodriguez's feet and he tries crossing with his left but there's no Mexican player in the box within 5 yards.
39th min: Gimenez checks back to receive the ball, then tries to beat Martinez but the Venezuelan midfielder knocks it away from Gimenez. The two battle for it and then Romo comes over and knocks over Martinez. Ultimately, Gimenez is given a yellow card.
35th min: Ferraresi gets the first yellow of the match for a very stong
34th min: POST! Salomon Rondon beats the offside trap and gets a long cross forward into the box, he takes one touch to his left and fires a strike that kisses the far post on the right side and goes out of play.
32nd min: Some pushing and shoving begins between both teams after Quinones stepped on the foot of Herrera - I don't think he meant it - but the Venezuela players weren't happy. Referee is trying to keep the peace but Quinones continues to jaw with some Vinotinto players.
28th min: Mexico passing it around well now, and Quinones finds the ball at his feet on the third attempt as Gimenez shits it over to the left. Quinones tries another cross into the box and it's easily cut out by Venezuela.
25th min: Save Romo! Montes plays a ball forward into the box and Rodriguez heads it towards goal but it's an easy save for Romo.
23rd min: Jorge Sanchez crosses from right to left and the ball makes its way to Quinones. But the Colombian-born Mexican international way overhits his pass to Arteaga and it's out of play.
21st min: Another chance for Mexico, Vasquez finds Arteaga open on the left side and he tries a shot again but it misses the goal. Mexico is ramping up the pressure on the Venezuela defense.
19th min: Bello cuts inside from the rigght and tries a shot, but it's blocked. It leads to a quick break, where Chavez finds Gimenez in space 50 yards up the field. Gimenez dribbles to his left and shoots but he doesn't make great contact and Romo makes a save.
16th min: Another terrific long pass forward, this time from Gimenez to Antuna, but Antuna slows it down and tries to shoot, but it's blocked. A great chance come to nothing.
14th min: Romo coughs it up in a terrible spot, right now to his box, allowing Venezuela to quickly move forward. The ball ends up at Soteldo's feet and he shoots towards goal but it's always rising over the bar.
13th min: Mexico is comfortably passing the ball across their backline, sizing up Venezuela, while the fans get involved with ole's.
10th min: Romo with a terrific cross-field pass to Quinones who dribbles in on goal and lays it off to Gimenez, who fires a left-footed strike on goal that is saved by Romo into the middle. Quinones tries to get to the ball but it's cleared by Navarro first.
8th min: A nice passing move from Venezuela sees both the playmaking wingers, Soteldo and Jefferson Savarino getting involved as Venezuela moved the ball from left, to right, and back to left. Soteldo then received a ball while offside.
6th min: Montes again tries another long ball that nearly finds Gimenez before Osorio steps in and clears the ball to a teammate. Mexico is clearly looking to bypass the midfield and get the ball up to its forwards in space quickly once they pick up the ball in the defensive end of the field.
3rd min: An OUTSTANDING 50-yard cross-field pass from Cesar Montes finds Julio Quinones in space down the left. He cuts back and tries to find Rodriguez in the box but it's cut out by Herrera.
At the other end, Yeferson Soteldo picks up a loose ball in the Mexico half and dribbles towards the box, trying to cross into the middle but it's cut out by Montes. Danger at both ends early.
1st half kickoff: We're under way from SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles! And right off the bat, Mexico quickly move the ball down the field, Gimenez with a nice control at the edge of the box, passes it to Antuna who crosses to the far post but Romo can't get there in time and it's out for a goal kick. A great dangerous chance in the opening seconds for El Tri.
5 mins before kickoff: Teams are out on the field! It's national anthem time.
15 mins before kickoff: In the earlier match today, Ecuador topped Jamaica, 3-1, at Allegiant Stadium, with goals from Kendry Paez, Alan Minda, and a wild cross/shot from Piero Hincapie in the 13th minute that took a wicked deflection and went in from an impossible angle 30 yards from goal. With the win, Ecuador moves back into contention to make it to the knockout stage, while Jamaica is on the verge of being eliminated after just two matches.
30 minutes before kickoff: Lineup notes!
Mexico: Coach Jaime Lozano ends up making two changes. First, the expected change, as Luis Romo takes the injured Edson Alvarez's spot. But then we see Lozano withdraw veteran midfielder Orbelin Pineda for Carlos "Charly" Rodriguez in central midfield. We will see if this is an injury change or if there's something tactical Lozano saw on film of Venezuela's first Copa America matchup.
Venezuela: Coach Fernando Battista makes three changes, including adding Eduard Bello to the starting lineup. Bello will know a lot of these El Tri opponents because he plays for Mazatlan in Liga MX. Jon Aramburu also comes on as does Jefferson Savarino, formerly of Real Salt Lake
45 mins before kickoff: Mexico next. Notes on the lineups to come.
De nuevo...
— Selección Nacional (@miseleccionmx) June 27, 2024
¡Vamos #JuntosyUnidos! ✨🇲🇽
¡11 en la cancha, 180 millones de mexicanos fuera de ella alentando! 💚🇲🇽
Esta es la alineación @attmx para enfrentar a 🇻🇪. pic.twitter.com/zlRKQ4a8ct
1 hour before kickoff: Lineups are out! Venezuela first.
¡Los guerreros de 𝑳𝒂 𝑽𝒊𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐! 💪
— La Vinotinto (@SeleVinotinto) June 26, 2024
Estos son los elegidos por el profe Fernando Batista para enfrentar a México en Inglewood, California 🔥#SiempreVinotinto 🇻🇪 #VibraElContinente pic.twitter.com/iv0pzurM4i
1 hour, 15 mins before kickoff: Another interesting statistic from Opta/Stats Perform. Both Mexico and Venezuela had a lot of the ball in their first matches, and had 14 (Venezuela) and 13 (Mexico) sequences of 10 passes or more. We'll see who controls the tempo and possession tonight.
+10 - Venezuela🇻🇪 (14) y México🇲🇽 (13) fueron los equipos del Grupo B de la #CopaAmérica 2024 que más secuencias mayores a 10 pases elaboraron en su partido inicial. Ambos sumaron en el rubro más del triple que sus rivales zonales en conjunto: Ecuador (3) y Jamaica (1). Estilos. pic.twitter.com/olndM5WTrW
— OptaJorge (@OptaJorge) June 26, 2024
1 hour, 30 mins before kickoff: Perhaps it's not all bad news for El Tri without Edson Alvarez. In its last 10 competitive matches without Alvarez, El Tri has won seven of them and drawn twice.
77%- Mexico🇲🇽 has been 77% effective when Edson Álvarez does not play with the team among its last 10 non-friendly games. Absence. pic.twitter.com/YU57YqUjO8
— OptaJorge (@OptaJorge) June 26, 2024
2 hours before kickoff: Edson Alvarez offered an encouraging message to his teammates ahead of this game. How will El Tri cope without their captain? We'll find out tonight.
©️🗣️ A message, from our captain to all our Incondicionales: 🇲🇽💯#JuntosyUnidos, this Copa América is for you, Machín. 🫡
— Mexican National Team (@miseleccionmxEN) June 26, 2024
We know you'll come back stronger, @EdsonAlvarez19 pic.twitter.com/PrAoI8hJoD
Mexico vs. Venezuela kickoff time
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. |
Copa America 2024 Group B standings
| Pos. | Team | GP | W-D-L | Goals | Goals against | Points |
| 1. | Venezuela | 1 | 1-0-0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 2. | Mexico | 1 | 1-0-0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 3. | Ecuador | 1 | 0-0-1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 4. | Jamaica | 1 | 0-0-1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
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 confirmed starting lineup: (4-3-3, right to left): Gonzalez — Sanchez, Montes, Vasquez, Arteaga — Romo, Chavez, Rodriguez — Antuna, Gimenez, Quinones.
Mexico subs (max. 15): Lineups released one hour before kickoff
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 confirmed starting lineup (4-3-3, right to left): Romo — Aramburu, Ferraresi, Osorio, Navarro — Bello, Herrera, Martinez — Savarino, Rondon, Soteldo.
Venezuela subs (max. 15): Lineups released one hour before kickoff
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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