A pair of surprise stories at the 2024 Copa America will battle for a place in the semi-finals as Venezuela and Canada square off at AT&T Stadium on Friday.
La Vinotinto shocked everyone by topping Group B with nine points, defeating Jamaica 3-0 last weekend, while the Canucks were the Group A runners-up after hanging onto a 0-0 draw with Chile on matchday three.
Match preview
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When Venezuela went down 1-0 to Ecuador late in the opening half of their first game, it appeared as though they were headed towards another early exit.
Instead, we have witnessed an underdog story emerge, with this side winning their three group contests at this tournament for the first time.
The calming influence of Fernando Batista seems to be just what this group needed, as they have shown tremendous poise on the back end, conceding just once in their last four matches across all competitions.
If La Vinotinto emerge victorious from this upcoming encounter, they will advance to the semi-finals of this tournament for the first time since 2011.
Their previous two quarter-final appearances at the Copa America resulted in defeats to Argentina both times, losing 2-0 to them at this stage in 2019.
Since suffering a 3-1 defeat to Mexico in June 2019, the Venezuelans are unbeaten in eight consecutive matches versus CONCACAF opposition.
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Last weekend, the Canadians achieved something rarely seen before in this competition, becoming just the third nation to advance beyond the group stage of their first-ever Copa America, with the other two being Mexico and Honduras.
Les Rouges will hope to follow in the footsteps of the Mexicans and Hondurans, who each advanced beyond the quarter-finals of this tournament in their debut appearances.
Jesse Marsch has seen this team adapt quickly to his approach, which revolves around togetherness and intensity, two formulas that have served the Canadians well at this tournament.
After losing his first match in charge against the Netherlands (4-0), Marsch’s side have posted three clean sheets in their previous four competitive fixtures.
Les Rouges have not scored a first-half goal all year but have also not conceded in the opening 45 minutes on eight successive occasions.
Friday will only be the third time these sides meet, with the previous two matches ending in a draw thanks to a late equaliser by Canada.
Venezuela Copa America form:
Venezuela form (all competitions):
Canada Copa America form:
Canada form (all competitions):
Team News
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For this quarter-final clash, Venezuela will be without Darwin Machis, who collected a second booking on matchday three, while Nahuel Ferraresi and Miguel Navarro should return to the starting 11 after being kept off the field against Jamaica because they were each on a yellow card.
Yeferson Soteldo could reclaim his place in the midfield following the Machis suspension, while Jefferson Savarino and Cristian Casseres will be pushing to earn a spot in the opening lineup as attacking midfielders.
On matchday three, Venezuelan record goalscorer Salomon Rondon notched his second of the competition, as did Eduard Bello, while Eric Ramirez scored for just the second time with the national team.
Canada are unlikely to have Tajon Buchanan available, with the Inter Milan winger breaking his tibia in training this week, forcing him to undergo surgery.
Ismael Kone, who recently agreed to join Ligue 1 side Marseille, will likely draw back into the Canadian lineup on Friday after sitting out of their final group match, having been on a yellow card.
Jonathan David had their only goal in the opening phase of this competition, the 27th all-time for the Lille striker, two fewer than Cyle Larin for the most ever with the Canucks, while Maxime Crepeau has posted consecutive clean sheets.
Venezuela possible starting lineup:
Romo; Aramburu, Ferraresi, Y. Osorio, Navarro; Martinez, Herrera; Bello, Casseres, Soteldo; Rondon
Canada possible starting lineup:
Crepeau; Johnston, Bombito, Cornelius, Davies; Kone, Eustaquio; Ahmed, David, Laryea; Larin
We say: Venezuela 1-1 Canada (Venezuela advances on penalties)
The Canadians have been a resilient group, but in a match that could be about holding your nerve, we trust the experience of players like Rondon to carry the Venezuelans through.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
