Venezuela national football team

The Venezuela national football team (Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Venezuela) represents Venezuela in men's international football and is controlled by the Venezuelan Football Federation (FVF), the governing body for football in Venezuela. They are nicknamed La Vinotinto ("Red wine") because of the traditional burgundy color of their shirts. When playing at home in official games, they usually rotate between three stadiums: The Polideportivo Cachamay in Puerto Ordaz, the Estadio José Antonio Anzoátegui in Puerto La Cruz and the Estadio Pueblo Nuevo in San Cristóbal. In friendly matches, they tend to rotate between the rest of the stadiums in the country.

Venezuela
Nickname(s)La Vinotinto
AssociationFederación Venezolana de Fútbol (FVF)
ConfederationCONMEBOL (South America)
Head coachJosé Peseiro
CaptainTomás Rincón
Most capsJuan Arango (129)
Top scorerSalomón Rondón (30)
Home stadiumEstadio José Antonio Anzoátegui
Polideportivo Cachamay
Estadio Pueblo Nuevo
FIFA codeVEN
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 25 (9 April 2020)[1]
Highest25 (November 2019)
Lowest129 (November 1998)
Elo ranking
Current 20 6 (2 April 2020)[2]
Highest18 (June 2019)
Lowest127 (1993, 1995, 1999)
First international
 Panama 3–1 Venezuela 
(Panama City, Panama; 12 February 1938)
Biggest win
 Venezuela 7–0 Puerto Rico 
(Caracas, Venezuela; 16 January 1959)
Biggest defeat
 Argentina 11–0 Venezuela 
(Rosario, Argentina; 10 August 1975)
Copa América
Appearances18 (first in 1967)
Best resultFourth place (2011)

Unlike other South American nations, and akin to some Caribbean nations, baseball is extremely popular in Venezuela, which diverts athletic talent away from football, contributing to its historic lack of success in CONMEBOL competitions. As of 2018, they are the only CONMEBOL side to have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup. Often Venezuela would go through entire qualification tournaments without recording a single win, although this has not happened since 1998. Until 2011, their best finish at the Copa América was fifth in their first entry, in 1967. It is only recently with the spread of the World Cup's popularity in nations where football was not the primary sport (such as Japan, the United States, and Australia) that the national team found incentives to increase player development and fan support. As of December 2019, Venezuela has the highest position on the FIFA World Ranking of any team that has not yet qualified for the World Cup, being ranked 25th.[3]

In spite of its lackluster senior performance, Venezuela has been notable for being the first country from outside the three traditional CONMEBOL forces (Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay) to reach the final of any FIFA competition, with its U-20 team achieved the feat in 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[4]

History

Backstory

Venezuela did not participate in FIFA World Cup qualification until the 1966 qualifiers in which they were drawn with Uruguay and Peru, but failed to register a point in four games. In the 1970 qualifiers they managed to register a point, and after withdrawing from the 1974 series, repeated that in the 1978 qualifiers. The 1982 qualifiers saw them register their first win, over Bolivia. They wouldn't register another World Cup qualifying win until the 1994 series when they defeated Ecuador. A highlight of the 1998 qualifiers was goalkeeper Rafael Dudamel scoring against Argentina in a 5–2 defeat.

Despite poor results during the 1960s and 1970s, outstanding players like Luis Mendoza and Rafael Santana achieved recognition. Venezuela at that time also managed to qualify for the 1980 Summer Olympics, its first ever major international football competition Venezuela participated.

Richard Páez era

After José Omar Pastoriza's resignation during the 2002 World Cup qualifyings, Richard Páez took the technical direction of the National Team. Finishing this process, Venezuela achieved 4 victories in a row against Uruguay, Chile, Peru, and Paraguay; winning more than 1 game in row, their first away game and not finishing in the last place for the first time in their World Cup qualifying history.

However, the team failed to qualify for both the 2002, and 2006 World Cups, gaining 12 and 18 points respectively. After this, the team advanced to the second round Copa America 2007 in Venezuela, is the first time they could reach it on this competition.

In November 2007, Páez resigned after discrepancies with media and supporters. [5]

César Farías era

With a new coach César Farías, Venezuela national team improved their performances. At the beginning of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying, Venezuela won its first game in World Cup qualifying against long unbeaten Ecuador in Quito. Something similar happened to Bolivia in La Paz, where Venezuela won for the first time at Bolivian altitude. Also, they received their first point against Brazil in qualifying. Despite not ultimately reaching the 2010, Venezuela achieved its best result in qualifying. They finished this round with 22 points in 18 matches, surpassing Peru and Bolivia for eighth place in the region.

On 6 June 2008, Venezuela achieved its second-ever triumph over Brazil, defeating the Seleção 2–0 in a friendly match in Boston, United States. Venezuela obtained excellent results in the 2011 Copa América when they finished fourth, their highest finish in the tournament to date. With a squad composed mostly of players playing in Europe, they began 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification with a historic result (1–0) against Argentina in Puerto La Cruz, beating the Argentines for the first time.

Noel Sanvicente era

On 4 September 2014, Noel Sanvicente was made coach of the Venezuela national team.[6] On 5 September 2014, the team lost its first match with Sanvicente under the helm 3–1 against South Korea in Bucheon.[7]

Sanvicente's first tournament came in the 2015 Copa América, with Venezuela drawn in Group C of the competition. Their opening game finished with an upset victory over tournament favorites Colombia by 1–0, but subsequent defeats to Peru and Brazil saw La Vinotinto eliminated.

Venezuela began the World Cup qualification campaign with a 1–0 defeat against Paraguay at home, and would not earn their first point until their match against Peru, a 2–2 draw in Lima where Venezuela led until the last minute of stoppage time. Their match with Chile ended in a disappointing 4–1 defeat, Sanvicente announced his resignation a week later after mutual consent with the FVF. At the time of Sanvicente's departure, Venezuela was last in the qualification standings with a sole point, and was unofficially eliminated.

Rafael Dudamel era

Sanvicente was replaced by former Vinotinto goalkeeper Rafael Dudamel, who decided to revamp the entire national team squad, by injecting the team with the promising young generation of Venezuelan players that finished second at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup that was dubbed as the country's first ever football Golden Generation.[8] Under his coaching, La Vinotinto quickly improved and reached the quarterfinals in the Copa América Centenario, with two 1–0 wins over Jamaica and Uruguay and a 1–1 draw against Mexico in the group stage and then a 4–1 defeat to Argentina in the quarter-finals. In the 7th matchday of the 2018 World Cup qualifier, Venezuela lost to Colombia 2–0 in Barranquilla, the first loss against Los Cafeteros since 2009. Later, on matchday 11, Venezuela won for the first time in the qualifier, 5–0 over Bolivia in Maturín with a hat-trick from Josef Martínez and goals from Jacobo Kouffati and Rómulo Otero.

On 2 January 2020, Dudamel resigned from the national team.

Copa América history

Venezuela first participated at the Copa América in 1967, and finished fifth after defeating Bolivia 3–0 with a side containing Mendoza and Santana. The 1975 tournament saw Venezuela drawn in a group with Brazil and Argentina, and finished bottom with an 11–0 defeat to Argentina. In the 1979 edition, which would be the international swansong for Mendoza and Santana, they drew 0–0 with Colombia and 1–1 with Chile. A highlight of the 1989 tournament was midfielder Carlos Maldonado's four goals. In the 1993 series, Venezuela drew with Uruguay and the United States.

The team's overall Copa América record has been relatively poor (goal difference 33–145 before the 2011 Copa América), but the "Auge Vinotinto" (Vinotinto Rise) period in the early 2000s (decade) brought increased attention to the sport in the country, which in turn brought increased support from both government and private institutions. Said support contributed greatly to the "Vinotinto's" rise in quality. In 2007, during the Copa América held in Venezuela, the team progressed to the quarterfinals for the first time in its history after finishing first in a group containing Peru, Bolivia, and Uruguay. Venezuela's 2–0 victory over Peru during the competition was its first Copa América victory since 1967.

2011 Copa América

At the 2011 Copa América championship, Venezuela reached the semi-finals round for the first time by defeating Chile in the quarter-final, 2–1. Despite their commanding presence against Paraguay in their semifinal, Venezuela was unable to convert their chances into goals. They would eventually lose 5–3 to Paraguay in a penalty shootout after remaining scoreless in normal and extra time. Venezuela and Peru played for third place at the Estadio Ciudad de La Plata, where Venezuela would suffer their biggest loss of the tournament, losing 4–1 to Peru and falling into fourth place overall. Nonetheless, it was their best ever finish at the competition.

Group B:

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Brazil 312064+25
 Venezuela 312043+15
 Paraguay 30305503
 Ecuador 301225−31

Results:

Team image

Venezuela made its international debut in the Central American and Caribbean Games held in Panama in 1938, wearing the vinotinto (burgundy) color. In the 1967 Copa América Venezuela also wore the Peñarol shirt v Chile to avoid colors clash, as Venezuela had arrived in the Estadio Centenario (Peñarol's frecquent venue) with no alternate shirts.[9]

In 1993, a vertical band with the colors of the National flag was added to the left side of the jersey, which changed its colors to a more traditional red tone. This lasted until 1996 when Venezuela returned to the vinotinto tone.[10]

Nevertheless, in 1998 Venezuela adopted a yellow/blue/red schem, similar to their flag colors, by Mexican manufacturer "ABA Sports".[10] The national team returned to the traditional color in 2000. It has been remaining (with few changes)[11] as the main uniform up to present days.

Kit providers

Source:[12]

Adidas jersey worn during the 2014 World Cup qualifying
Period Manufacturer
1981–1991 Adidas
1993–1996 Forte
1996–1997 Polmer
1998–1999 Aba Sport
2000–2005 Atlética
2005–2018 Adidas
2019– Givova

Results and fixtures

2019

2020

2021

2020 Copa América group standing
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Colombia (H) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2  Brazil 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Qatar 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4  Venezuela 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5  Ecuador 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6  Peru 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played on 12 June 2021. Source: CONMEBOL
(H) Host.

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification standing
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Uruguay 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification to 2022 FIFA World Cup — 3 Jun '21 11 Nov '21 8 Sep '20 12 Oct '21 13 Oct '20 12 Nov '20 2 Sep '21 TBD 30 Mar '21
2  Colombia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 Sep '20 — 7 Oct '21 8 Oct '20 TBD 11 Nov '21 7 Sep '21 17 Nov '20 30 Mar '21 8 Jun '21
3  Peru 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 25 Mar '21 12 Nov '20 — TBD 13 Oct '20 2 Sep '21 16 Nov '21 8 Sep '20 3 Jun '21 12 Oct '21
4  Brazil 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 Jun '21 2 Sep '21 30 Mar '21 — 3 Sep '20 TBD 12 Oct '21 13 Oct '20 11 Nov '21 12 Nov '20
5  Venezuela 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to inter-confederation play-offs 17 Nov '20 16 Nov '21 7 Sep '21 3 Jun '21 — 7 Oct '21 TBD 25 Mar '21 8 Sep '20 8 Oct '20
6  Bolivia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 Sep '21 25 Mar '21 8 Oct '20 16 Nov '21 12 Nov '20 — 8 Jun '21 TBD 12 Oct '21 3 Sep '20
7  Paraguay 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 Oct '21 13 Oct '20 TBD 17 Nov '20 30 Mar '21 8 Sep '20 — 3 Jun '21 2 Sep '21 11 Nov '21
8  Argentina 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 Oct '20 12 Oct '21 8 Jun '21 7 Sep '21 11 Nov '21 30 Mar '21 3 Sep '20 — 12 Nov '20 TBD
9  Chile 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 Nov '21 TBD 3 Sep '20 25 Mar '21 8 Jun '21 17 Nov '20 8 Oct '20 7 Oct '21 — 7 Sep '21
10  Ecuador 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD 8 Sep '20 17 Nov '20 7 Oct '21 2 Sep '21 3 Jun '21 25 Mar '21 16 Nov '21 13 Oct '20 —
First match(es) will be played on 3 September 2020. Source: FIFA

Players

Current squad

The following 39 players was called up for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification postponed matches against Colombia that were going to be played on March 23rd, 2020 and Paraguay on March 31st, 2020.
Caps and goals are correct as of 19 November 2019, after the match against Japan.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Wuilker Faríñez (1998-02-15) 15 February 1998 22 0 Millonarios
1GK Rafael Romo (1990-02-25) 25 February 1990 12 0 Silkeborg
1GK José Contreras (1994-10-20) 20 October 1994 6 0 Deportivo Táchira
1GK Joel Graterol (1997-02-13) 13 February 1997 0 0 América de Cali
2DF Roberto Rosales (1988-11-20) 20 November 1988 81 1 Leganés
2DF Alexander González (1992-09-13) 13 September 1992 46 1 Mirandés
2DF Mikel Villanueva (1993-04-14) 14 April 1993 25 2 Málaga
2DF Wilker Ángel (1993-03-18) 18 March 1993 23 2 Akhmat Grozny
2DF Rolf Feltscher (1990-10-06) 6 October 1990 23 0 LA Galaxy
2DF Jhon Chancellor (1992-01-02) 2 January 1992 15 0 Brescia
2DF Ronald Hernández (1997-09-21) 21 September 1997 15 0 Aberdeen
2DF Yordan Osorio (1994-05-10) 10 May 1994 10 0 Zenit Saint Petersburg
2DF Luis Mago (1994-09-15) 15 September 1994 9 1 Universidad de Chile
2DF Bernardo Añor (1988-05-24) 24 May 1988 3 0 Caracas
2DF Nahuel Ferraresi (1998-11-19) 19 November 1998 3 0 Porto B
2DF Gabriel Benítez (1993-09-30) 30 September 1993 1 0 Unattached
3MF Tomás Rincón (Captain) (1988-01-13) 13 January 1988 101 1 Torino
3MF Luis Manuel Seijas (1986-06-23) 23 June 1986 70 2 Santa Fe
3MF Rómulo Otero (1992-11-09) 9 November 1992 33 6 Atlético Mineiro
3MF Jhon Murillo (1995-11-21) 21 November 1995 29 4 Tondela
3MF Arquímedes Figuera (1989-10-06) 6 October 1989 28 1 Universidad César Vallejo
3MF Darwin Machís (1993-02-07) 7 February 1993 23 6 Granada
3MF Juan Pablo Añor (1994-01-24) 24 January 1994 21 1 Málaga
3MF Júnior Moreno (1993-07-20) 20 July 1993 20 1 D.C. United
3MF Yangel Herrera (1998-01-07) 7 January 1998 18 2 Granada
3MF Yeferson Soteldo (1997-06-30) 30 June 1997 17 1 Santos
3MF Adalberto Peñaranda (1997-05-31) 31 May 1997 16 0 Watford
3MF Jefferson Savarino (1996-11-11) 11 November 1996 13 1 Atlético Mineiro
3MF Renzo Zambrano (1994-08-26) 26 August 1994 5 0 Portland Timbers
3MF Ronaldo Lucena (1997-02-27) 27 February 1997 3 0 Jaguares de Córdoba
3MF Bernaldo Manzano (1990-07-02) 2 July 1990 3 0 Atletico Bucaramanga
3MF Eduard Bello (1995-08-20) 20 August 1995 2 0 Antofagasta
3MF Samuel Sosa (1999-12-17) 17 December 1999 1 0 Alcorcón
4FW Salomón Rondón (1989-09-16) 16 September 1989 81 30 Dalian Professional
4FW Fernando Aristeguieta (1992-04-09) 9 April 1992 19 1 Morelia
4FW Sergio Córdova (1997-08-09) 9 August 1997 8 0 Augsburg
4FW Andrés Ponce (1996-11-11) 11 November 1996 7 1 Akhmat Grozny
4FW Jan Carlos Hurtado (2000-03-05) 5 March 2000 3 0 Boca Juniors
4FW Jhonder Cádiz (1995-07-29) 29 July 1995 2 0 Dijon

Friendlies not recognized by FIFA are not counted.

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team in the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Alain Baroja (1989-10-23) 23 October 1989 14 0 Delfín 2019 Copa América PRE
DF Williams Velásquez (1997-04-22) 22 April 1997 0 0 Portland Timbers 2 v.  Japan, 19 November 2019 PRE
DF Pablo Bonilla (1999-12-02) 2 December 1999 0 0 Portland Timbers 2 v.  Ecuador, 1 June 2019
MF José Martínez (1994-08-07) 7 August 1994 0 0 Philadelphia Union v.  Japan, 19 November 2019 PRE
MF Erickson Gallardo (1995-06-03) 3 June 1995 1 0 Toronto v.  Ecuador, 1 June 2019
MF Ágnel Flores (1989-05-29) 29 May 1989 25 0 Atlético Venezuela 2019 Copa América PRE
MF Luis González (1990-12-22) 22 December 1990 8 0 Junior 2019 Copa América PRE
FW Josef Martínez (1993-05-19) 19 May 1993 51 12 Atlanta United 2019 Copa América WD

INJ Withdrew due to injury
PRE Preliminary squad
SUS Suspended
WD Withdrew from the squad

Records

Most caps
Midfielder Juan Arango has played the most matches for Venezuela: 129 between 1999 and 2015.
Salomón Rondón is the player with the most goals scored.

Blue highlights denotes active players. Only FIFA International A matches are being counted.

Position Name Period Caps Goals
1Juan Arango1999–201512923
2José Manuel Rey1997–201111511
3Tomás Rincón2008–1011
4Jorge Alberto Rojas1999–2009913
5Miguel Mea Vitali1999–2012841
6Salomón Rondón2008–8130
6Roberto Rosales2007–811
8Oswaldo Vizcarrondo2004–2016807
9Luis Vallenilla1996–2007761
10Gabriel Urdaneta1996–2005759
As of 14 Oct 2019 (UTC)[13]

Top scorers

Blue highlights denotes active players. Only FIFA International A matches are being counted.

Position Name Period Goals Caps Goals/Caps Ratio Minutes Goals/90' Ratio
1Salomón Rondón2008–30810.375,937'0.46
2Juan Arango1999–2015231320.189,918'0.21
3Giancarlo Maldonado2003–201122650.344,669'0.42
4Ruberth Morán1996–200714630.224,059'0.31
5Josef Martínez2011–201912510.242.760'0.39
6Miku2006–201511500.222,902'0.34
6José Manuel Rey1997–2011111110.109,479'0.10
8Daniel Arismendi2006–201110300.301,257'0.71
9Gabriel Urdaneta1996–20059750.125,269'0.15
10Juan García1989–20097490.142,586'0.24
10Oswaldo Vizcarrondo2004–20167800.097,509'0.08
As of 14 Oct 2019

Competitive record

Head to head

FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
1930 Did not enter Declined participation
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958 Withdrew Withdrew
1962 Did not enter Declined participation
1966 Did not qualify 4 0 0 4 4 15
1970 6 0 1 5 1 18
1974 Withdrew Withdrew
1978 Did not qualify 4 0 1 3 2 8
1982 4 1 0 3 1 9
1986 6 0 1 5 5 15
1990 4 0 0 4 1 18
1994 8 1 0 7 4 34
1998 16 0 3 13 8 41
2002 18 5 1 12 18 44
2006 18 5 3 10 20 28
2010 18 6 4 8 23 29
2014 16 5 5 6 14 20
2018 18 2 6 10 19 35
2022 To be determined To be determined
2026
Total 0/21 140 25 25 90 120 315

Copa América

     Champions       Runners-up       Third Place       Fourth Place  

South American Championship / Copa América record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
1916 to 1963Did not participate
1967Fifth place5th5104716
1975Group stage10th4004126
197910th4022112
198310th4013110
198710th200218
198910th4013411
199110th4004115
199311th3021611
199512th3003410
199712th300305
199912th3003113
200112th300307
200411th301225
2007Quarter-finals6th412156
2011Fourth place4th623178
2015Group stage9th310223
2016Quarter-finals6th421145
20197th412133
2021Qualified
2024Qualified
TotalFourth place18/46628134247171

Pan American Games
Pan American Games record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
1951 Fourth place 4th 4 1 0 3 5 14
1955 Fourth place 4th 6 1 2 3 9 20
1959 Did not participate
1963
1967
1971
1975
1979
1983 Round 1 7th 2 1 0 1 3 3
1987 Did not qualify
1991
1995
1999
2003
2007 Round 1 12th 3 0 0 3 1 6
2011 Did not qualify
2015
2019
TotalFourth place4/181532101843

See also
  • Venezuela national under-23 football team
  • Venezuela national under-20 football team
  • Venezuela national under-17 football team
  • Venezuela national futsal team

References
  1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 9 April 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  2. Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 2 April 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  3. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA.com. FIFA. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  4. https://www.bbc.com/sport/live/football/40205178
  5. https://www.emol.com/noticias/deportes/2007/11/26/283172/venezuela-se-quedo-sin-dt-renuncio-richard-paez.html
  6. FIFA.com. "Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) – FIFA.com". fifa.com. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  7. "Korea Republic 3 – 1 Venezuela Match report – 9/5/14 Friendlies – Goal.com". goal.com. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  8. https://www.footballparadise.com/jovenes-venezuela-golden-u20-generation/
  9. Vinotinto aurinegra on AguantenChe website, 18 Jan 2013
  10. La evolución de la camisa vinotinto desde 1938
  11. La vinotinto estrenará uniforme on La Patilla website
  12. Las marcas que han vestido a la Vinotinto on Meridiano.com
  13. Luis Fernando Passo Alpuin. "Appearances for Venezuela National Team". RSSSF. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.