PREVIEW – Venezuela vs CanMNT will be the second of four quarterfinals to take place. These two teams will face the winner of the Argentina vs Ecuador in the 2024 Copa América semi-final round. This is a big game for both teams as Canada has never made the semi-final round of this competition and Venezuela only made the semi-finals once before in 2007.
Venezuela vs CanMNT: A Historic Semi-final Berth To Fight For
Venezuela (3-1-1)
Venezuela has come out as group winners of the 2024 Copa América Group B group. This is what the Venezuelan assistant coach said after the Jamaica game (Source: Abraham Nudelstejer of The Dallas Morning News):
“We are very happy for the great moment we are experiencing, but we have not yet achieved our main goal,” said Venezuela assistant coach Leandro Cufré after the game against Jamaica.
Venezuela had two tight wins over Ecuador and Mexico, before sending off Jamaica from the competition with a 3-0 win. They have also kept two clean sheets in their last two games. Looking at their last game, they dominated the scoring opportunities with more than double the shots on goal as Jamaica.
Canada (1-2-2)
The CanMNT come into this matchup as runners-up of Group A in the 2024 Copa América tournament. Canada had trouble scoring goals, but their defence was stellar, only allowing two goals in three games played, which included two clean sheets against Chile and Peru. This is what the Canadian head coach, Jesse Marsch, said about the accomplishment (Source: beIN Sports):
The goal scored by Jonathan David against Peru was enough for Canada to get through to the knockout stages of the competition.
The Injury to Tajon Buchanan
Unfortunately, for Canada, they will be without Tajon Buchanan as he got injured in a training session. This is what Alistair Johnston said about the difficult situation and the motivation of the team heading into the quarterfinal game against Venezuela (Source: TSN):
“Well, he (Tajon Buchanan) will be the first one to say, to the guys, do it for me. Focus on the game, we made it this far, let’s keep it going,” Johnston said. “Do it for Tajon.”
Buchanan has speed and can be a very good player for the national team. It is a shame as he played well off the bench and almost assisted on a goal by Tani before it was called off-side.
Players to Watch For
With Canada, Jonathan David, who scored the only goal for Canada so far in the competition, can have another big night for Canada on Friday. Similarly, with Cyle Larin, the leading goal-scorer in the national team’s history is someone to look at.
Then there is of course, their goalkeeper, Maxime Crépeau, who made some incredible saves in all three matches, and is a big reason why they are in the knockout stage of the tournament.
There is also Venezuela, who has a lot of players to look at. One player to note is Yeferson Soteldo, who used to play for Toronto FC from 2021-22. With Venezuela he has been with the national team and has scored four goals in 41 games.
As for the star players to watch, Kurosh Moghtader of Total Football Analysis mentioned two players, Rafael Romo and Yangel Herrera.
Then, Herrera, as Moghtader explained in his article, has been excellent with his passing in all his three games in the 2024 Copa América competition.
Head-to-Head And How To Watch The Game Tomorrow
The CanMNT and Venezuela has tied twice in their all-time head-to-head matchups. The last time both teams met was May 29, 2024, when both teams drew 1-1. The winner of this game will face defending Copa América and FIFA World Cup Champions, Argentina in the semi-finals.
As for the game coming up between the two teams, it will be at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. It will be at 9:00PM ET and it will be televised nationally on TSN and RDS.
Photo Credit: Canada Soccer EN X Account and the Canada Soccer FR X Account on June 29, 2024.
