Tonight, thousands of soccer fans will gather at the Sofi Stadium in Inglewood, California, where Venezuela will compete against Mexico for the top position in group for the 2024 Copa America.
In their first group-stage matches, Venezuela claimed a 2-1 victory against Ecuador while Mexico defeated Jamaica 1-0. Now, at SoFi Stadium, those victors will fight to make it to the next round.
The Venezuelan team started the competition with expectations of surpassing their best performance in the tournament: fourth place back in 2011. Their last win versus Ecuador set the course towards that objective.
However, Mexico has been a strong opponent of Venezuela for decades, winning the last 10 of 13 games ; the other three ended in draws. This game would be the first time the “vino tinto” beat the Mexican team.
A second win in the tournament would consolidate Venezuela’s considerable momentum.
Since their current Coach Fernando “Bocha” Batista assumed the position more than a year ago, Venezuela has lost one game.
The Mexican side also came onto the stage amidst controversies and a plan to prove themselves. Key players like Guillermo “Memo” Ochoa, Hirving Lozano and Raul Jimenez were not called up by the Mexican head coach Jaime Lozano.
This decision left room for younger players to gain experience and prepare for the 2026 World Cup that will take place in their home country, the U.S. and Canada. The young squad has responded well so far, earning a win against Jamaica this past Saturday.
After tonight, Mexico and Venezuela will have two more games.
The game starts at 9 p.m. Miami time and will be live-streamed on Fox Sports and DirectTV Stream. For fans willing to make the trip to the Sofi Stadium, tickets start at $120 and go up to $2,000 on Ticketmaster.
