Our prediction for this Copa America match:
Ecuador
Match Time & Date:
23/06/2024
00:00
Prediction: 1-0
Venezuela
Ecuador and Venezuela take on each other at Levi’s Stadium in what is expected to be an interesting Copa America game. La Tri aim to build on back-to-back wins over Bolivia and Honduras, but they will have to showcase their worth on the field. Experienced striker Enner Valencia is widely expected to lead the line for the nominal hosts, while fellow forward Kevin Rodriguez made the cut after overcoming his injury. Bayer Leverkusen left-back Piero Hincapie is yet another star player in Felix Sanchez’s team.
La Vinotinto, on the other hand, produced an under-par performance in a goalless draw with Guatemala, which is probably the main reason why we are going to bet on Ecuador. Venezuela football legend Salomon Rondon should be recalled to the starting XI after scoring as a substitute in the last warm-up game. In their last meeting at Copa America (2021) the two teams played out a 2-2 draw.
Highlighted Player (Enner Valencia):
Enner Valencia is a prolific 26-year-old striker who plays for West Ham United in the English Premier League. Nicknamed “Superman”, Valencia started his career with Emelec in 2010. He enjoyed league success with Emelec and was awarded the “Copa Sudamericana Golden Boot” in 2013.
He also played for Pachuca in Mexico winning the Liga MX Golden Boot in 2014. His goal-scoring record and pace caught the attention of West Ham which bought him for an estimated £12 million in July 2014. At international level, Valencia made his debut in 2012 and has represented the country in 24 games so far. He is one of Ecuador’s top ten goal scorers of all time with 14 goals.
He has already represented Ecuador at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2015 Copa America tournaments. Enner Valencia is Ecuador’s joint top scorer – along with Agustin Delgado – in World Cup tournaments with three goals.
Highlighted Team (Venezuela):
The Venezuela national team is the member of South American CONMEBOL confederation competing at the international stage since 1938, at the same time fighting for glory and popularity in the country where baseball diverts all of the attention from the sport. With increased popularity of the FIFA World Cup the country found enough motivation and incentive to increase player development and fan support in order to strengthen the cult of the national football team.
However, South American minnows Venezuela have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup and as of 2014 they remain the only CONMEBOL member not to achieve this feat. La Vinotinto have however appeared in 15 Copa America tournament with their first entry coming in 1967. Their best result was the fourth-place finish in 2011 and under the new leadership of Rafael Dudamet, Venezuela are looking for an upset at Copa America Centenario.
The most prominent player of the Venezuela national team is New York Cosmos midfielder Juan Arango who is the team’s top scorer and the player with most caps.
