Our prediction for this World Cup 2026 match:
Bolivia will look to bounce back from a 3-0 loss to Uruguay when they host Venezuela to Estadio Municipal de El Alto, located 4,150 meters above sea level. La Verde produce much better showings at home than on the travels as their rivals find it hard to breathe in El Alto, but Thursday’s game will be anything but a walk in the park for Oscar Villegas’ troops. The new boss is likely to adopt a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Carmelo Algaranaz as a lone centre-forward.
La Vinotinto, on the other hand, are enjoying a very successful World Cup qualifying campaign, with the team sitting in 4th place in the standings. Bolivia, though, are tough to beat at home, which is probably the main reason why we are going to bet on draw. The bad news for the visiting side is that Girona midfielder Yangel Herrera misses the World Cup qualifier with injury.
Highlighted Player (Jose Salomon Rondon):
Over the years Jose Solomon Rondon has established himself as one of the best South American attackers. The Venezuelan striker was born in Caracas on September 16, 1989 and he played for San Jose de Calasanz at the start of his youth career. He played for the youth teams of Deportivo Guilima and Aragua as well and he continued playing for Aragua at senior level.
After scoring 15 goals in 15 appearances for the club, Salomon Rondon moved to Spain in 2008, signing a deal with La liga side Las Palmas and two years later he moved to fellow Spanish outfit Malaga. The left-footed forward scored 25 goals in 67 appearances in La Liga for los Boquerones, but in the summer of 2012 he moved to Russian club Rubin Kazan.
Despite failing to impress in 36 appearances for the Tatars, Zenit chiefs decided to bring Rondon to Sankt Petersburg in 2014 and it has to be noted that the Venezuela international scored 20 goals in 37 appearances in the Russian Premier League for the Zenitchiki. Salomon Rondon, who made his Venezuela debut in February 2008 against Haiti, currently plays for West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League.
Highlighted Team (Bolivia):
Bolivian Football Federation has been established in 1926 and it is one of the 10 member of South American Football Confederation. Managed by Julio César Baldivieso, La Verde have gone through difficult times since their second place finish at Copa America 1997.
Three-time World Cup participants have last appeared at the global stage in 1994 and they have never gone past the first round on any of the three tournaments, scoring only one goal at the tournament held in the USA. Bolivia took part in 24 Copa America tournaments since their debut in 1926 and the most prominent result was their 1963 title.
Luis Hector Cristaldo and Marco Sandy are the two players with most caps for Bolivia with their 93 international appearances, while Joaquin Botero’s name still stands at the top of the scoring charts with the former Bolivian international netting 20 during his time with the national team.