Our prediction for this World Cup 2026 match:
Chile will try to put an end to their eight-game winless run when they face Venezuela in the World Cup qualifiers round 12. La Roja are stuck at the bottom with only six points on their account and they need to win Wednesday’s clash if they are to keep their qualification hopes alive. Veteran Arturo Vidal should keep his place in the starting XI following his fine performance in a goalless draw with Peru, while there are no fresh injury worries in the home team.
La Vinotinto, on the other hand, came from behind to share the spoils with star-studded Brazil in their last group game. Venezuela, though, are not regarded as good travellers and we do not believe that they are capable of grabbing more than one point from the Estadio Nacional Julio Martinez Pradanos clash. Both Yangel Herrera and Jose Martinez should miss out with injuries for the away team.
Highlighted Player (Arturo Vidal):
Arturo Vidal is a Chilean international who started his senior career at Colo-Colo. In 2007 he moved to Europe, signing a deal with Bayer Leverkusen. After making 117 league appearances for the Bundesliga outfit from 2007 to 2011, he joined Juventus on 22 July, 2011 for a fee of €10.5 million.
Vidal won four Serie A trophies with the Bianconeri and he participated in the Champions League final against Barcelona on 6 June, 2015. The Serie A giants, though, were beaten by Barca in the title game. In the summer of 2015 he moved to Bayern Munich and he won the Bundesliga trophies with Pep Guardiola’s team in the 2015/2016 season. Speaking of his international career, Vidal won two Copa America trophies with Chile (2015, 2016).
The Chilean ace is a central midfielder, but he is capable of playing as both as defensive at attacking midfielder as well. His contract with Bayern Munich expires on 30 June, 2019.
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.