Romo stands out and Venezuela beats Mexico in the Copa América

On Wednesday night (26), at 10pm Brasília, Venezuela and Mexico faced each other at SoFi Stadium, in Los Angeles. Venezuela's 1-0 victory was the tenth in the team's history at the Copa América, and the result guaranteed the team's place in the quarter-finals of the competition. Mexico entered the field without captain Edson Álvarez, who was injured, and is expected to miss the remainder of the competition.

The game started at an intense pace for both teams, but Jaime Lozano's team had a better start compared to the previous two games, especially today's match. Determined in the search for the goal and in their posture on the field, Mexico started strong, but faced a Venezuela willing to win, although with little creativity.

Balanced first half

The first half started with a shot from Antuna, who shot at the goal in an attempt to open the scoring for the Mexico team, but ended up shooting wide. Still in the first ten minutes, Luis Chávez made a precise finish, but the opponent managed to defend the move. Carlos Rodriguez also tried to score, but missed the target.

Then, Venezuela reacted with Soteldo, who ended up missing his shot when finishing in the opponent's goal. In the 18th minute, Santi Giménez made a precise finish, but the opponent managed to save the attempt.

At 33, Savarino made a throw to the left, and Rondón shot with great danger. The ball hit the post, causing excitement among the Venezuelan fans, in a move that was the closest to opening the scoring. Shortly afterwards, Luis Chávez had a chance to score, but the defense managed to block the shot. The first stage ended with a lot of physical competition and little inspiration in the plays for both teams.

Decisive second half for Venezuela

Soteldo tried to open the scoring in the 4th minute, followed by Rondón's attempt, both stopped by the opposing defense. Shortly afterwards, a new attempt by the attacker ends with the ball thrown out. Cáceres also finishes, but misses.

At 9, Ramburu connected with Cásseres and received the ball in the area, being brought down by Quiñones; play that resulted in a penalty in favor of Venezuela. Rondón sent a low shot into the corner, while goalkeeper Julio González threw himself to the opposite side, with no chance of defense, scoring the first of the match. Herrera tried to increase the score in the 30th minute, without success. Mexico started to slow down the game, but still made some attempts. Luis Romo tried to finish, but missed the target.

_{Rondón in this Wednesday's match, decisive for Venezuela's classification in the Copa América (reproduction/Instagram/@copaamerica)}

At 35, Soteldo made a good pass to Cásseres, who dominated and finished, but was unable to catch the ball well. Minutes later, Jorge Sánchez's ball hits Miguel Navarro's arm, who falls to the ground, showing that the shot was a clear penalty, confirmed by Raphael Claus. Pineda is chosen to take the free kick, but he shoots into the right corner.

The Venezuelan goalkeeper stretches to the maximum to make a spectacular save, and prevents the Mexican team from equalizing. Mexico continued trying to change the score, and Huerta finished with precision, but the opponent saved the chance safely. Romo also made another attempt, but the game ended after 49 minutes, with a victory for Venezuela and a historic classification for the team.

Featured photo: Venezuela team celebrates victory and classification in the Copa América (reproduction/Instagram/@copaamerica)