Venezuela vs Canada

CONMEBOL minnows Venezuela and North American debutants Canada go head-to-head in an exciting 2024 Copa America quarter-final tie at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Venezuela headed into the tournament with low expectations, questioning their capacity to reach the Copa America knockouts for the first time since 2019. However, Fernando Batista’s side enjoyed a dream group-stage campaign, winning all three matches against Ecuador, Mexico, and Jamaica via a combined score of 6-1 to finish top of Group B. In doing so, La Vinotinto made history, racking up three consecutive Copa America wins for the first time. Venezuela’s defensive resilience has been outstanding, with only Argentina (0) conceding fewer goals than them (1). But despite netting six goals, they’ve proved prone to slow starts. Yet to score before halftime, Venezuela may need more late drama to advance into the Copa America semis for the first time since a fourth-place finish in 2011.

On the other hand, Canada’s maiden Copa America campaign was off to a sluggish start, with reigning holders Argentina beating them 2-0 in their opening Group A outing. However, despite only scoring once in three games, Jesse Marsch’s men secured a runner-up finish ahead of Chile and Peru courtesy of a round-two win against La Roja. Back-to-back clean sheets in the build-up to this high-stakes fixture can inspire confidence among the Canada faithful, even though the Canucks have drawn a blank in four of their five internationals under Marsch (W1, D2, L2). Against this backdrop, the Canadians have found the net in both previous encounters against Venezuela, with each ending all square, highlighting the possibility of another extra-time/shootout drama.