Sonder Cadiz and Eduard Bello scored second-half goals after being substituted at half-time as Venezuela cruised to a 2-1 victory over short-handed Ecuador in the first round of the Copa America group stage on Saturday night.
Ener Valencia, who played in this tournament and is expected to lead Ecuador’s attack, received a red card immediately in the 22nd minute of the second half, and Ecuador held off one man until the end.
However, Ecuador took a 1-0 lead in the 40th minute of the first half when Jeremy Sarmiento scored a goal after Kendry Paez missed a penalty kick.
Cadiz made it 1-1 in the 64th minute with a one-touch shot from 15 yards out.
The score gave Venezuela a 2-1 lead in the 74th minute. Alexander González arced into the center of the penalty area from the right flank, Salomon Rondon’s diving header was blocked by goalkeeper Alexander Dominguez, and Bello took the advantage.
Rondon returned to the starting line-up after scoring a substitute goal in the team’s final friendly.
Ecuador, who advanced to the finals ranked 30th in the FIFA rankings, will play against Jamaica at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on the 19th. No. 54 Venezuela plays Mexico on Wednesday at Sopay Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Venezuelan fans could be heard chanting “Y va a car, y va a caer, este gobierno va a caer”, which translates to “And it will fall, it will fall, this government will fall”. This slogan came out ahead of the presidential election on July 28th.
Ecuador lost for the second time in their last 11 meetings with Venezuela in all competitions (4-2-5). The only time Venezuela beat Ecuador in the Copa America was in 2011.
Mexico 1, Jamaica 0
Mexico cruised to a 1-0 victory over Jamaica in their Copa America Group B opener, but their excitement at the title was tempered by a potentially tournament-ending injury to captain Edson Alvarez.
Alvarez collapsed in the 30th minute of the first half clutching his hamstring and limped off the field in tears.
Jamaica, 38 places behind Mexico, thought they had scored their first Copa America goal when Michail Antonio scored with a header in the fifth minute of the second half, but it was ruled offside by the video assistant.
Mexico picked up the pace after that scare with Luis Chavez, Santiago Gimenez and Gerardo Arteaga all forcing good saves from Jamaican goalkeeper Jahmali Waite, with Arteaga finally breaking the deadlock with a thunderous strike in the 69th minute.
As a result, Mexico increased its lead to a 3-point gap over Venezuela.
