Copa America 2024 Group B Recaps: Venezuela Tops Mexico, Ecuador Rebounds Against Jamaica
Copa America 2024 Group B Recaps: Venezuela Tops Mexico, Ecuador Rebounds Against Jamaica
Venezuela notched a second straight group victory over Mexico while Ecuador shrugged off their sloppy opener to defeat Jamaica.
Group B might not be wrapped up officially but Venezuela is assured a place in the quarterfinals thanks to their 1-0 win over Mexico yesterday. Earlier Ecuador’s 3-1 win over Jamaica put La Tricolor in the winners column to set up a winner takes all final matchday fixture with El Tri.
ECUADOR 3, JAMAICA 1
Ecuador was without their suspended captain Enner Valencia but were able to muster more than enough offense without him as they dispatched Jamaica 3-1 to get their tournament back on track.
In the opening stages, Ecuador was able to capitalize on some sloppy play by Jamaica in their own half to generate a couple of half chances. The breakthrough happened in the 13th minute after a recycled corner kick wasn’t properly cleared and Ecuador leftback Piero Hincapie fired in a cross from out wide. Jamaica’s Kasey Palmer made a sliding effort to block the cross, however it caused the ball to take only a slight deflection that settled into the top corner of Jahmali Waite’s (1 save) net for an own goal.
Ecuador would double their lead from the penalty spot right before halftime when wingback Greg Leigh’s raised forearm got in the way of an Ecuador header and after a lengthy VAR review, 17-year old Kendry Paez nestled the ball home into the back corner despite Waite going the right way.
Jamaica got back into the match ten minutes after the halftime restart, with Michail Antonio slamming a close range shot after teammate Ethan Pinnock’s initial shot off a corner was blocked. Shamar Nicholson had a golden chance to tie the game in the 68th but couldn’t get enough on his shot as it fell harmlessly to Alexander Dominguez (2 saves) in the Ecuador net.
Ecuador would seal the win in the first minute of stoppage time with a fantastic solo effort from substitute Alan Minda who collected a clearance following a corner and went two-thirds of the field before slotting home the clincher.
Jamaica were undone by some sloppy play and bad luck early but haven’t been able to muster enough offense, with just 4-for-7 shooting today they were undone by the sheer volume Ecuador produced despite a meager number of shots on goal from their 3-for-23 shooting.
VENEZUELA 1, MEXICO 0
Both teams came out firing in the opening minutes, with Mexico generating a half shot/half cross from Uriel Antuna in the opening seconds that nearly found a streaking Santiago Gimenez at the back post. In the 13th minutes after a contested possession in the Mexico half, Yeferson Soteldo eventually found himself at the top of the box on the left wing and blazed a shot over the bar.
The best chance of maybe the entire game however was a few minutes later, when Gimenez found himself one on one inside the penalty area but he wasn’t able to connect cleanly on the shot, and an onrushing Rafael Romo (5 saves) in the Venezuela net was able to make the save and cover.
At the start of the second half, Venezuela started applying pressure with talismanic striker Salomon Rondon taking over, assisting on a Soteldo effort in the 50th and having two of his own attempts blocked. La Vinotinto would be rewarded with their efforts when Mexico’s Julian Quinones hauled down Jon Aramburu in the box in the 55th minute after a nifty one-two combination on the near sideline, and Dondon dispatched the penalty past Julio Gonzalez (1 save) with the breakthrough officially on the books in the 57th minute.
Mexico would be given a lifeline in the late states, with Miguel Navarro being judged properly for a handball after VAR intervention on a shot by Jorge Sanchez. Orbelin Pineda stepped up only to see his penalty tipped wide by Romo. In the closing minutes a late flurry by El Tri saw Guillermo Martinez latch onto a bouncing ball inside the six only to have his shot stonewalled by an onrushing Romo and the follow up shot by Cesar Huerta blocked as well as Venezuela saw out their lead for a 1-0 win.
Mexico finished the night with 5-for-18 shooting compared to Venezuela’s 2-for-10 and it wasn’t just their missed penalty they would rue on this day. Venezuela capitalized on their stretch of pressure right after halftime and Mexico despite having the better of play before their late onrush could not.
GROUP OVERVIEW
While Venezuela’s win only assures them a place in the knockouts, they can lock up first place with any positive result (win or draw) against Jamaica in their finale or a Mexico-Ecuador draw. The other matchup is far more intriguing, as the winner from Mexico-Ecuador would advance to the knockouts on six points and potentially claim the top spot with a Venezuela loss if they make up the goal difference. Ecuador can finish second with a draw as they already have the goal difference tiebreaker of Mexico.
Jamaica’s tournament will be over regardless even with a win as any result from Mexico-Ecuador would put one or both of those teams over four points. The Reggae Boys can end Copa America with a solid effort against Venezuela who have to balance some squad rotation having already clinched with going for the top of the group.
Group A concludes Sunday June 30th at 8 pm EDT with Mexico-Ecuador from Glendale, AZ and Jamaica-Venezuela from Austin, TX.