CONMEBOL QUALIFIERS: Venezuela vs Colombia 2020 Preview
The ten CONMEBOL nations began their two-year journey to qualify for FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar this week. Powerhouse soccer squad Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, defeated Ecuador 1-0 in Buenos Aires on Thursday night. Subsequently, Paraguay tied Peru 2-2, and Uruguay defeated Chile 2-1. Tonight, Venezuela will face off against Colombia in Barranquilla. The match is the first qualifier for FIFA World Cup 2022 for the respective men’s soccer teams. The 2020 edition of Venezuela vs Colombia match will begin at 7:30 PM EST and can be streamed online. Venezuela is the only CONMEBOL nation to never qualify for the World Cup, a trend they hope to end in Qatar in two years.
On the other hand, ‘Los Cafeteros’ seek to return to the World Cup for the second consecutive time after a run to the Round of 16 in Russia in 2018.
New Manager of Colombia
The Colombian Football Federation appointed Carlos Queiroz as the men’s national soccer team manager in February 2019. Queiroz replaced Jose Pekerman, who led the squad to one of the most successful periods in its history.
Queiroz told the media at his introductory press conference, “For me, it’s an honour, and I’m happy to have the trust of the federation,” “First off, I intend to take care of the great tradition here that has grown larger over the years. From there, my mission is to improve in all facets. We are going to be demanding.”
The Portuguese manager knows what it takes to reach international futbol’s grandest stages. He’s reached the World Cup four times and has coached in the Premier League. Queiroz is slowly trying to bring more consistency to Colombia’s playing style, regardless of who’s on the pitch. The manager wants to field a strong squad defensively that can attack and score goals.
Colombia vs Venezuela Through the Years
The neighboring nations have played each other over 40 times. Colombia has historically had a huge edge over Venezuela in their head-to-head matchups. Thus far, Los Cafeteros have won 24 games with 16 ties and just 7 losses. In the CONMEBOL qualifiers for World Cup 2018, Colombia defeated Venezuela 2-0 in Barranquilla in 2016. Then a year later, the two squads played to a 0-0 draw in San Cristobal.
Venezuela faces an uphill challenge tonight, as many of Colombia’s top players have been excelling for their respective international clubs. James Rodriguez, who recently joined Everton, has lit up the Premier League of late. He scored a brace in his last outing before joining the national team.
Juan Cuadrado continues to be one of the most exciting strikers of Serie A club Juventus and Radamel Falcao Garcia, in what could be his last campaign for the national squad, will go down as one of the best Colombian footballers of all-time.
Match Predictions
Venezuela will need strong efforts from captain Tomas Rincon, 22-year-old Yangel Herrera, and Darwin Machis. Colombia will be very difficult to beat, especially in Barranquilla. But in the time of a global pandemic, it will be hard to gauge how much the venue will impact the game result. If we had to hazard a guess, we’d expect Los Cafeteros to win this Venezuela vs Colombia 2020 match 2-1.
How to Watch
Colombia vs Venezuela is available live on streaming services and pay-per-view television. The match kicks off at 7:30pm ET exclusively on Fanatiz, FITE and pay-per-view via iNDemand, DirecTV and DISH Network.
