Venezuela will meet Peru Thursday’s Copa America game. It’s a game that will go a long way to solidifying Venezuela’s surprise dark horse status in the tournament.
In their opening game Sunday, Venezuela shocked their rivals Colombia by stealing a 1-0 win. Their success perched on the efforts of a midfield five that dictated Los Vinotintos fate from all over the pitch. They contained the offense that defines this generation of Colombia’s footballers while also bringing the best out of arguably their star player, striker Salomón Rondón. Against a Colombia side that prefers to press down the middle, these tactics worked perfectly.
Here’s how Venezuela will likely walk out onto the pitch Thursday:
Peru also surprised in their loss against Brazil, though for very different reasons. They were willing, even eager, to take the game to what should have been intimidating opponents, something fans and, apparently, Brazil did not expect. Especially in the opening stages, Peru’s aggressiveness unsettled a Brazil side with a recent history of, ahem, frailties. That they managed to do this while also holding Brazil to only one goal for much of the game is a genuinely impressive feat. Their backline didn’t put on a classic, but it was well led by an increasingly impressive Carlos Zambrano. He can expect to have a more difficult time marking Rondón than he did Brazil’s Tardelli.
Los Incas
should likely take the field unchanged against Venezuela:
How well Venezuela’s tricks work against Peru is the big question coming into Thursday’s game. Neither team were expected to have as impressive a start as they did Sunday, but of the two Venezuela’s felt like the game more finely tailored for their opponent. Peru’s attacks mainly came from the wings, which might prove tricky for Venezuela considering how difficult a time they had with Cuadrado. If Venezuela’s coach Noel Sanvincente could try the pragmatic approach and play a bit wider to cover his flanks. The key factor for Venezuela is simply that Peru is a more even match and won’t be as enthusiastic to dominate possession as Colombia did. So while Peru definitely need the win to keep themselves in contention in Group C, it’s fair to assume that this will be a much tamer, pedestrian game. Which, of course, means that it will be the best match of the entire Copa.
Let’s take a gander at some of the key talking points ahead of Thursday’s match.
Rondón’s Coming Out Party
This tournament seems like it might be when Rondón reaches maturity and earns the plaudits that have long been coming. He had an impressive season at Russian Premier League champions Zenit St Petersburg, and his performance Sunday was not short of stunning. While the midfield has dominated Playing for 90’s coverage of the match, his dominance of Colombia’s centerbacks cannot be undersold. He was patient, held the ball up for his onrushing midfielders, and perfectly delivered the goal when his chance came.
It’s that former part that sets him apart the most. There are plenty of tall, imposing center forwards in the game with a knack for heading the ball into the net, but not many that can be as involved in build up as Rondón appeared to be against Colombia. Hold up play is an artform all its own, but particular for a team that relies so heavily on participation from the midfield as Venezuela. Without a player of Rondón’s caliber Sanvincente’s tactics might not have come off nearly as well.
More from Copa America
- Reflecting on Lionel Messi’s Copa America triumph
- Roberto Firmino and Gabriel Jesus proving they can play together
- Colombia open Copa America with dominant win over Argentina
- Neymar injury forces Brazil star out of Copa America
- Chile, the champion no one cared about
On purely selfish terms, Rondón will benefit from his performances in this Copa. Zenit might be reluctant to part with him, but he is a player built for the Premier League. He’s not a forward containing a lot of the finesse typical of South America. He’s closer to Christian Benteke than he is Sergio Agüero. For a midtable team looking for a bit more punch in attack, he might well be the perfect fit. If he can live up to the hype and perform against Peru as well, then he’s in for an interesting summer when he returns to Europe.
Farfan and Guerrero to Force the Issue
It’d be fair to classify what Farfan and Guerrero did Sunday was ‘play angry’. They barely hesitated to take on Brazil’s defenders and likely gave as many bruises as they received. The official’s unusual leniency in that match is in part what made that type of play possible, so even a more normally dispositioned ref Thursday might keep them from unleashing their inner demons against Venezuela.
That aggression could be channeled into hanging off the shoulders of Venezuela’s defenders and latching onto long balls out of Peru’s defense. They managed to round Miranda and Luiz like this on occasion Sunday, and there’s every possibility that Peru will hope to achieve something with a reactive game rather than playing into Venezuela’s trap.
A Scrappier Game
You see this often in England’s second tier Championship league. One or two teams a year go into the FA Cup or the Capital One Cup and punch well above their weight. Middlesbrough did it this past season by beating Manchester City 2-0 at the Etihad. Cardiff City, prior to their promotion, faced off against Liverpool in the then-Carling Cup final in 2012. For some teams it is simply easier to play against a team that assumes they’ve showed up for an easy win. The tactics are straightforward: defend and jump on what chances you get. Against an unsuspecting bigger team, these are tactics that will at the very least frustrate if not win the game outright.
It’s when those same teams return to league play that their true nature shines through. Against opponents who decline to push high up the pitch or dominate possession, they struggle as much as anyone else. Middlesbrough failed to get promoted this term, and Cardiff had to wait another year after their final appearance to reach the Premier League. We can likely expect something similar on Thursday. Against a more appropriate opponent, both teams might find it difficult to regain some of the momentum they had against supposedly superior teams on Sunday.
Both teams will want a win, so we can expect it to be fairly open. It just might not be as thrilling a contest as their performances Sunday might suggest it would be.