The second quarter-final of the 2019 Copa America sees Venezuela come up against Argentina in Salvador.
Both teams finished second in their respective groups. Venezuela are unbeaten so far at the tournament with one win and two draws whilst Argentina picked up one win, one draw and a defeat.
Venezuela finished behind hosts and favorites Brazil in Group A and will be full of confidence heading into the knockout stage after finishing ahead of Peru.
Argentina struggled in Group B and finished with four points to their name; five behind top of the table Colombia.
They opened their account with a 2-0 loss to Colombia. Despite having 13 shots, Argentina failed to score against a resolute Colombia defense.
In their second match, they could only manage a 1-1 draw with Paraguay. A Lionel Messi penalty rescued a point for Argentina who went behind in the first half and could have lost the match.
They beat guest nation Qatar 2-0 in their final group game but have been well below par so far and will have to improve if they are to progress further in the competition.
On the other hand, Venezuela’s first two matches finished 0-0. They managed to hold on in their opening match against Peru despite having defender Luis Mago sent off.
They then picked up an unlikely point against Brazil. Despite having the ball in the back of their net three times, VAR came to their rescue and helped them secure a draw.
Venezuela’s final group match ended with a 3-1 win over Bolivia. A brace from Darwin Machis and a late strike from Josef Martinez ensured their place in the last eight.
Regardless of Argentina’s star-studded squad, Venezuela will arguably be the more confident side coming into this match.
The likes of Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero have scored vital goals for their country at this year’s tournament but the team has not looked cohesive.
A cuartos! Vamos 🇦🇷 💪🏽 🤟🏽#CopaAmerica2019 pic.twitter.com/bKg4vsFn9x— Sergio Kun Aguero (@aguerosergiokun) June 23, 2019
A cuartos! Vamos 🇦🇷 💪🏽 🤟🏽#CopaAmerica2019 pic.twitter.com/bKg4vsFn9x
Venezuela have only ever beaten Argentina on two occasions whilst Argentina have registered 21 victories against Venezuela.
However, their most recent meeting in March 2019 saw Venezuela claim a shock 3-1 win.
Argentina should be good enough to pick up the victory this time around and advance into the last four.
Forebet predicts a fairly even match, with Argentina doing enough to qualify for the semi-finals.