Colombia vs Venezuela Match Analysis & Prediction
08/09/2023 2:00 am
Colombia and Venezuela will kick off their 2026 World Cup qualification campaigns when they meet at Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Melendez in Barranquilla on Thursday.
While Colombia failed to qualify for the recent World Cup in Qatar, Venezuela have never qualified for a World Cup in their entire history.
Having reached the knockout stages at the previous two World Cups, failing to even qualify for the most recent edition was a major disappointment for Colombia.
As such, it was little surprise to see them bring a new manager in last summer, with their former assistant boss Nestor Lorenzo landing the senior job after impressing with Melvar in Peru.
The 57-year-old is unbeaten across eight matches in charge so far, winning six and drawing two. His most impressive win arguably came in Colombia’s last game, when they beat Germany 2-0 in Gelsenkirchen in a friendly in June.
However, Lorenzo will be more than aware that Thursday’s qualifying game against Venezuela marks the true beginning of his reign in terms of being judged, with qualifying for the next World Cup a minimum expectation.
Meanwhile, Venezuela know that they are up against it to compete in the United States, Mexico and Canada in less than three years time, having finished rock-bottom of CONMEBOL qualifying in each of the last two editions.
There will be an expectation on Fernando Batista’s shoulders to make them much more competitive this time around, with the 53-year-old replacing Jose Pekerman as head coach earlier this year.
With three wins and one draw from his four friendly matches in charge, there is early evidence that he may be capable of doing that, but they surely need at least one positive result from their upcoming games against Colombia and Paraguay to boost confidence of making history.
Colombia vs. Venezuela Head to head
In the 24 previous meetings between these two teams, Colombia have claimed 10 victories while Venezuela have won seven, and they have drawn in seven. Venezuela have scored 15 goals and conceded 25 in the process.
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08/09/2018Venezuela1Colombia2Friendlies
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11/09/2019Colombia0Venezuela0Friendlies
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10/10/2020Colombia3Venezuela0CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers
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18/06/2021Colombia0Veenzuela0CONMEBOL Copa America
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30/03/2022Venezuela0Colombia1CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers
Colombia Team News
Colombia captain David Ospina is out through injury at the moment, meaning Juan Cuadrado is likely to take the armband in the former Arsenal goalkeeper’s absence.
Camilo Vargas will deputise between the posts after keeping a clean sheet against Germany last time out.
Colombia's Last 5 Matches
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29/01/2023United States0Colombia0Friendlies
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24/03/2023Korea Republic2Colombia2Friendlies
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28/03/2023Japan1Colombia2Friendlies
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16/06/2023Colombia1Iraq0Friendlies
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20/06/2023Germany0Colombia2Friendlies
Venezuela Team News
Venezuela have left out 41-capped Jhon Murillo from their travelling squad, while Ronald Hernandez has also failed to make the cut.
Captain Tomas Rincon will almost certainly earn his 127th cap and counting, while former West Bromwich Albion striker Salomon Rondon is only four caps away from joining Rincon in the 100 club.
Venezuela's Last 5 Matches
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20/11/2022Syria1Venezuela2Friendlies
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24/03/2023Saudi Arabia1Venezuela2Friendlies
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28/03/2023Uzbekistan1Venezuela1Friendlies
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16/06/2023Venezuela1Honduras0Friendlies
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18/06/2023Venezuela1Guatemala0Friendlies
Colombia vs. Venezuela: Odds and Predictions
Main Prediction
1X2: 1
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