Venezuela announced their initial squad for the Copa America on Tuesday. Even though the tournament is more than a month away, Venezuela is choosing the players it wants to bring to the United States. The provisional list includes 47 players. This is fewer than 16 teams can submit to the first team. CONMEBOL has given permission to consider a provisional list of 55 players for this summer's tournament.
Venezuela will have to reduce the number of players in this squad to 23 before the tournament. Three of them must be goalkeepers, but each country is usually free to choose the number of players in each position. The 47-man provisional squad announced by Venezuela on Tuesday includes five goalkeepers, 14 defenders, 21 midfielders and seven forwards.
Four of the players on this team will have the opportunity to play in familiar territory. Jesus Andres Martínez, Jesus Bueno, Daniel Pereira, and Josef Martínez play in Major League Soccer. Martinez currently plays for CF Montreal in Canada, but has also played for both Atlanta United and Inter Miami, who play in the competition.
However, the members of the Venezuelan national team are mostly international. Only five players are from the Venezuelan soccer sector. The most popular competition for these players is Brazil, where eight players participate. However, there are a total of 15 countries represented by Venezuelan players at club level.
Venezuela's Copa America squad can further build momentum in World Cup qualifying
Most of the players on Venezuela's interim national team are representing their country during the ongoing 2026 World Cup qualification process. Already a third of the way through, Venezuela remains one of the sensational stories in South America so far. After six games, Venezuela is in fourth place out of the 10 qualifying teams with nine points. The team's notable results include a draw against Brazil and a convincing 3-0 win at home against Chile. With these players, Venezuela is in a position to qualify for the World Cup for the first time.
That momentum could be crucial for the team heading into the Copa America. Considering the strength of the other participating countries, Venezuela will be an outside candidate to do well in the tournament. But some of his performances so far in World Cup qualifiers could give him a boost going to the United States. Additionally, Venezuela performed well in a friendly match against Italy, but ultimately lost in March with an 80th-minute goal.
The Copa America begins on June 20th, with Venezuela playing their first match on Saturday, June 22nd. Venezuela will play Ecuador at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The other two teams in Venezuela's group are Mexico and Jamaica. The match against Mexico will be particularly interesting as they have four players who play in Mexican club soccer. There could be some familiarity depending on who Fernando Batista chooses for his final team.
Photo: Imago
Copa America 2024
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