Copa America 2011: Chile vs Venezuela Preview

Copa America 2011 4^thQuarter FinalChile vs VenezuelaVenue: San JuanDate: July 18, Time: 03:45 AM (IST)

Chile face surprise package Venezuela in the last Quarter-Finals of the Copa America 2011 at San Juan on Sunday. Both the countries have never won a Copa America title. Though Chileans have finish second on four occasions, Venezuela have never progressed beyond the Quarter final stage.

Having made a fine start to their Copa América campaign, Chile finishes top of Group C ahead of World Cup Semi-Finalists Uruguay with two wins and a draw from their initial three matches. They overcame Mexico 2-1 in their opening game and had drawn Uruguay 1-1 before clinching an extra time victory against Peru.

Claudio Borghi’s side are now on an unbeaten eleven internationals run and are considered by many to be the biggest threat to Argentina and Brazil’s chances of winning the competition.

The match to be played in the western city of San Juan in Argentina is not far from the Chilean border, and Claudio Borghi’s men can expect many to cross over the border to root support for their team.

Meanwhile Venezuela surprised many by qualifying for the Quarter-Finals and will be looking to cause another upset by qualifying for the semi-finals. La Vinotinto came through their Group in impressive fashion, holding Brazil by a goalless draw in their opening game followed by a 1-0 win over Ecuador.

Their last group match against Paraguay saw them coming from a 3-1 deficit in the 86^th minute to level the match 3-3 when the final whistle was blown. Despite their strong performances in the group stages, not many are predicting César Farías’ side to progress any further as they attempt to overcome an impressive Chilean outfit.

Venezuela, who are looking to reach the semi-final of the competition for the first time, have a miserable record against the Chileans down the years, losing 15 of 21 clashes and winning just once – a World Cup qualifier in 2001.

Probable Line-Ups:Venezuela: Vega; Rosales, Vizcarrondo, Perozo, Cichero; Lucena, Gonzalez, Rincon; Arango, Miku, RondonChile: Bravo; Medel, Ponce, Jara; Beausejour, Estrada, Carmona, Fierro; Jimenez, Paredes, Suazo

Last Three Matches

Chile Venezuela

13-Jul-2011 Chile 1 – 0 Peru 14-Jul-2011 Paraguay 3 – 3 Venezuela 09-Jul-2011 Uruguay 1 – 1 Chile 10-Jul-2011 Venezuela 1 – 0 Ecuador 05-Jul-2011 Chile 2 – 1 Mexico 04-Jul-2011 Brazil 0 – 0 Venezuela

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I am a Post Graduate student of Journalism and Mass Communication from Amity University, Noida. My love for sports specially football drove me to write about it with the little knowledge and resource I have.

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Edited by Staff Editor