The final group stage game of the 2024 Copa America schedule sees Jamaica taking on Venezuela in Group B.
There is an intriguing fixture in this summer’s South American Football Championship as Venezuela are only one place above their opponents in the FIFA World Rankings.
Venezuela were 1-nil victors against Jamaica in the opening group stage game of the 2016 Copa America and a lot has happened since then. The Caribbeans would be desperate to end this year’s group stage campaign on a high.
The Reggae Boyz qualified for the Copa America in sensational circumstances after entering the Nations League A semifinals via a turnaround victory over Canada. Jamaica had lost 2–1 in the first leg before winning 3-2 in the second leg and benefiting from the away goals rule.
That first appearance in the Nations League semi-finals went off to a dream start with Greg Leigh’s goal in the first minute turning into a late nightmare as a last-minute own goal took the game to extra-time before Haji Wright scored the match-winning brace.
Jamaica eventually won the third-place match but they are yet to score a goal at the Copa America which should be their first ‘goal’ at this year’s tournament.
Heimir Hallgrimsson will be desperate to get a tune out of his team that has displayed lots of spirit in recent years while they have some crucial momentum to latch on to. There are World Cup qualifiers to come before the big tournament kicks off so Jamaica can still build some more confidence.
Jamaica have also never won a Copa America game and Venezuela would represent fair opposition considering the ranking of both teams. Tougher sides in the form of Mexico and Ecuador would have been played and the game against Venezuela is a very winnable fixture.
Venezuela have a lot more pedigree than Jamaica on the Copa America stage especially as this is just their third tournament. The Wine-Red reached the quarterfinals for the first time in history on home soil in 2007 and they have steadily built from that.
Venezuela did one better four years later in Argentina by finishing in the semifinal before losing the third-place match to Peru. They will now be taking part in their 20th Copa America and having never qualified for a World Cup, they could be dangerous for their group opponents.
La Vinotinto are currently fourth in the 10-team CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying group with two wins and a defeat from six games and they have shown glimpses of promise under Fernando Batista.
Despite losing the opening game of their World Cup qualifying campaign against Colombia, they quickly bounced back with a 1-0 success over Paraguay thanks to Salomon Rondon’s added-time winner.
Another late goal was needed to tie the game away to Brazil but they didn’t need such intervention in the next match which they won 3-0 against Chile. Back-to-back draws followed against Ecuador and Peru in November 2023 while they lost 2-1 to Italy in friendly action.
The March international break was rounded off with a stalemate against Guatemala and it exposed their weakness of goalscoring as an area where they need immediate improvement.
However, there is more than enough motivation to achieve something remarkable at this tournament amidst a crippling economic crisis at home.
They crashed out in the group stage of the last Copa and would be keen on reaching the knockout stage at least, much like they did in 2016 and 2019 where they left the competition at the quarterfinal stage.
Venezuela would consider this a crucial match in their hopes of progressing to the next round so they will be putting their all into getting maximum points here.
Match tickets
This Copa America showdown is scheduled to take place on Monday, 1 July 2024 with kick-off scheduled for 1 AM UK time. Match tickets are available for sale on the websites of both national federations as well as the Copa America organizers so you can hurry to purchase yours.
The Q2 Stadium will host this exciting match and the fans will be bringing all the atmosphere into the stands. Nobody wants to miss out so the search for tickets may become overwhelming.
Hence, we urge anyone trying to purchase Jamaica vs Venezuela tickets on a ticket resale site.
Team news
Leon Bailey is set to be a big miss for Jamaica having announced his decision to step back from the national team due to alleged unprofessionalism from the Jamaica Football Federation.
The forward would have given Venezuela many things to worry about but there is now a huge question mark over his availability.
Venezuela have little to no injury concerns ahead of the tournament and they would hope it stays so by the start of the tournament.
Their key players must be utilized to their best capabilities so Fernando Batista would be desperate to have his best men conditioned to take on their challenges.
Line-ups
The Reggae Boys are embracing their overseas-based talents which has steadily given the national team a facelift. The likes of Demarai Gray, Michail Antonio and Bobby De Cordova-Reid have become mainstays in the team and their quality must be relied upon despite low expectations at this tournament.
Jamaica: Blake; Latibeaudiere, Lowe, Hector; Leigh, Lowe, Palmer, Lembikisa; De Cordova-Reid, Antonio, Gray
As the nation’s record goalscorer with more than 40 goals in over 100 appearances, Salomon Rondon is the go-to player for Venezuela and he will be one of the first names on the team sheet in his fifth Copa America tournament
The team must sharpen the supply line to him to ease their recent goalscoring troubles.
Venezuela: Romo; Gonzalez, Osorio, Angel, Navarro; Savarino, Rincon, Herrera, Soteldo; Martinez, Rondon
Prediction
This game should be even in terms of the quality on show which should make for an interesting battle as Jamaica and Venezuela seek marginal gains in this potentially decisive match.
Set pieces and counterattacks would be key, and both teams must be psychologically strong enough to tackle the drama that awaits.
Jamaica 1-2 Venezuela
