The U.S. Men’s National Team will warm up for crucial World Cup Qualifying matches against Trinidad & Tobago and Mexico with a friendly clash against Venezuela on Saturday, June 3 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy Utah. The game can be seen live at 8 p.m. MT on FS1, UniMas and Univision Deportes Network.
Here are five things you should know about Venezuela:
La Vinotinto
First thing’s first – while many national teams have a nickname based around the color they wear, Venezuela’s is a little more interesting. While some would say their primary kit is all burgundy and others might describe it as maroon, Venezuela goes by La Vinotinto which translates to “red wine”.
Cheers to a colorful consensus!
Recent Performances
Though Venezuela has already been eliminated from contention for a place at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, La Vinotinto has still collected some decent results of late. While not a traditional South American power, Venezuela advanced to the quarterfinals of the Copa America Centenario for the third time in its last four entries and earned its best finish at the 2011 tournament when they placed fourth.
While their hopes for Russia are over, the side did earn its best placement in World Cup Qualifying last cycle when they finished sixth in the rigorous CONMEBOL qualifying campaign.
Venezuela Roster
On May 22, Venezuela called up a 27-player roster for La Vinotinto’s June friendlies against the USA and Ecuador.
GOALKEEPERS (2): Alain Baroja (Sud América, Uruguay), José Contreras (Deportivo Táchira)
DEFENDERS (10): Alexander González (Huesca/ESP), Pablo Camacho (Deportivo Táchira), Jefre Vargas (Arouca/POR), José Manuel Velázquez (Arouca/POR), Jhon Chancellor (Delfín/ECU), Yordan Osorio (Tondela/POR), Mikel Villanueva (Málaga/ESP), Rubert Quijada (Caracas F.C.), José Luis Marrufo (Mineros de Guayana), Rolf Feltscher (Real Zaragoza, ESP)
MIDFIELDERS (11): Arquímedes Figuera (Universitario/PER), Aristóteles Romero (Mineros de Guayana), Francisco Flores (Mineros de Guayana), Júnior Moreno (Zulia F.C.), Francisco La Mantía (Deportivo La Guaira), Alejandro Guerra (Palmeiras/BRA), Jhon Murillo (Tondela/POR), Rómulo Otero (Atlético Mineiro/BRA), Jefferson Savarino (Real Salt Lake/USA), Jacobo Kouffati (Millonarios/COL), Darwin Machís (Leganés, ESP)
FORWARDS (4): Salomón Rondón (West Bromwich Albion/ENG), Andrés Ponce (Lugano/SUI), Edder Farías (Caracas F.C.), Christian Santos (Deportivo Alavés/ESP)
MNT History vs. Venezuela
The U.S. MNT holds a 3-0-1 all-time advantage against Venezuela. The two sides first played to a wild 3-3 draw at Copa America ’93 in Ecuador and have since met in three friendlies – all MNT victories on U.S. soil.
Most memorably, U.S. captain Michael Bradley made his international debut against La Vinotinto, coming on in the dying moments of the MNT’s 2-0 win on May 26, 2006.
Here’s a rundown of all four previous meetings between the two nations:
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USA-Venezuela History |
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Date |
Result |
Goal Scorers |
Competition |
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June 22, 1993 |
3-3 D |
Henderson, Lalas, Kinnear |
Copa America ‘93 |
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March 29, 2003 |
Kirovski, Donovan |
Friendly |
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May 26, 2006 |
Ching, Dempsey |
Friendly |
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Jan. 21, 2012 |
R. Clark |
Friendly |
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