Jamaica vs. Venezuela
Copa America Centenario – Group C
June 5 | 5:00 pm ET | Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
TV: FOX, Univision, UDN
In a battle of what look to be the two bottom-feeders of Group C, Jamaica and Venezuela will meet on Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field in Chicago.
The two teams come in to Copa America Centenario as underdogs to reach the knockout stage as they were drawn into a group with Mexico, a de facto home team, and Uruguay, one of the best teams in the world over the last decade. The Reggae Boyz will be looking to build off their historic run to the final in last year’s Gold Cup, while Venezuela will be looking to reach the quarterfinals of the tournament for only the third time ever.
Here are three things we’re looking at in advance of Sunday’s game:
Boyz on the Rise
Jamaica came into last year’s Gold Cup after a Copa America appearance that saw them unable to score a goal in three games. This did not make them one of the favorites in CONCACAF’s biennial tournament. But they proved those doubters wrong by winning a group that included World Cup quarterfinalists Costa Rica and then upsetting the US national team in the semifinals.
They ended up falling in the final to Mexico, but there was no doubt that they were the team of the tournament. Could they do it again this summer?
Get to the point
Venezuela have had very little success over the course of their national team history. They have failed to ever reach a World Cup and have been the quarterfinals of Copa America twice, with the most recent time coming in 2011 when they made it all the way to the semifinals. Times have been especially tough recently as they have won just once in their last 15 tries and enter Copa America with just a 16 percent chance of reaching the knockout stages according to ESPN’s Soccer Power Index.
But their roster is not completely devoid of talent. They do have West Bromwich Albion striker Jose Salomon Rondon, who scored nine goals in the Premier League last season, and Juanmi, a Malaga midfielder who just happens to be the brother of Bernardo Añor, who is currently on loan from Sporting Kansas City. Behind these two, Venezuela will be looking to get off to a great start against the other underdog in the group; if they don’t, they may not get a point in the tournament.
Where are the goals?
The Reggae Boyz didn’t exactly rely on outscoring opponents in their run to the Gold Cup final last year, scoring just eight goals in six games, but lately the problem has become even more pronounced. Winfried Schafer’s team has scored just four goals in their last six games, part of which has come during a rough start to World Cup qualifying that has seen them fall behind Costa Rica and Panama in Group B. One of the heroes of the Gold Cup run, Houston Dynamo forward Giles Barnes, will be relied upon to provide the goals in this match and for the rest of the tournament.
