The Copa America 2024 is underway, with the tournament’s Group B set to begin on Sunday. The first match pits Ecuador against Venezuela at Levi’s Stadium in California.
Ecuador will be looking to make a strong start to the tournament, having been eliminated by eventual champions Argentina in the 2021 edition. They are coming off two friendly wins against Bolivia and Honduras earlier this month, and only suffered a 1-0 defeat to Argentina in their warm-up fixtures.
Venezuela, on the other hand, will be hoping to turn their fortunes around. They failed to make it past the group stage in 2021 and have been in a slump recently. Their last match was a goalless draw with Guatemala at the end of March, and they have also been beaten by Colombia and Italy in two of their last three matches.
The starting lineups for both teams are as follows:
Ecuador:
Dominguez (GK); Preciado, Torres, Pacho, Hincapie; Ortiz, Caicedo; Yeboah, Paez, Sarmiento; Valencia
Venezuela:
Romo (GK); Navarro, Makoun, Angel, Gonzalez; Casseres, Martinez, Herrera; Savarino, Rondon, SoteldoThis match promises to be a tightly contested affair, as both teams will be eager to start the tournament on a positive note. Ecuador’s recent form gives them the edge on paper, but Venezuela will be hoping to pull off an upset.
