[ESP/ENG] VENEZUELA VS ECUADOR ( ELIMINATORIAS QATAR 2022) / VENEZUELA VS ECUADOR ( QATAR 2022 QUALIFIERS)

Hello friends of #fulldeportes, I greet you sending you a hug on this Sunday. Today I would love to write about the victory obtained by the Venezuelan national team against Ecuador. As we all know, the Venezuelan national team has been having a bad streak in the last official and qualifying matches, so much so that the mathematical possibilities of the Venezuelan team are almost null to obtain a ticket to the World Cup in Qatar.

The Venezuelan team took the field and found it difficult to consolidate during the first 15 minutes, as the Ecuadorian team played a very dynamic game on the wings, and maintained a clear possession of the ball during those first minutes. The Venezuelan team is slow to react to the onslaught of the Ecuadorian team that in a play led by the player Angelo Preciado and in combination with the Ecuadorian player Plata, is knocked down in the area by the Venezuelan defender Martinez, in this way the VAR intervenes in the review of the very complex play that ends with the decision to declare a penalty in favor of the Ecuadorian team which results in the first goal of Ecuador through the Ecuadorian player and captain Enner Valencia.

Then the Venezuelan team, after being down on the scoreboard, does not lose concentration and maintains a positive attitude to look for the tie, In this way the Venezuelan team increased the attack through the right flank and in the 45th minute the Venezuelan player Eduard Bello managed to get rid of the mark of the Ecuadorian player Piero Hincapié and when he arrived almost at the end of the goal line he filtered a pass to the Ecuadorian area that no defender could intercept and the Venezuelan player Darwin Machis appeared to score the equalizing goal for the Venezuelan team in the 45th minute of the match.

Almost at the end of the extension minutes of the first half, the defense of the Venezuelan team fouled an Ecuadorian player on the left side near the area. The Ecuadorian team took the free kick with a cross over the Venezuelan area that no Venezuelan defender managed to clear and the ball was headed by the Ecuadorian player Moisés Caicedo who managed to score a goal that should have been reviewed by VAR to determine if there was some kind of offside as the right side referee ruled. After a few minutes it was determined that there was offside for the Ecuadorian attack and so they went to the break with a tie that benefited the Venezuelan team more.

In the second half, the Venezuelan team was more orderly while maintaining the tactical order, while the Ecuadorian team put pressure on the attack to opt for a goal that would give them the advantage and the victory over the locals. Ecuador manages to score several Cornners that bring danger to the Venezuelan area but without any damage. On the other hand, Venezuela continued to maintain partnerships on the right flank with Eduard Bello and Darwin Machis, who gave a good rhythm to the Venezuelan aspirations of not losing at home and getting out of the bad streak of defeats in these qualifiers for Qatar. At 64 minutes, Eduard Bello, the most outstanding player of the match on the Venezuelan side, powerfully took a long distance free kick that the young goalkeeper Moisés Ramírez (21 years old) could not clear, showing lukewarmness and lack of positioning in his attempt, thus putting the Venezuelan team on top of the scoreboard.

Motivated by the advantage, Venezuela advanced lines in the field as a block. And managed to get a header by Eric Ramirez, who rose between two central defenders after Ronald Hernandez's right cross that crashed into the horizontal post, which saved the Ecuadorian team from the third goal at minute 69. The Ecuadorian team responded to the actions of the Venezuelan attack through Arboleda, who was close to tie the score when his header was deflected by the post at minute 75. With no ideas in search of an equalizer, Alfaro moved the bench. But to no avail.

The victory is very beneficial for the Venezuelan national team, since it had almost a year without winning an official match, and as I have already said, Venezuela's chances of obtaining a ticket to the World Cup are practically nil. Venezuela has started a new process in the hands of interim director Leonardo Gonzales, who has been gradually developing and molding players to be the generation of relief that will allow the Venezuelan national team to dream of being present at a World Cup. The focus is fixed on the next qualifying process for the 2026 World Cup.

Already without options to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar, the Venezuelan team must work on forming a united and cohesive group for the remainder of the qualification period, in order to be able to magnify moments like the one experienced today against the Ecuadorian team. Venezuela must work on reinforcing a tactical and technical identity that began in 2000 and it is necessary to maintain consistency in the results. Needless to say that there are quality players to achieve the goal, Venezuela has more players than ever in different leagues around the world, including the best leagues in the world such as the Spanish League, the Premier League, the Bundes Liga. This was unthinkable more than 22 years ago, to see Venezuelan players with a great quality that were figures in their foreign teams. I believe that the dream is possible if a good project is articulated between the technical direction and the Venezuelan soccer federation that allows the necessary preparation to finally fulfill the great dream of attending a World Cup this time in the highest category. In this way I say goodbye wishing you a happy night.... greetings