Venezuela have guaranteed themselves a place in the knockout stages of the Copa America tournament after continuing to surprise with their performances in the competition with a second straight win. After upsetting Ecuador at the start, the team prevailed over Mexico in Group B with the minimum 1:0.
The 34-year-old striker Jose Salomon Rondon became a hero for the team, scoring from a penalty in the 57th minute. The Mexicans, who beat Jamaica 1:0 at the start, could have equalized at the end through Orbelin Pineda, but he failed from the penalty spot, and so they remain with three points in the asset.
That's already the team of Ecuador, who took revenge for their bad start, eliminating Jamaica from further participation after 3:1. The Ecuadorians took the lead after a Kasey Palmer own goal in the 13th minute before Kendry Paez made it 2:0 deep into stoppage time. After the break, West Ham striker Michail Antonio reduced the deficit for the Jamaicans, but substitute Alan Minda put an end to the dispute with a third goal for Ecuador.
Thus, the second quarter-finalist from Group B will be decided in a head-to-head clash between Mexico and Ecuador on July 1 in Glendale, Arizona.
Apart from Venezuela, the ticket to the 1/4-finals was also sealed by the winner of the trophy Argentina, who has two victories in Group A. | BGNES
