La Vinotinto ended the friendly tour with a victory and a draw / Photo: Courtesy FVF
The Venezuelan national team drew 1-1 with Uzbekistan, in a friendly match played this Tuesday, March 28, at the King Abdullah Sport City stadium in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The duel started in the best way for the eleventh Venezuelan who at minute 6 was already winning 1-0 with a goal from the right-back Alexander González, a pass from José “brujo” Martínez. Forward Salomón Rondón had a clear opportunity to extend the score to 11′ but his shot was saved by Usbeko goalkeeper Utkir Yusupov.
At the end of the first half, the defender Miguel Navarro committed a violation inside the area and gave the Asian team the opportunity to equalize the score, but Jaloliddin Masharipov crashed the ball into the crossbar.
The second half of the clash passed without incident, except for the four changes made by both the national coach, Fernando “bocha” Batista, and his Uzbek counterpart. However, red wine defender Jean Fuentes was sent off at 67′ for a double booking and left the team with 10 players.
A new foul inside the area committed by Navarro at 77′ gave Uzbekistan the chance to equalize the actions. This time Jasurbek Yakhshiboev did not forgive and scored 1-1 with which he finally ended the commitment.
Venezuela closed its friendly tour of Saudi Arabia with a victory and a draw. It must be remembered that last Friday the 24th they prevailed 2-1 over the Saudi eleventh, which also represented the first victory of “bocha” Batista as technical director of the Vinotinto seniors.
Barcelona / Javier A. Guaipo