Venezuela seeks to win the U-20 Women’s World Cup after an eight-year absence

Italy’s Pamela Conti will lead Venezuela in its second participation in a U-20 Women’s World Cup after eight years of absence.

The Vinotinto debuted in the tournament in 2016, but the experience finally came to an end when they fell in the first round after losing all their matches.

The Venezuelan team will be led by forward Mariana Barreto, who was the top scorer at the 2024 South American Women’s Under-20 Championship along with Paraguayan Fátima Acosta and Colombian Gabriela Rodríguez, all three with seven goals scored.

Last May, Barreto said in an interview with FIFA that he maintains a connection with midfielder Mariányela Jiménez.

“We’ve had that connection on the field for a long time. We complement each other, she looks for me and passes me where she needs to go so I can score. It’s been something that’s been going on for several years, it’s not something that was created just now,” he said.

Good time

The Vinotinto women’s team arrives at the World Cup with six victories in international friendlies, including a 7-2 thrashing of the Slovakian club Slovan Bratislava, with three goals from Francelis Graterol, and those of Génesis Hernández, Mariana Barreto, Andrea Cova and Gabriela Angulo, with one goal each.

In addition, the Venezuelans defeated Morocco, La Equidad and Universidad Sergio Arboleda clubs, and the Bogotá team twice in friendly preparation matches.

The FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Colombia 2024 will feature 24 teams, eight more than the previous edition of the tournament, which has been held every two years since its inception in 2002, when Canada was the host and the United States the champion.

In the previous edition of this World Cup, held in Costa Rica, Spain won its first cup. The list of champions is led by the United States (2002, 2008, 2012), Germany (2004, 2010, 2014), North Korea (2006, 2016) and Japan (2018).

Start of the universal fair

The World Cup, which begins on August 31, is made up of six groups, each with four teams.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the next round – the round of 16 – along with the four best third-placed teams.

The winners of this round will advance to the quarter-finals and so on until they reach the final, which will be played on September 22.

Venezuela has been drawn in Group D and will debut against Germany on September 1 at the Estadio Metropolitano de Techo in Bogotá. They will then face Nigeria and the Republic of Korea.

Caracas / EFE