The selection of Canadawith a relentless game, pressured Venezuela and defeated them 0-2 in a friendly match played at Chase Stadium, in Florida, United States, which served as a warm-up for one of the three hosts of the 2026 World Cup and wrote a new page in the renewal process undertaken by Vinotinto after being left out of the contest.
From the beginning, the squad led by Jesse Marsch played a high-pressure game, while Venezuela had a hard time recovering the ball. Already after the 13th minute, Vinotinto began to balance the game, with a corner kick from Telasco Segovia that was headed by Gleyker Mendoza and ended up in the hands of goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau.
However, in the 23rd minute, a shot by Venezuelan Daniel Pereira reached the middle of the area where Ismaël Koné appeared alone to score the first goal for the Canadians with his right foot. After this setback for the patriotic team, the players continued trying to equalize the actions, but the North American team increased the pressure, so there were few spaces left for the attack.
In the second half, Venezuela tried to build its lines, although it continued to lose balls. The match experienced its most vibrant moment in the 57th minute, when the referee showed the red card to David Martínez – for hitting a rival in the face -, which left the South Americans at a numerical disadvantage.
However, three minutes later, Koné was also left out of the game due to a crash against Kevin Kelcy, leaving both teams with 10 players. From then on the match became much more physical, with friction between the players that forced the actions to be interrupted and required the referee’s intervention.
TECHNICAL SHEET
0- Venezuela: José Contreras (Wuilker Faríñez m.46); Adrián Cova (Keiber Lamadrid m.80), Nahuel Ferraresi, Teo Quintero, Alessandro Milani (Ronald Hernández m.80); Cristian Cásseres, Daniel Pereira; Gleiker Mendoza (José Chávez m.62), Telasco Segovia, Ender Echenique (David Martínez m.30); and Kevin Kelsy (Jesús Ramírez m.62). Coach: Fernando Aristeguieta (interim).
2- Canada: Maxime Crépeau, Richie Laryea, Derek Cornelius (Joel Waterman m.33), Alfie Jones, Niko Sigur, Ismaël Koné, Stephen Eustáquio (Jonathan Osorio m.73), Jayden Nelson (Jacob Shaffelburg m.64), Tajon Buchanan (Promise David m.74), Jonathan David (Nathan Saliba m.73) and Tani Oluwaseyi (Mathieu Choinière m.64). Coach: Jesse Marsch.
Goals: 0-1, Ismaël Koné (m. 23); 0-2, Promise David (m.83).
Incidents: friendly match played at Chase Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, (Florida, USA).
The team led on an interim basis by Fernando Aristeguieta desperately searched for a goal in the final minutes, with a cross from Telasco Segovia that Teo Quintero finished off and passed very close to the goal. However, it was Canada that scored another goal, in the 82nd minute, with a shot by Promise David after a cross from Niko Sigur that sealed the match. Thus, the Creoles had to postpone their intention to take revenge on the ‘La Hoja de Maple’ team, against whom they lost on penalties in the Quarterfinals of the 2024 Copa América.
