INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Salomón Rondón scored from the penalty spot in the 57th minute, and Venezuela advanced to the Copa América quarter-finals with a 1-0 victory over Mexico on Wednesday night.
Venezuela, which debuted with a 2-1 victory over Ecuador, is guaranteed to be among the top two in Group B. Mexico started with a 1-0 victory over Jamaica and has three points alongside Ecuador, who defeated the winless Reggae Boyz 3-. 1 previous Wednesday.
Mexico faces Ecuador in Glendale, Arizona, on Sunday and needs a win to advance. Venezuela faces the already eliminated Jamaica in Austin, Texas.
Venezuela ended a 13-game winless streak against El Tri.
Brazilian referee Raphael Claus awarded the penalty when Julián Quiñoned pushed Jon Aramburu in the box.
Rondón shot to the right of goalkeeper Julio González, who jumped to the left, and Rondón scored his 42nd goal in 107 international matches. His goal total is almost double that of Juan Arango, second among Venezuelans, with 23.
Mexico were awarded a handball penalty by Miguel Navarro after a shot by Jorge Sánchez, but Rafael Romo jumped to his right to deflect Orbelín Pineda’s penalty in the 87th minute.
While Vinotinto reached the quarter-finals for the third time in four tournaments, Mexico are on the brink of first-round elimination for the third time in the last four trips to the Copa América.
Under the command of Argentine coach Fernando Batista, the Venezuelans have recorded just two defeats in the last 15 matches, against Italy and Colombia.
Mexico’s midfield was without Edson Álvarez, who injured a hamstring against Jamaica and will miss the rest of the tournament.
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