Copa America: 15 surprises so far

Jun 9, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Venezuela midfielder Tomas Rincon (8) and defender Oswaldo Vizcarrondo (4) and defender Wilker Angel (2) celebrate a victory against Uruguay in a group play stage of the 2016 Copa America Centenario at Lincoln Financial Field. Venezuela won 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

16 of 16

Jun 13, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Venezuela defender Jose Manuel Velazquez (6) celebrates after scoring a goal against Mexico during the first half during the group play stage of the 2016 Copa America Centenario at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Venezuela surprises in the group stage

As one of the bottom teams in the Centenario on paper entering the tournament, Venezuela was not expected to come anywhere close to reaching the knockout stages. Venezuela not only finished second on goal differential in Group C with seven points, but showed a real quality to become the single biggest surprise of the tournament.

It’s been a tough go for La Vinotinto in recent years, as they have dropped from 36th to 74th in the FIFA world rankings since 2013. Venezuela had not won a game since head coach Rafael Dudamel took over in March, and doesn’t have high hopes of reaching the 2018 World Cup with just one point in qualifying so far.

The team clearly needed a change of direction when Dudamel initially took over, and brought in a lot of young promising talent. This was always going to be an important tournament for Venezuela in terms of developing that talent, but few expected any results on the field.

La Vinotinto proved that notion wrong right away with a `1-0 win over Jamaica to open the tournament. The real shocks came later, as Venezuela topped Uruguay 1-0 and drew Mexico 1-1 to advance to the quarterfinals.

Rondon, a striker for EPL side West Brom, has been solid so far, while Jose Manuel Velasquez opened the scoring against Mexico with an impressive strike. Venezuela’s most impressive unit has been the defense, which is very organized and tough to break down, while Hernandez has been terrific in goal.

While the miracle run came to an end in the quarterfinals against Argentina, Venezuela appears headed in the right direction with a strong showing at the Copa America.

For more Copa America coverage, check out our soccer hub page.

Home/Copa America