Venezuela national football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Venezuela women's national football team.

Venezuela

Nickname(s)	La Vinotinto (The Wine-Red)[1]
Association	Federación Venezolana de Fútbol (FVF)
Confederation	CONMEBOL (South America)
Head coach	Fernando Batista
Captain	Tomás Rincón
Most caps	Tomás Rincón (138)
Top scorer	Salomón Rondón (45)
Home stadium	Estadio Monumental Estadio Olímpico de la UCV Estadio Metropolitano de Mérida
FIFA code	VEN
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	47 (19 December 2024)[2]
Highest	25 (November 2019)
Lowest	129 (November 1998)
First international
Panama 2–1 Venezuela  (Panama City, Panama; 12 February 1938)
Biggest win
Venezuela 7–0 Puerto Rico  (Caracas, Venezuela; 16 January 1959)
Biggest defeat
Argentina 11–0 Venezuela  (Rosario, Argentina; 10 August 1975)
Copa América
Appearances	20 (first in 1967)
Best result	Fourth place (2011)

The Venezuela national football team (Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Venezuela), nicknamed La Vinotinto ("The Red Wine"), represents Venezuela in men's international football and is controlled by the Venezuelan Football Federation (FVF), the governing body for football in Venezuela. Their nickname is a reference to the unique “red wine” team color that is used on their home jerseys. When playing at home in official games, they usually rotate between three stadiums: The Polideportivo Cachamay in Puerto Ordaz, the Estadio José Antonio Anzoátegui in Puerto La Cruz and the Estadio Pueblo Nuevo in San Cristóbal. In friendly matches, they tend to rotate between the rest of the stadiums in the country.

Unlike other South American nations, and akin to some Caribbean nations, baseball is extremely popular in Venezuela, which diverts athletic talent away from football, contributing to its historic lack of success in CONMEBOL competitions. As of 2022, they are the only CONMEBOL side to have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup. Often Venezuela would go through entire qualification tournaments without recording a single win, although this has not happened since 1998. Until 2011, their best finish at the Copa América was fifth in their first entry, in 1967. It is only recently with the spread of the World Cup's popularity in nations where football was not the primary sport (such as Canada, Japan, the United States, and Australia) that the national team found incentives to increase player development and fan support. As of December 2019, Venezuela has the highest position on the FIFA World Ranking of any team that has not yet qualified for the World Cup, being ranked 25th.^[4]

History

Backstory

Venezuela did not participate in FIFA World Cup qualification until the 1966 qualifiers in which they were drawn with Uruguay and Peru, but failed to register a point in four games. In the 1970 qualifiers they managed to register a point, and after withdrawing from the 1974 series, repeated that in the 1978 qualifiers. The 1982 qualifiers saw them register their first win, over Bolivia. They wouldn't register another World Cup qualifying win until the 1994 series when they defeated Ecuador. A highlight of the 1998 qualifiers was goalkeeper Rafael Dudamel scoring against Argentina in a 5–2 defeat.

Despite poor results during the 1960s and 1970s, outstanding players like Luis Mendoza and Rafael Santana achieved recognition. Venezuela at that time also managed to qualify for the 1980 Summer Olympics, it first-ever major international football competition Venezuela participated in.

Richard Páez era

After José Omar Pastoriza's resignation during the 2002 World Cup qualifyings, Richard Páez took the technical direction of the national team. Finishing this process, Venezuela achieved 4 victories in a row against Uruguay, Chile, Peru, and Paraguay; winning more than 1 game in row, their first away game and not finishing in the last place for the first time in their World Cup qualifying history.

However, the team failed to qualify for both the 2002, and 2006 World Cups, gaining 16 and 18 points respectively. After this, the team advanced to the second round of Copa America 2007 in Venezuela.

In November 2007, Páez resigned after discrepancies with media and supporters.^[5]

César Farías era

With a new coach César Farías, Venezuela national team improved their performances. At the beginning of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying, Venezuela won its first game in World Cup qualifying against long unbeaten Ecuador in Quito. Something similar happened to Bolivia in La Paz, where Venezuela won for the first time at Bolivian altitude. Also, they received their first point against Brazil in qualifying. Despite not ultimately reaching 2010, Venezuela achieved its best result in qualifying. They finished this round with 22 points in 18 matches, surpassing Peru and Bolivia for eighth place in the region.

On 6 June 2008, Venezuela achieved its first-ever triumph over Brazil, defeating the Seleção 2–0 in a friendly match in Boston, United States. Venezuela obtained excellent results in the 2011 Copa América when they finished fourth, their highest finish in the tournament to date. With a squad composed mostly of players playing in Europe, they began 2014 World Cup qualification with a historic result (1–0) against Argentina in Puerto La Cruz, beating the Argentines for the first time.

Noel Sanvicente era

Match between Galicia (in white) and Venezuela (in burgundy).

On 4 September 2014, Noel Sanvicente was made coach of the Venezuela national team.^[6] On 5 September 2014, the team lost its first match with Sanvicente under the helm 3–1 against South Korea in Bucheon.^[7]

Sanvicente's first tournament came in the 2015 Copa América, with Venezuela drawn in Group C of the competition. Their opening game finished with an upset victory over tournament favorites Colombia by 1–0, but subsequent defeats to Peru and Brazil saw La Vinotinto eliminated.^{[citation needed]}

Venezuela began the World Cup qualification campaign with a 1–0 defeat against Paraguay at home, and would not earn their first point until their match against Peru, a 2–2 draw in Lima where Venezuela led until the last minute of stoppage time. Their match with Chile ended in a disappointing 4–1 defeat. Sanvicente announced his resignation a week later after mutual consent with the FVF. At the time of Sanvicente's departure, Venezuela was last in the qualification standings with a sole point.

Rafael Dudamel era

Sanvicente was replaced by former Vinotinto goalkeeper Rafael Dudamel, who decided to revamp the entire national team, by injecting the team with the promising young generation of Venezuelan players that finished second at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup that was dubbed as the country's first-ever football Golden Generation.^[8] Under his coaching, La Vinotinto quickly improved and reached the quarterfinals in the Copa América Centenario, with two 1–0 wins over Jamaica and Uruguay and a 1–1 draw against Mexico in the group stage and then a 4–1 defeat to Argentina in the quarter-finals. In the 7th matchday of the 2018 World Cup qualifier, Venezuela lost to Colombia 2–0 in Barranquilla, the first loss against Los Cafeteros since 2009. Later, on matchday 11, Venezuela won for the first time in the qualifier, 5–0 over Bolivia in Maturín with a hat-trick from Josef Martínez and goals from Jacobo Kouffati and Rómulo Otero.

On 2 January 2020, Dudamel resigned from the national team.

Copa América history

Venezuela first participated at the Copa América in 1967, and finished fifth after defeating Bolivia 3–0 with a side containing Mendoza and Santana. The 1975 tournament saw Venezuela drawn in a group with Brazil and Argentina, and finished bottom with an 11–0 defeat to Argentina. In the 1979 edition, which would be the international swansong for Mendoza and Santana, they drew 0–0 with Colombia and 1–1 with Chile. A highlight of the 1989 tournament was midfielder Carlos Maldonado's four goals. In the 1993 series, Venezuela drew with Uruguay and the United States.

The team's overall Copa América record has been relatively poor (goal difference 33–145 before the 2011 Copa América), but the "Auge Vinotinto" (Vinotinto Rise) period in the early 2000s (decade) brought increased attention to the sport in the country, which in turn brought increased support from both government and private institutions. Said support contributed greatly to the "Vinotinto's" rise in quality. In 2007, during the Copa América held in Venezuela, the team progressed to the quarterfinals for the first time in its history after finishing first in a group containing Peru, Bolivia, and Uruguay. Venezuela's 2–0 victory over Peru during the competition was its first Copa América victory since 1967.

2011 Copa América

At the 2011 Copa América championship, Venezuela reached the semi-finals round for the first time by defeating Chile in the quarter-final, 2–1. Despite their commanding presence against Paraguay in their semifinal, Venezuela was unable to convert their chances into goals. They would eventually lose 5–3 to Paraguay in a penalty shootout after remaining scoreless in normal and extra time. Venezuela and Peru played for third place at the Estadio Ciudad de La Plata, where Venezuela would suffer their biggest loss of the tournament, losing 4–1 to Peru and falling into fourth place overall. Nonetheless, it was their best-ever finish at the competition.

Group B:

Main article: 2011 Copa América Group B

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Brazil	3	1	2	0	6	4	+2	5
Venezuela	3	1	2	0	4	3	+1	5
Paraguay	3	0	3	0	5	5	0	3
Ecuador	3	0	1	2	2	5	−3	1

Results:

Brazil  v  Venezuela

3 July 2011 Group stages	Brazil	0–0	Venezuela	La Plata, Argentina
16:00 UTC-3		Report		Stadium: Estadio Ciudad de La Plata Referee: Raúl Orosco (Bolivia)

Venezuela  v  Ecuador

9 July 2011 Group stages	Venezuela	1–0	Ecuador	Salta, Argentina
18:30 UTC-3	C. González 61'	Report		Stadium: Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena Referee: Wálter Quesada (Costa Rica)

Paraguay  v  Venezuela

13 July 2011 Group stages	Paraguay	3–3	Venezuela	Salta, Argentina
19:15 UTC-3	Alcaraz 32' Barrios 62' Riveros 85'	Report	Rondón 5' Miku 89' Perozo 90+2'	Stadium: Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena Referee: Enrique Osses (Chile)

Chile  v  Venezuela

17 July 2011 Quarterfinals	Chile	1–2	Venezuela	San Juan, Argentina
19:15 UTC-3	Suazo 69'	Report	Vizcarrondo 34' Cichero 80'	Stadium: Estadio del Bicentenario Referee: Carlos Vera (Ecuador)

Venezuela  v  Paraguay

20 July 2011 Semifinals	Venezuela	0–0 (3–5 p)	Paraguay	Mendoza, Argentina
21:45 UTC-3		Report		Stadium: Estadio Malvinas Argentinas Referee: Francisco Chacón (Mexico)
	Penalties
	Maldonado Rey Lucena Miku		Ortigoza Barrios Riveros Martínez Verón

Peru  v  Venezuela

23 July 2011 Third-place match	Peru	4–1	Venezuela	La Plata, Argentina
16:00 UTC-3	Chiroque 41' Guerrero 63', 89', 90+2'	Report	Arango 77'	Stadium: Estadio Ciudad de La Plata Referee: Wilmar Roldán (Colombia)

Team image

Venezuela made its international debut in the Central American and Caribbean Games held in Panama in 1938, wearing the vinotinto (burgundy) color. The burgundy color originated from the uniform of the Venezuelan National Guard.^[9] In the 1967 Copa América Venezuela also wore the Peñarol shirt v Chile to avoid colors clash, as Venezuela had arrived in the Estadio Centenario (Peñarol's frequent venue) with no alternate shirts.^[10]

In 1993, a vertical band with the colors of the National flag was added to the left side of the jersey, which changed its colors to a more traditional red tone. This lasted until 1996 when Venezuela returned to the vinotinto tone.^[11]

In 1998 Venezuela adopted a yellow/blue/red scheme, similar to their flag colors, by Mexican manufacturer "ABA Sports".^[11] The national team returned to the traditional color in 2000. It has been remaining (with few changes)^[12] as the main uniform up to present days.

Kit providers

Source:^[13]

Adidas jersey worn during the 2014 World Cup qualifying

Manufacturer	Period
Adidas	1981–1991
Forte	1992–1995
Polmer	1996–1997
Aba Sport	1998–1999
Atlética	2000–2004
Adidas	2005–2018
Givova	2019–2023
Adidas	2024–present

Results and fixtures

Main article: Venezuela national football team results (2020–present)

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2024

Venezuela  v  Italy

21 March 2024 Friendly	Venezuela	1–2	Italy	Fort Lauderdale, United States
17:00 UTC−4	Machís 43'	Report	Retegui 40', 80'	Stadium: Chase Stadium Referee: Rubiel Vazquez (United States)

Guatemala  v  Venezuela

24 March 2024 Friendly	Guatemala	0–0	Venezuela	Houston, United States
17:00 UTC−5		Report		Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium Referee: Armando Villarreal (United States)

Ecuador  v  Venezuela

22 June 2024 2024 Copa América GS	Ecuador	1–2	Venezuela	Santa Clara, United States
15:00 UTC−7	Sarmiento 40'	Report	Cádiz 64' Bello 74'	Stadium: Levi's Stadium Attendance: 29,864 Referee: Wilmar Roldán (Colombia)

Venezuela  v  Mexico

26 June 2024 2024 Copa América GS	Venezuela	1–0	Mexico	Inglewood, United States
18:00 UTC−7	Rondón 57' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: SoFi Stadium Attendance: 72,773 Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)

Jamaica  v  Venezuela

30 June 2024 2024 Copa América GS	Jamaica	0–3	Venezuela	Austin, United States
19:00 UTC−5		Report	Bello 49' Rondón 56' Ramírez 85'	Stadium: Q2 Stadium Attendance: 20,240 Referee: Maurizio Mariani (Italy)

Venezuela  v  Canada

5 July 2024 2024 Copa América QF	Venezuela	1–1 (3–4 p)	Canada	Arlington, United States
20:00 UTC−5	Rondón 65'	Report	Shaffelburg 13'	Stadium: AT&T Stadium Attendance: 51,080 Referee: Wilton Sampaio (Brazil)
	Penalties
	Rondón Herrera Rincón Savarino Cádiz Ángel		David Millar Bombito Eustáquio Davies Koné

Bolivia  v  Venezuela

5 September 2024 2026 World Cup qualification	Bolivia	4–0	Venezuela	El Alto, Bolivia
16:00 UTC−4	R. Vaca 13' Algarañaz 45+5' (pen.) Terceros 46' Monteiro 89'	Report		Stadium: Estadio Municipal de El Alto Attendance: 20,500 Referee: Wilmar Roldán (Colombia)

Venezuela  v  Uruguay

10 September 2024 2026 World Cup qualification	Venezuela	0–0	Uruguay	Maturín, Venezuela
18:00 UTC−4		Report		Stadium: Estadio Monumental Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)

Venezuela  v  Argentina

10 October 2024 2026 World Cup qualification	Venezuela	1–1	Argentina	Maturín, Venezuela
17:00 UTC−4	Rondón 65'	Report	Otamendi 13'	Stadium: Estadio Monumental Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Gustavo Tejera (Uruguay)

Paraguay  v  Venezuela

15 October 2024 2026 World Cup qualification	Paraguay	2–1	Venezuela	Asunción, Paraguay
20:00 UTC−3	Sanabria 59', 74'	Report	Aramburu 25'	Stadium: Estadio Defensores del Chaco Attendance: 28,531 Referee: Piero Maza (Chile)

Venezuela  v  Brazil

14 November 2024 2026 World Cup qualification	Venezuela	1–1	Brazil	Maturín, Venezuela
17:00 UTC−4	Segovia 46'	Report	Raphinha 43'	Stadium: Estadio Monumental Attendance: 32,200 Referee: Andrés Rojas (Colombia)

Chile  v  Venezuela

19 November 2024 2026 World Cup qualification	Chile	4–2	Venezuela	Santiago, Chile
21:00 UTC−3	Vargas 20' Rincón 29' (o.g.) Cepeda 38', 47'	Report	Savarino 13' Ramírez 22'	Stadium: Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos Attendance: 31,906 Referee: Facundo Tello (Argentina)

2025

United States  v  Venezuela

18 January 2025 Friendly	United States	v	Venezuela	Fort Lauderdale, United States
15:00 UTC−5				Stadium: Chase Stadium

Ecuador  v  Venezuela

March 2025 2026 World Cup qualification	Ecuador	v	Venezuela	Ecuador
--:-- UTC−5

Venezuela  v  Peru

March 2025 2026 World Cup qualification	Venezuela	v	Peru	Maturín, Venezuela
--:-- UTC−4				Stadium: Estadio Monumental

Venezuela  v  Bolivia

June 2025 2026 World Cup qualification	Venezuela	v	Bolivia	Maturín, Venezuela
--:-- UTC−4				Stadium: Estadio Monumental

Uruguay  v  Venezuela

June 2025 2026 World Cup qualification	Uruguay	v	Venezuela	Montevideo, Uruguay
--:-- UTC−3				Stadium: Estadio Centenario

Argentina  v  Venezuela

September 2025 2026 World Cup qualification	Argentina	v	Venezuela	Argentina
--:-- UTC−3

Venezuela  v  Colombia

September 2025 2026 World Cup qualification	Venezuela	v	Colombia	Maturín, Venezuela
--:-- UTC−4				Stadium: Estadio Monumental

Coaching staff

Position	Name
General Manager	Sergio Batista
Head coach	Fernando Batista
Assistant coach	Omar Alarcón Leandro Cufre
Goalkeeper coach	Vicente Rosales Damian Albil
Fitness coach	Jorge Pidal Piero Medina

Coaching history

Caretaker managers are listed in italics.

• Vittorio Godigna (1938)
• Sixto Soler (1944–1946)
• Álvaro Cartea (1947–1948)
• Orlando Fantoni (1951, 1955–1959)
• Miguel Ángel Gleria (1951)
• Rafael Franco (1961–1967)
• Gregorio Gómez (1967–1969)
• Rafael Gonzalez (1970-1972)
• José Julián Hernández (1972)
• Dan Georgiadis (1972–1977)
• Luis Mendoza (1981, 1989)
• Walter Roque (1981–1985)
• Rafael Santana (1985–1986, 1996)
• Carlos Horacio Moreno (1989)
• Víctor Pignanelli (1990–1992)
• Ratomir Dujković (1992–1995)
• Eduardo Borrero (1997–1998)
• José Omar Pastoriza (1998–2000)
• Richard Páez (2001–2007)
• César Farías (2007–2013)
• Manuel Plasencia (2014)
• Noel Sanvicente (2014–2016)
• Rafael Dudamel (2016–2020)
• José Peseiro (2020–2021)
• Leonardo González (2021)
• José Pékerman (2021–2023)
• Fernando Batista (2023–present)

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Brazil and Chile on 14 and 19 November 2024, respectively.^{[14][15][16][17][18]}

• Caps and goals are correct as of 19 November 2024, after the match against Chile.
• Friendlies not recognized by FIFA are not counted.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Wuilker Fariñez	(1998-02-15) 15 February 1998 (age 26)	40	0	Caracas
12	1GK	Alain Baroja	(1989-10-23) 23 October 1989 (age 35)	14	0	Always Ready
22	1GK	Rafael Romo	(1990-02-25) 25 February 1990 (age 34)	30	0	Universidad Católica
2	2DF	Nahuel Ferraresi	(1998-11-19) 19 November 1998 (age 26)	33	1	São Paulo
3	2DF	Wilker Ángel	(1993-03-18) 18 March 1993 (age 31)	41	2	Criciúma
4	2DF	Jon Aramburu	(2002-07-23) 23 July 2002 (age 22)	12	1	Real Sociedad
5	2DF	Christian Makoun	(2000-03-05) 5 March 2000 (age 24)	12	0	Levski Sofia
14	2DF	Rubén Ramírez	(1995-10-18) 18 October 1995 (age 29)	3	1	Cusco
15	2DF	Miguel Navarro	(1999-01-26) 26 January 1999 (age 25)	19	0	Talleres
21	2DF	Carlos Vivas	(2002-04-04) 4 April 2002 (age 22)	1	0	Deportivo Táchira
	2DF	Renne Rivas	(2003-03-21) 21 March 2003 (age 21)	0	0	Al Taawoun
	2DF	Bianneider Tamayo	(2005-01-13) 13 January 2005 (age 19)	0	0	Universidad de Chile
6	3MF	Bryant Ortega	(2003-02-28) 28 February 2003 (age 21)	0	0	Al-Ittihad
7	3MF	Jefferson Savarino	(1996-11-11) 11 November 1996 (age 28)	46	4	Botafogo
8	3MF	Tomás Rincón (captain)	(1988-01-13) 13 January 1988 (age 36)	139	1	Santos
11	3MF	Maurice Cova	(1992-08-11) 11 August 1992 (age 32)	0	0	Deportivo Táchira
13	3MF	José Martínez	(1994-09-07) 7 September 1994 (age 30)	37	0	Corinthians
16	3MF	Telasco Segovia	(2003-04-02) 2 April 2003 (age 21)	8	1	Casa Pia
20	3MF	Eduard Bello	(1995-08-20) 20 August 1995 (age 29)	21	4	Barcelona
	3MF	Yangel Herrera	(1998-01-07) 7 January 1998 (age 26)	41	3	Girona
	3MF	Leenhan Romero	(2006-11-01) 1 November 2006 (age 18)	0	0	Universidad Católica
9	4FW	Jhonder Cádiz	(1995-07-29) 29 July 1995 (age 29)	16	1	León
10	4FW	Yeferson Soteldo	(1997-06-30) 30 June 1997 (age 27)	47	4	Grêmio
17	4FW	Kervin Andrade	(2005-04-13) 13 April 2005 (age 19)	3	0	Fortaleza
18	4FW	Jhon Murillo	(1995-11-21) 21 November 1995 (age 29)	46	4	Atlas
19	4FW	Eric Ramírez	(1998-11-20) 20 November 1998 (age 26)	11	2	Tigre
23	4FW	Salomón Rondón (vice-captain)	(1989-09-16) 16 September 1989 (age 35)	114	45	Pachuca
	4FW	Darwin Machís	(1993-02-07) 7 February 1993 (age 31)	51	11	Valladolid

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	José Contreras	(1994-10-20) 20 October 1994 (age 30)	6	0	Águilas Doradas	v.  Paraguay, 15 October 2024 ^WD
GK	Joel Graterol	(1997-02-13) 13 February 1997 (age 27)	12	0	América de Cali	v.  Argentina, 10 October 2024 ^INJ
DF	Alexander González	(1992-11-13) 13 November 1992 (age 32)	72	2	Emelec	v.  Chile, 19 November 2024 ^SUS
DF	Yordan Osorio	(1994-05-10) 10 May 1994 (age 30)	36	0	Parma	v.  Brazil, 14 November 2024 ^INJ
DF	Delvin Alfonzo	(2003-03-21) 21 March 2003 (age 21)	0	0	Millonarios	v.  Paraguay, 15 October 2024
DF	Luis Balbo	(2006-03-28) 28 March 2006 (age 18)	0	0	Fiorentina U20	v.  Paraguay, 15 October 2024
DF	Victor Fung	(2007-08-13) 13 August 2007 (age 17)	0	0	Inter Miami II	v.  Paraguay, 15 October 2024
DF	Alessandro Milani	(2005-06-14) 14 June 2005 (age 19)	0	0	Lazio U20	v.  Paraguay, 15 October 2024
DF	Yiandro Raap	(2006-07-25) 25 July 2006 (age 18)	0	0	Jong PSV	v.  Paraguay, 15 October 2024
DF	Teo Quintero	(1999-03-02) 2 March 1999 (age 25)	0	0	Sparta Rotterdam	v.  Argentina, 10 October 2024 ^INJ
DF	Jhon Chancellor	(1992-01-02) 2 January 1992 (age 32)	37	3	Universidad Católica	v.  Bolivia, 5 September 2024 ^INJ
DF	Roberto Rosales	(1988-11-20) 20 November 1988 (age 36)	95	1	Deportivo Táchira	2024 Copa América ^PRE
DF	Diego Luna	(2004-04-04) 4 April 2004 (age 20)	0	0	Baltika Kaliningrad	2024 Copa América ^PRE
MF	Cristian Cásseres	(2000-01-20) 20 January 2000 (age 24)	35	0	Toulouse	v.  Chile, 19 November 2024 ^SUS
MF	Edson Castillo	(1994-05-18) 18 May 1994 (age 30)	9	1	Kaizer Chiefs	v.  Paraguay, 15 October 2024
MF	Daniel Pereira	(2000-07-14) 14 July 2000 (age 24)	5	0	Austin FC	v.  Paraguay, 15 October 2024
MF	Nicola Profeta	(2006-02-27) 27 February 2006 (age 18)	0	0	Santos U20	v.  Paraguay, 15 October 2024
MF	Daniele Quieto	(2005-10-22) 22 October 2005 (age 19)	0	0	Inter Milan U20	v.  Paraguay, 15 October 2024
MF	Yair Ramos	(2005-10-13) 13 October 2005 (age 19)	0	0	FC Cincinnati 2	v.  Paraguay, 15 October 2024
MF	Giovanny Sequera	(2006-02-14) 14 February 2006 (age 18)	0	0	Philadelphia Union	v.  Paraguay, 15 October 2024
MF	David Martínez	(2006-02-07) 7 February 2006 (age 18)	1	0	Los Angeles FC	v.  Paraguay, 15 October 2024 ^WD
MF	Matías Lacava	(2002-10-24) 24 October 2002 (age 22)	1	0	Atlético Goianiense	v.  Uruguay, 10 September 2024
MF	Jesús Bueno	(1999-04-15) 15 April 1999 (age 25)	0	0	Philadelphia Union	v.  Uruguay, 10 September 2024
MF	Rómulo Otero	(1992-11-09) 9 November 1992 (age 32)	51	6	Santos	2024 Copa América ^PRE
MF	Júnior Moreno	(1993-07-20) 20 July 1993 (age 31)	41	1	Houston Dynamo	2024 Copa América ^PRE
MF	Enrique Peña Zauner	(2000-03-04) 4 March 2000 (age 24)	0	0	Roda JC	2024 Copa América ^PRE
FW	Jesús Ramírez	(1998-05-04) 4 May 1998 (age 26)	1	0	Vitória Guimarães	v.  Paraguay, 15 October 2024
FW	Lorenzo D'Agostini	(2005-09-21) 21 September 2005 (age 19)	0	0	Lazio U20	v.  Paraguay, 15 October 2024
FW	Alejandro Gomes	(2008-03-11) 11 March 2008 (age 16)	0	0	Lyon U19	v.  Bolivia, 5 September 2024 ^WD
FW	Josef Martínez	(1993-05-19) 19 May 1993 (age 31)	66	14	CF Montréal	2024 Copa América ^PRE
FW	Sergio Córdova	(1997-08-09) 9 August 1997 (age 27)	18	0	Alanyaspor	2024 Copa América ^PRE
FW	Alejandro Marqués	(2000-04-08) 8 April 2000 (age 24)	3	0	Estoril	2024 Copa América ^PRE
FW	Freddy Vargas	(1999-04-01) 1 April 1999 (age 25)	2	0	Maccabi Netanya	2024 Copa América ^PRE
FW	Jovanny Bolívar	(2001-12-16) 16 December 2001 (age 23)	0	0	Kolos Kovalivka	2024 Copa América ^PRE
FW	Jan Hurtado	(2000-03-05) 5 March 2000 (age 24)	10	0	Atlético Goianiense	v.  Guatemala, 24 March 2024
^INJ Withdrew due to injury ^PRE Preliminary squad ^SUS Suspended ^WD Withdrew from the squad

Player records

As of 19 November 2024^[19]

Players in bold are still active with Venezuela.

Most appearances

Midfielder Tomás Rincón is the most capped player with 139 appearances.

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Tomás Rincón	139	1	2008–present
2	Juan Arango	129	23	1999–2015
3	José Manuel Rey	115	10	1997–2011
4	Salomón Rondón	114	45	2008–present
5	Roberto Rosales	95	1	2007–present
6	Jorge Alberto Rojas	87	3	1999–2009
7	Miguel Mea Vitali	84	1	1999–2012
8	Oswaldo Vizcarrondo	80	7	2004–2016
9	Gabriel Urdaneta	77	9	1996–2005
10	Luis Vallenilla	76	0	1996–2007

Top goalscorers

Salomón Rondón is the nation's all-time top goalscorer.

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Salomón Rondón	45	113	0.4	2008–present
2	Juan Arango	23	129	0.17	1999–2015
3	Giancarlo Maldonado	22	65	0.34	2003–2011
4	Ruberth Morán	14	63	0.22	1996–2007
	Josef Martínez	14	66	0.21	2011–present
6	Miku	11	50	0.22	2006–2015
	Darwin Machís	11	51	0.22	2011–present
8	Daniel Arismendi	10	30	0.33	2006–2011
	José Manuel Rey	10	115	0.09	1997–2011
10	Gabriel Urdaneta	9	77	0.12	1996–2005

Competitive record

Main article: Venezuela national football team records and statistics

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Not a FIFA member									Not a FIFA member
1934
1938
1950
1954	Did not enter									Declined participation
1958	Withdrew									Withdrew
1962	Did not enter									Declined participation
1966	Did not qualify									4	0	0	4	4	15
1970										6	0	1	5	1	18
1974	Withdrew									Withdrew
1978	Did not qualify									4	0	1	3	2	8
1982										4	1	0	3	1	9
1986										6	0	1	5	5	15
1990										4	0	0	4	1	18
1994										8	1	0	7	4	34
1998										16	0	3	13	8	41
2002										18	5	1	12	18	44
2006										18	5	3	10	20	28
2010										18	6	4	8	23	29
2014										16	5	5	6	14	20
2018										18	2	6	10	19	35
2022										18	3	1	14	14	34
2026	Qualification in progress									12	2	6	4	11	15
2030	To be determined									To be determined
2034
Total		0/18								170	30	32	108	145	363

Copa América

Main article: Venezuela at the Copa América

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place  

South American Championship / Copa América record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
1916	Not a CONMEBOL member
1917
1919
1920
1921
1922
1923
1924
1925
1926
1927
1929
1935
1937
1939
1941
1942
1945
1946
1947
1949
1953	Did not participate
1955
1956
1957
1959
1959
1963
1967	Fifth place	5th	5	1	0	4	7	16	Squad
1975	Group stage	10th	4	0	0	4	1	26	Squad
1979		10th	4	0	2	2	1	12	Squad
1983		10th	4	0	1	3	1	10	Squad
1987		10th	2	0	0	2	1	8	Squad
1989		10th	4	0	1	3	4	11	Squad
1991		10th	4	0	0	4	1	15	Squad
1993		11th	3	0	2	1	6	11	Squad
1995		12th	3	0	0	3	4	10	Squad
1997		12th	3	0	0	3	0	5	Squad
1999		12th	3	0	0	3	1	13	Squad
2001		12th	3	0	0	3	0	7	Squad
2004		11th	3	0	1	2	2	5	Squad
2007	Quarter-finals	6th	4	1	2	1	5	6	Squad
2011	Fourth place	4th	6	2	3	1	7	8	Squad
2015	Group stage	9th	3	1	0	2	2	3	Squad
2016	Quarter-finals	6th	4	2	1	1	4	5	Squad
2019		7th	4	1	2	1	3	3	Squad
2021	Group stage	9th	4	0	2	2	2	6	Squad
2024	Quarter-finals	5th	4	3	1	0	7	2	Squad
Total	Fourth place	20/27	74	11	18	45	59	182	—

Pan American Games

Pan American Games record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1951	Fourth place	4th	4	1	0	3	5	14
1955	Fourth place	4th	6	1	2	3	9	20
1959	Did not participate
1963
1967
1971
1975
1979
1983	Group stage	7th	2	1	0	1	3	3
1987	Did not qualify
1991
1995
Since 1999	See Venezuela national under-23 football team
Total	Fourth place	3/12	12	3	2	7	17	37

Honours

Regional

• Bolivarian Games
  • Silver medal (5): 1947-48 (shared), 1951, 1965, 1970, 1977
  • Bronze medal (2): 1961, 1981

See also

• Venezuela national under-23 football team
• Venezuela national under-20 football team
• Venezuela national under-17 football team
• Venezuela national futsal team

References

1. "Venezuela: ¿Por qué la 'vinotinto'?" (HTML). Culturizando.com. 6 July 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
2. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 19 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
3. Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 25 December 2024. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
4. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA.com. FIFA. Archived from the original on 15 July 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
5. "Venezuela se quedó sin DT: renunció Richard Páez | Emol.com". 26 November 2007. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
6. FIFA.com. "Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) – FIFA.com". fifa.com. Archived from the original on 31 July 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
7. "Korea Republic 3 – 1 Venezuela Match report – 9/5/14 Friendlies – Goal.com". goal.com. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
8. "Jóvenes - Where Are Venezuela's Golden U20 Generation Now?". 11 June 2019. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
9. "¿Por qué le dicen la Vinotinto a la Selección venezolana? | Goal.com". www.goal.com (in Spanish). 18 June 2021. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
10. Redacción Aguanten Che. "Vinotinto aurinegra". aguantenche.com.uy. Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
11. "La evolución de la camisa vinotinto desde 1938". Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
12. La Vinotinto estrenará uniforme Archived 2 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine on La Patilla website
13. Las marcas que han vestido a la Vinotinto Archived 20 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine on Meridiano.com
14. @selevinotinto (4 November 2024). "📋 Estos serán los dirigidos por el seleccionador nacional Fernando Batista (@bochabatista) para enfrentar a Brasil y Chile en las jornadas 11 y 12 de las Eliminatorias @CONMEBOL a la Copa Mundial de la FIFA 2026" (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 November 2024 – via Instagram.
15. @SeleVinotinto (9 November 2024). "Novedad en la convocatoria de La Vinotinto: 𝗬𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗻 𝗢𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗼" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 November 2024 – via Twitter.
16. @SeleVinotinto (9 November 2024). "Novedad en la convocatoria de La Vinotinto: 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗔́𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗹" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 November 2024 – via Twitter.
17. @SeleVinotinto (13 November 2024). "Novedades en la convocatoria de La Vinotinto: 𝗟𝗲𝗲𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗼 y 𝗕𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘆𝗼" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 November 2024 – via Twitter.
18. @SeleVinotinto (15 November 2024). "Novedades en la convocatoria de La Vinotinto: 𝗠𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘃𝗮" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 November 2024 – via Twitter.
19. Mamrud, Roberto. "Venezuela - Record International Players". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 30 March 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2023.

External links

• Official website (in Spanish)
• Venezuela FIFA profile