Venezuela and Guatamala meet at Rentschler Field in Connecticut for an international friendly on Sunday.
The two nations are separated by 61 places in the FIFA World Rankings, with La Vinotinto sitting 55th in the current standings and Los Chapines positioned further back in 116th place.
Match preview
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Venezuela extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to six matches courtesy of a slender 1-0 victory over Honduras in Washington DC on Friday.
Santos winger Yeferson Soteldo scored what proved to be the match-winner, and his first goal for his country in over two years, nine minutes before half time to help La Vinotinto maintain their unbeaten start to 2023 under new head coach Fernando Batista, who was appointed in March.
Venezuela finished rock bottom of their CONMEBOL World Cup qualification group for the 2022 tournament, but their recent run of form in friendlies has provided Batista with optimism of making a positive start to their 2026 campaign in September.
La Vinotinto has faced Guatemala on four previous occasions, with three successive friendly victories between 2006 and 2011 followed by a 1-1 draw in June 2016, with Salomon Rondon netting an 84th-minute equaliser to force both nations to share the spoils.
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Guatemala, meanwhile, responded to back-to-back defeats without scoring against Mexico and Trinidad & Tobago earlier this month by securing a surprise 1-0 win over Costa Rica in Los Angeles on Friday.
The only goal of the contest was netted in the sixth minute by experienced midfielder Carlos Mejia, who finished an early counter-attack with a low-driven strike beyond goalkeeper Kevin Chamorro.
Victory over Costa Rica has provided a huge boost to Luis Fernando Tena's side who have experienced an inconsistent run of form over the last 12 months, winning four, losing five and drawing one of their last 10 international games.
Guatemala have just one more friendly fixture against Venezuela on Sunday before they begin their group-stage campaign in the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup with an opening match against Cuba in just under two weeks' time.
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Team News
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Venezuela captain Tomas Rincon, who started as a substitute on Friday, is just two caps away from equalling Juan Arango (127) as the nation's all-time record appearance-maker, and the 35-year-old will be hoping to feature in some capacity again on Sunday.
Batista will ponder switching to a 4-4-2 formation, which could see Inter Miami forward Josef Martinez join Rondon in attack, with Jefferson Savarino and Soteldo beginning on the flanks.
Austin FC midfielder Daniel Pereira and Estoril forward Alejandro Marques both came off the substitutes' bench to make their international debut last time out and will be pushing for their first start for La Vinotinto on Sunday.
As for Guatemala, Tena is unlikely to make too many changes, if any, to the side that beat Costa Rica, with the 65-year-old seemingly settled on a 4-3-3 formation.
Oscar Castellanos, Alejandro Galindo and Rodrigo Saravia could all retain their places in centre-midfield, while Real Salt Lake's Rubio Rubin, who has scored three goals in eight international appearances, is set to lead the line.
Venezuela possible starting lineup:
Graterol; Rosales, Chancellor, Angel, Machis; Savarino, Herrera, Moreno, Soteldo; Josef Martinez, Rondon
Guatemala possible starting lineup:
Hagen; Herrera, Pinto, Samayoa, Ardon; Castellanos, Galindo, Saravia; Garcia, Rubin, Mejia
We say: Venezuela 1-0 Guatemala
A tight affair could be on the cards on Sunday, but Venezuela will be regarded as the favourites to come out on top.
Guatemala will hope to replicate the resilient performance shown in the win over Costa Rica, but with Rondon and Martinez potentially leading the line for Venezuela, they could just edge this contest by a slender margin.
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Top tip
Oliver Thomas
