Venezuela national football team

History

20th century

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 also managed to qualify for the 1980 Summer Olympics around this time, the first-ever major international football competition they participated in.

Richard Páez era

After José Omar Pastoriza's resignation during the 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign, Richard Páez took over as head coach of the national team. In their remaining qualifiers, Venezuela achieved 4 victories in a row against Uruguay, Chile, Peru, and Paraguay; in terms of World Cup qualifying matches, this was the first time the team won more than one game in row, the first time they won away from home, and the first time they avoided finishing in last place in their entire history.

The team nevertheless failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup, or the 2006 World Cup, gaining 16 and 18 points respectively. However, the team did achieve progression to the second round of the 2007 Copa America on home soil.

In November 2007, Páez resigned after disagreements with the media and supporters.

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 the 2010 World Cup, 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

On 4 September 2014, Noel Sanvicente was made coach of the Venezuela national team. The team's first match under Sanvicente was against South Korea in Bucheon on 5 September 2014, ending in a 3–1 defeat.

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.

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. 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

Results: Barrios Riveros Miku Perozo Cichero Rey Lucena Miku Barrios Riveros Martínez Verón Guerrero

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. 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.

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.

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

Kit providers

Source:

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.

2025

• Rondón
• Cuéllar
• Rondón
• Aguirre
• De Arrascaeta
• Messi
• La. Martínez
• Segovia
• J. Martínez
• Rondón
• Mina
• Suárez
• Córdoba
• Lo Celso
• Ramírez
• Koné
• P. David

2026

Coaching staff

Coaching history

:Caretaker managers are listed in italics.

• ITA Vittorio Godigna (1938)
• PER Sixto Soler (1944–1946)
• VEN Álvaro Cartea (1947–1948)
• BRA Orlando Fantoni (1951, 1955–1959)
• ARG Miguel Ángel Gleria (1951)
• ARG Rafael Franco (1961–1967)
• ARG Gregorio Gómez (1967–1969)
• VEN Rafael Gonzalez (1970-1972)
• VEN José Julián Hernández (1972)
• GRE Dan Georgiadis (1972–1977)
• VEN Luis Mendoza (1981, 1989)
• URU Walter Roque (1981–1985)
• VEN Rafael Santana (1985–1986, 1996)
• ARG Carlos Horacio Moreno (1989)
• URU Víctor Pignanelli (1990–1992)
• FRY Ratomir Dujković (1992–1995)
• COL Eduardo Borrero (1997–1998)
• ARG José Omar Pastoriza (1998–2000)
• VEN Richard Páez (2001–2007)
• VEN César Farías (2007–2013)
• ESP Manuel Plasencia (2014)
• VEN Noel Sanvicente (2014–2016)
• VEN Rafael Dudamel (2016–2020)
• POR José Peseiro (2020–2021)
• VEN Leonardo González (2021)
• ARG José Pékerman (2021–2023)
• ARG Fernando Batista (2023–2025)
• VEN Fernando Aristeguieta (2025)
• VEN Oswaldo Vizcarrondo (2025, 2026-)

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up to the squad for the friendly matches against Australia and Canada on 14 and 18 November 2025, respectively.

• Caps and goals are correct as of 18 November 2025, after the match against Canada.
• Friendlies not recognized by FIFA are not counted.

Recent call-ups

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

• INJ Withdrew due to injury
• PRE Preliminary squad
• SUS Suspended
• WD Withdrew from the squad

Player records

|- | 3 ||align=left| Salomón Rondón || 120 || 47 || 2008–present |- | 4 ||align=left| José Manuel Rey || 115 || 10 || 1997–2011 |- | 5 ||align=left| Roberto Rosales|| 96 || 1 || 2007–present |- | 6 ||align=left| Jorge Alberto Rojas || 87 || 3 || 1999–2009 |- | 7 ||align=left| Miguel Mea Vitali || 84 || 1 || 1999–2012 |- | 8 ||align=left| Oswaldo Vizcarrondo || 80 || 7 || 2004–2016 |- | 9 ||align=left| Gabriel Urdaneta || 77 || 9 || 1996–2005 |- |10 ||align=left| Luis Vallenilla || 76 || 0 || 1996–2007 |}

Top goalscorers

Competitive record

Main article: Venezuela national football team records and statistics

FIFA World Cup

Copa América

Main article: Venezuela at the Copa América

Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place

Pan American Games

Honours

Regional

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

;Notes:

• Shared titles.

References

References

1. (6 July 2011). "Venezuela: ¿Por qué la 'vinotinto'?".
2. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA.
3. (26 November 2007). "Venezuela se quedó sin DT: renunció Richard Páez {{!}} Emol.com".
4. FIFA.com. "Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) – FIFA.com". fifa.com.
5. "Korea Republic 3 – 1 Venezuela Match report – 9/5/14 Friendlies – Goal.com". goal.com.
6. (11 June 2019). "Jóvenes - Where Are Venezuela's Golden U20 Generation Now?".
7. (18 June 2021). "¿Por qué le dicen la Vinotinto a la Selección venezolana? {{!}} Goal.com". www.goal.com.
8. "Vinotinto aurinegra".
9. "La evolución de la camisa vinotinto desde 1938".
10. [http://www.lapatilla.com/site/2014/03/04/la-vinotinto-estrenara-uniforme-en-el-amistoso-con-honduras-fotos/ La Vinotinto estrenará uniforme] {{Webarchive. link. (2 July 2017 on La Patilla website)
11. [http://www.meridiano.com.ve/futbol/la-vinotinto/184515/las-marcas-que-han-vestido-a-la-vinotinto.html Las marcas que han vestido a la Vinotinto] {{Webarchive. link. (20 August 2019 on Meridiano.com)
12. (7 November 2025). "📋 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚 𝐝𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐬".
13. (10 November 2025). "𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀: Fecha FIFA de noviembre".
14. "Venezuela - Record International Players".