Overview
Venezuela entered the friendly match against Turkey in a completely opposite mood to their opponent. The South American representative once again missed the World Cup after finishing only in eighth place in the CONMEBOL regional qualifiers, 2 points behind the intercontinental play-off spot.
This continues to be a big disappointment for La Vinotinto, the only team in South America that has never participated in a World Cup finals. However, Venezuela has still shown positive signs in recent times.
Under coach Oswaldo Vizcarrondo, who just took over the national team, Venezuela is still in the process of shaping their playing style. After the first 3 matches, they won one and suffered two defeats. In the most recent match, Venezuela drew 0-0 with Uzbekistan before losing in a penalty shootout.
The clash with Turkey is also the first time the two teams have met in history. However, Venezuela does not have many beautiful memories when facing UEFA representatives. They have lost in the last two encounters with European teams.
In the opposite direction, Turkey is enjoying an optimistic atmosphere before the 2026 World Cup. Vincenzo Montella's team will return to the biggest playground on the planet for the first time since 2002, and it is only the third time in history to participate in the World Cup.
The European representative is in very impressive form. The 4-0 victory over Northern Macedonia earlier this week helped Turkey increase their unbeaten streak to 7 matches, including six wins. They also kept a clean sheet in the last 3 consecutive matches.
Turkey has scored at least 2 goals in 5/7 recent matches and has 3 matches scoring 4 or more goals. Young talents like Arda Guler, Kenan Yildiz and Hakan Calhanoglu's experience are bringing a lot of expectations to fans.
The match against Venezuela will be the final general rehearsal before Turkey enters the 2026 World Cup campaign, where they are in the same group as the USA, Paraguay and Australia. Montella will certainly want his players to maintain their excitement to avoid repeating the opening defeat scenario as in the 1954 and 2002 World Cups.
Personnel situation
Venezuela is likely to give Jose Contreras a starting spot in goal. In front of this goalkeeper are the central defender duo Carlos Vivas and Nahuel Ferraresi, who are expected to play an important role in stopping Turkey's attack.
On the Turkish side, Montella is likely to field an almost strongest squad because they have more than a week left to prepare for the opening match of the 2026 World Cup against Australia. Attacking stars such as Kenan Yildiz and Arda Guler are expected to be present from the start to maintain the feeling of competition.
Expected lineup:
Venezuela: Contreras, Aramburu, Vivas, Ferraresi, Quintero, Segovia, Casseres, Martinez, Carmona, Mendoza, Ramirez.
Türkiye: Bayindir, Muldur, Kabak, Soyuncu, Kadioglu, Ozcan, Kokcu, Uzun, Guler, Yildiz, Gul.
The match between Venezuela and Turkey takes place at 5:00 am on June 7 (Vietnam time).
