BOGOTA (AP) — Bolivia surprised, beating Venezuela 1-0 in the Group B opener of the South American U20 Championship on Friday, their second win in the past 14 years.
The only goal of the match at the Deportivo Cali stadium came in the 52nd minute, when winger Fernando Nava took advantage of a pass from Miguel Angel Villarroel to surprise goalkeeper Samuel Rodriguez with a long shot.
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Playing in the U20 category for Brazil’s Athletico Paranaense, Nava is one of La Verde’s standout figures, having just one win (against Peru in 2017), four draws and 19 defeats in the last six editions of the tournament. bottom.
In addition to Nava, who was injured minutes after scoring, the team, led by former Bolivian international Pablo Escobar, also had the depth of winger Yomar Rocha and excellent handling of midfielder Lucas Chavez.
“It’s very important to start by winning a competition that happens every 48 hours.
Bolivia will play Ecuador on Sunday.
La Vinotinto, who finished third in the 2017 Championship in Ecuador, made a disappointing debut, finding tall forwards Kevin Kelsey and Jose Riasco several times.
Relations between Ecuador and Chile
Reigning champions Ecuador equalized 1-1 against Chile in a commitment to close the first day in Group B.
‘Red’ came out with momentum and clearly dominated the first bar of the match.
In the eighth minute Chilean striker Vicente Coneri fired a powerful shot that hit the crossbar and crossed the goal line. However, Colombian referee Carlos Ortega and his assistant John Gallego disallowed the goal.
Video Arbitration (VAR) is not available for the U20 South American Championship.
With four goals in 22 appearances for Union Espanola, the experienced First Division attacker opened the scoring with a tight shot in the 26th minute, assisted by winger Dario Osorio. .
“It’s a bitter draw because we deserved a little more for all the players who arrived. We were a little bit out of luck to get the win,” noted Chilean striker Coneri.
Chile’s dominance created another chance half an hour into the match when Conneri fired another shot into the post.
Three minutes later, Ecuador woke up and scored the first shot on goal before Justin Cuello equalized with a left-footed shot from the entrance to the area.
In complementary time, Ecuadorian goalkeeper Gilmer Napa defended the goal with a good intervention and declared the distribution of points.
“In short competitions, if you don’t win, it’s important to add. Justin Cuello, one of the eight representatives of Pendiente del Valle, said.
Colombia will face Peru and Argentina will make their championship debut against Paraguay in the second day of Group A at Cali’s Pascal Guerrero Stadium on Saturday.
