Venezuela vs Chile prediction: SOUTH AMERICA: World Championship – Qualification betting tips on match 2023-10-16 21:00.
Venezuela’s credentials as a genuine threat in the CONMEBOL FIFA World Cup qualifiers is trending in the right direction, after following up a 1-0 home win over Paraguay with a hugely impressive 1-1 draw away to Brazil last time out. The Venezuelans have made a positive start in their aim to take advantage of the World Cup’s expansion from 32 to 48 teams for the 2026 edition, which sees two more automatic qualification spots allocated to the CONMEBOL region.
But having never qualified for a World Cup before, and only being ranked higher than Bolivia (#83) on FIFA’s rankings amongst CONMEBOL sides, Venezuela (ranked #53) still have a long way to go. Manager Fernando Batista could be the man to guide them to their first ever appearance on the biggest stage though, having lost only once in his first seven games in charge since taking over in March (W4, D2).
Tied on points with the hosts after three rounds of World Cup qualification action are visitors Chile, whose 2-0 win over Peru in the last round injected some impetus to a slow start of one point from their opening two matches. The Chileans will also be looking to cash in on the extra qualification spots up for grabs, after missing out on World Cup finals in both 2018 and 2022.
Avoiding a hat-trick of World Cup absences will be difficult unless La Roja find an improvement in form, as the win over Peru was just their fourth victory in their last 16 outings (D4, L8). Historically, a duel with Venezuela has proven profitable despite their performance levels at the time, since they’ve gotten the better of the Wine-Red in six of the last seven H2Hs (L1).
Players to watch: Salomón Rondón netted the winner the last time Venezuela beat Chile, contributing to his country winning 13 of the last 14 matches where he’s scored (D1). He’ll need his defenders to keep Chile’s Alexis Sánchez quiet if that record is to continue, which is no easy feat considering Sánchez has directly contributed to 11 goals (G2, A9) in as many matches against Venezuela.
Hot streak: Venezuela have won their last three home matches by a one-goal margin.