Venezuela

Backstory

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 at that time also managed to qualify for the 1980 Summer Olympics, it first-ever major international football competition Venezuela participated in.

Richard Páez era

After José Omar Pastoriza’s resignation during the 2002 World Cup qualifyings, Richard Páez took the technical direction of the national team. Finishing this process, Venezuela achieved 4 victories in a row against Uruguay, Chile, Peru, and Paraguay; winning more than 1 game in row, their first away game and not finishing in the last place for the first time in their World Cup qualifying history.

However, the team failed to qualify for both the 2002, and 2006 World Cups, gaining 16 and 18 points respectively. After this, the team advanced to the second round of Copa America 2007 in Venezuela. In November 2007, Páez resigned after discrepancies with 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 2010, 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. On 5 September 2014, the team lost its first match with Sanvicente under the helm 3–1 against South Korea in Bucheon. 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.