Soccer-Venezuela Copa America group-stage success should be left behind, says coach

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(Reuters) – Venezuela must put their recent victories behind them after reaching the Copa America quarter-finals for the first time in five years as they begin “a new tournament” on Friday when they face Canada, said coach Fernando Batista.

Venezuela advanced to the knockout stages as Group B leaders after winning their first three matches for the first time since their Copa debut in 1967.

Now the “Vinotinto”, joint second-highest scoring team in the tournament with six goals, will look to improve on their 2011 Copa record fourth-place finish.

Coach Batista, however, urged his players to keep their feet on the ground and focus solely on their meeting with the CONCACAF side at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas.

“It’s all very nice what we experienced in the first round, but it’s over now. Nothing has been achieved yet,” Batista told a press conference on Thursday. “We are a growing team that knows that the next final is tomorrow.

“There’s still a long way to go and what’s over is over. Now a new tournament starts, because you can’t rely on a draw or a previous result.”

The Argentina-born Batista, who has led Venezuela to fourth place currently in the 2026 World Cup CONMEBOL qualifiers, said they will try to avoid a possible penalty shootout as he acknowledged Canada are no easy opponents.

“Defensively, Canada is strong and aggressive. And they have a lot of strengths in the midfield,” the 53-year-old manager said.

“The idea is to try to win in the 90 or 95 minutes of the game. Obviously, we practice penalties, but it’s not our objective.”

(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in Mexico City; Editing by Christian Radnedge)