On Thursday, Ecuador held Venezuela to a 0-0 draw in Maturin, halting their momentum in South American qualifying for the World Cup-2026. The team coached by Spaniard Felix Sanchez Bas put the hosts in trouble at the Estadio Monumental on the fifth matchday of the qualifiers.
An early goal-scoring move by José Cifuentes in the 5th minute was disallowed for offside by a teammate at the behest of the VAR, in a decision highly questioned by the visitors.
Despite conceding the draw, Venezuela reached eight points in five matches, equaling its best pre-World Cup start achieved on the road to Brazil 2014. This is a significant improvement for the only South American country that has never played in a World Cup.
Ecuador remains with five points, and next Tuesday, they will face Chile. Meanwhile, the Vinotinto will face Peru in Lima, which earlier lost 2-0 against Bolivia in La Paz and has only one point out of a possible 15.
Venezuela vs Ecuador - Final score
| TEAM | SCORE | GOALS |
|---|---|---|
| Venezuela | 0 | -- |
| Ecuador | 0 | -- |
Venezuela vs Ecuador lineups
- Venezuela: Rafael Romo; Alexander González, Wilker Ángel, Christian Makoun, Miguel Navarro; Cristian Cásseres Jr., José Andrés Martínez, Yangel Herrera; Samuel Sosa, Salomón Rondón, Yeferson Soteldo.
- Ecuador: Alexander Domínguez; Piero Hincapié, Willian Pacho, Félix Torres Caicedo, Angelo Preciado; Moisés Caicedo, Alan Franco Palma; Junior Sornoza, José Cifuentes, Kendry Páez; Kevin Rodríguez.
What time did Venezuela vs Ecuador play in the qualifiers?
| COUNTRY | SCHEDULE |
|---|---|
| Mexico | they play at 16:00 hours |
| United States (ET) | kick-off at 17:00 |
| Colombia | kick-off at 17:00 |
| Peru | match starts at 17:00 |
| Ecuador | match at 17:00 |
| Panama | match at 17:00 |
| Puerto Rico | match starts at 18:00 |
| Cuba | kick-off at 18:00 |
| Dominican Republic | play at 18:00 |
| Bolivia | kick-off at 18:00 |
| Venezuela | match at 18:00 |
| Argentina | match starts at 19:00 |
| Uruguay | match starts at 19:00 |
| Paraguay | match starts at 19:00 |
| Chile | match at 19:00 |
| Brazil | match starts at 19:00 |
| Spain | kick-off at 23:00 |
Time to watch Ecuador vs Venezuela in USA
| Schedule | United States cities |
|---|---|
| 5:00 pm ET (UTC-5) - Eastern Time | West Virginia, Velmont, Tennessee (EST), South Carolina, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Michigan (EST), Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Kentucky (EST), Indiana (EST), Georgia, Florida (EST), District of Columbia, Delaware and Connecticut. |
| 4:00 pm CT (UTC-6) - Central Time | Wisconsin, Texas (Most states), Tennessee (CST), South Dakota (CST), Oklahoma, North Dakota (CST), Nebraska (CST), Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Michigan (CST), Kentucky (CST), Kansas (CST), Iowa, Indiana (CST), Illinois, Florida (CST), Arkansas and Alabama. |
| 3:00 pm MT (UTC-7) - Mountain Time | Wyoming, Utah, Texas (El Paso and Hudspeth), South Dakota (MST), Oregon (MST), North Dakota (MST), New Mexico, Nevada (MST), Nebraska (MST), Montana, Kansas (MST), Idaho (MST), Colorado and Arizona. |
| 2:00 pm PT (UTC-8) - Pacific Time | Washington, Oregon (PST), New Hampshire, Nevada (PST), Idaho (PST) and California. |
After the match, on Tuesday next week, on 21 November to be exact, the Ecuadorian national team will host Chile in the sixth matchday of the 2026 Qualifiers at 18:30 (Quito). Meanwhile, Venezuela travel to Lima to face Peru in the Vinotinto’s second game of the double-header on the same day at 22:00 (Caracas).
Where did Venezuela vs Ecuador play?
The match for week 5 of the Conmebol Qualifiers for the World Cup was played at the Monumental Stadium of Maturín, a venue that has been the home of Vinotinto since the competition began.
With capacity for 52,000 spectators, the stadium located in Monagas has hosted tournaments such as the 2007 Copa América and the 2009 South American U-20 Championship.
How did Ecuador fare in its recent matches?
- October, 2023: Ecuador 1-1 Colombia
- October, 2023: Bolivia 1-2 Ecuador
- September, 2023: Ecuador 2-1 Uruguay
- September, 2023: Argentina 1-0 Ecuador
- June, 2023: Costa Rica 1-3 Ecuador
How did Venezuela fare in its recent matches?
- October, 2023: Venezuela 3-0 Chile
- October, 2023: Brazil 1-1 Venezuela
- September, 2023: Venezuela 1-0 Paraguay
- September, 2023: Colombia 1-0 Venezuela
- June, 2023: Venezuela 1-0 Guatemala
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