Joy for Venezuela in under-20 final

CARACAS: They are suffering hunger and violence, but baseball-mad Venezuelans found unexpected solace in football as their under-20 team won through to Sunday’s World Cup final against England.

The “claret reds” or “chamos” (“lads”) squeaked through on penalties in Thursday’s semi-final in South Korea, after holding Uruguay to 1-1 at the end of extra time. It is Venezuela’s greatest achievement ever in world football.

Despite one of Venezuela’s most deadly crises in decades, joint first-team and under-20 coach Rafael Dudamel has an unprecedented footballing triumph within his reach.

“I am optimistic. I believe they are going to be champions,” veteran Venezuela coach Manuel Plasencia told AFP.

Currently ranked 58th in the world by FIFA, Venezuela have never qualified for a full World Cup. They are out of the running for next year’s in Russia, sitting bottom of their regional qualifying group.

But Plasencia said: “We have to treasure these lads, because they could get us to Qatar in 2022.”

Several players in the under-20 squad already have full World Cup experience.

Their captain, midfielder Yangel Herrera, 19, plays for Major League Soccer side New York City, on loan from English club Manchester City.

Their star striker Adalberto Penaranda, 20, is on loan from English club Watford to Malaga.

The hero of Thursday’s 4-3 penalty shoot-out victory was goalkeeper Wuilker Farinez, 19, who plays for Caracas FC.

“A fabulous generation of players has emerged – the kind that you don’t see every day,” said Plasencia, 74.

“That has been combined with the very good work of Dudamel.”

Other young hopes such as Sergio Cordova and Ronaldo Lucena are cutting their teeth in the current tournament. AFP