One of the wildest and most chaotic World Cup qualifying tournaments is getting underway in South America. CONMEBOL and their double-round-robin group qualifying always brings surprises, excitement and simply insane football for your viewing pleasure. This first-round match between Venezuela and Paraguay may not pit two of the biggest sides in South America against each other, but it does give us two teams that are always up for a fight.
Venezuela vs. Paraguay live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch World Cup qualifying online
Venezuela and Paraguay kick off their World Cup qualifying campaigns with a match that’s sure to be an entertaining battle.
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This may not be a high-scoring affair with tons of beautiful possession football, but Venezuela and Paraguay will bring you a match featuring a lot of determined and tactical football that’s just as much fun to watch. When you read the words “determined and tactical,” you might expect a dour, defensive affair, but that’s not what’s on tap. Instead, we’re going to get a high-energy battle between two teams that just don’t quit. It’s going to be a non-stop, end-to-end brawl, and you will not be the least bit disappointed by watching it.
Key Venezuela player -- Salomon Rondon
Rondon has been a beast over the last few years, both at club level and for Venezuela. This summer he played well for his country in the Copa America, but after leaving Zenit St. Petersburg in Russia for English shores and West Bromwich Albion, he’s struggled at club level. He scored only one goal for his new team and it’s clear that he’s still adjusting to the Premier League. Venezuela have other talented attackers, but they really need him to perform well in order to stand as good a chance as possible to get their qualifying campaign off to a strong start.
Key Paraguay player -- Edgar Benitez
Nelson Valdez got hurt before he could depart on international duty, so even more responsibility and importance in Paraguay’s attack will fall on Benitez. Unfortunately for Paraguay, he hasn’t quite been in his best form of late for his club side. He’s going to need to dig deep and find that extra gear again in order to help put his team over the top against a very tough opponent in Venezuela.
Match Date/Time: Thurs., 5 p.m. ET, 4:30 p.m. local
Venue: Cachamay Stadium, Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela
TV: beIN Sports (US and Canada - English), beIN Sports en Español (US & Canada - Spanish), Telefuturo, SNT (Paraguay), TVes, Meridiano Television (Venezuela)
Online: Fubo TV, beIN Sports Connect (US and Canada)
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