It was the first game without a ‘net’ and that was noticeable from the first minute. The Venezuelans had nothing to lose and took advantage of the inaccuracies of a gripped Spain to put fear into their bodies. Herrero was key with two savers that kept the goal scoreless.
The scoreboard did not move and neither did the sensations in the 40×20. Venezuela fought every ball as if it were the last and that intensity was very difficult to counteract. Gordillo had the clearest shot with a shot against the post when he had been on the court for a second, he did not play again throughout the game. The visitors had all the meat on the grill and played with the stopwatch, the referees, the bench…
These sensations translated into a goal for Venezuela loaded with misfortunes. A long ball from the goalkeeper, a push and the VAR that decided that it went up on the scoreboard, placed the score at 0-1 on the light. Spain found itself out of the World Cup for the first time and the vinotinto took advantage of it, generating the clearest results of the first half, but the result did not change.
The last 20′ began, It was an early final to stay alive in the World Cup. Venezuela had it, but if you forgive so much against a team like the Spanish one, you end up paying for it. The ‘receiver of the tailcoat’ was Raúl Gómez who, after a great play by Cortés, set the score.
From the tie onwards the game was different. Spain began to wake up from its lethargy and Venezuela found it difficult to maintain that suffocating intensity. Fede was mad trying to get his team to maintain that tone, but the vinotinto little by little got back into the game.
It was a one-on-one match, in which anything could happen. Both teams had very clear chancesRaúl’s was a ‘sung goal’, but they were not able to materialize them. Briceno brought them down from the ‘sky’ and an incredible slalom by Viamonte was about to overtake the vinotinto. Qualifying for the round of 16 was in a detail.
Raúl Gómez’s incredible mistake with 1-1 on the scoreboard.
In an agonizing wayafter a shot from the front that the VAR had to review to see if the ball had gone in, Venezuela was ahead. The scoreboard reflected 1-2 with just over a minute left, Spain was out of the World Cup. Unable to tie the match, Vidal’s men left Uzbekistan in the round of 16, against all odds.
SPAIN: Blacksmith; Tomaz, Adolfo, Mellado, Raúl Campos. SUP.: Chemi (ps), Didac (ps), Antonio, Catela, Boyis, Raúl Gómez, Cortés, Lozano, Gordillo.
VENEZUELA: Villalobos; Sanz, Cabarcas, Carreno, Viamonte. SUP.: Vasquez (ps), Jiménez, Moreno, Briceno, Morillo, Vidal, Milton, Saimond, Torres.
REFEREES: Ran An and H. Kobayashi (China and Japan)
GOALS: 0-1 12′ Villalobos. 1-1 23′ Raúl Gómez, 1-2 38′ Victor.
