By Alfredo Di Cesare
01 Jul 2024, 17:31 PM EDT
Venezuela’s victory over Mexico continues to generate repercussions. Almost a week later and with El Tri eliminated from the 2024 Copa América, a confrontation between Yeferson Soteldo and an Aztec fan went viral on social media at the end of the match that La Vinotinto won by the minimum at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
In the almost 20-second recording, the voice of a Mexican fan can be heard in the background addressing the South American team players who were on the bench. “You won’t make it to the final.”
Soteldo’s response was to laugh and put his hands to his eyes to simulate crying. In short, he called the fan a crybaby and the others around him insulted and threw drinks. However, the winger was not the only one to respond. In the video, another Venezuelan player can be seen rebutting the words of the Aztec supporters and even pointing to the shield of the Venezuelan Football Federation (FVF).
Venezuela and Mexico not only had a confrontation on the field, but also in the media. Renowned media outlets, journalists, analysts, YouTubers and content creators belittled the South Americans before and during the tournament.
However, everything would change when Fernando Batista’s team snatched victory from Lozano’s men. The South American team’s dressing room complained about the “arrogance” of the Mexican press and made it very clear with statements such as those of goalkeeper Rafael Romo.
“We are happy because we knew it was going to be difficult. Mexico is a great team that plays very well. We have the humility to recognize our rivals. We don’t have the arrogance and ignorance that many Mexican journalists have, who underestimated us. We came here to do the job, to fight for them, and we got three points that are very valuable to us,” he said.
Venezuela qualified for the first time in its history as group leader and with a full record of victories to the quarterfinals of the Copa América, where it will face Canada this Friday.
For its part, Mexico went home after failing to score a goal against Ecuador. Lozano’s men only needed to win, since a draw with the tricolor would have equaled them in points (4), but the goal difference did its job. El Tri said goodbye with only one goal scored and one conceded.
Keep reading:
· “This government is going to fall”: the chant against President Maduro that resonated during Venezuela’s thrashing of Jamaica
· “Jimmy out”: Fans demand Jaime Lozano’s resignation after Mexico’s elimination from the Copa America
· “They could meet at the airport”: the cruel mockery of the Argentine press towards Mexico and Chile for their elimination in the Copa América