Not even the lone goal of the match between the National Men’s Football Teams of Costa Rica and Venezuela could salvage the night at La Carolina stadium of Barinas, the home state of the late Hugo Chavez, former leader of the Bolivarian Revolution.

 

The friendly international match was not sanctioned by FIFA, and that was probably a good thing. Both National Teams decided it would be a good idea to bring out their young players so that they could practice and show their skills to their respective coaches. What they showed, for the most part, is that they still have ways to go before they can be called up for FIFA-sanctioned matches such as the qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

 

None of the regular stars who play in the European leagues were called up by coach Oscar Ramirez of Costa Rica, although there were a few MLS players. In fact, Kendall Waston and Johan Venegas played a somewhat satisfactory first half, at least until Venegas was red-carded for talking back to the Colombian referee, who was less than sharp on calling fouls and offsides but short on patience.

 

Costa Rica and Venezuela each had a lone shot on goal during the first half, which failed to impress either goalkeeper. In the second half, Venezuela tried to capitalize on the 10-player situation for Costa Rica, but their attacks fizzled time after time. Costa Rica did not park the bus, but coach Ramirez could not get a reaction from the midfield, which was absent for most of the match.

 

At the 64-minute mark, striker David Ramirez was red carded off the pitch, leaving Costa Rica with nine players. Once again, Venezuela attempted to capitalize, but their young squad clearly needs to practice offensive plays. La Sele parked the bus at this time and grew frustrated, which caused the match to turn physical and quite boring.

 

Once it became clear that Venezuela would probably not be able to score, Jordan Smith and Kenny Cunningham ventured into Venezuelan territory; the former tested the goalkeeper in what was probably the only exciting play of the match.

 

At the 88-minute mark, reserve goalkeeper Marco Madrigal made a grave mistake on a play that looked like an offside; he let go of the ball after an easy catch, which prompted Wilker Angel to go after the loose ball with an easy header. The Venezuelan fans were not sure if the goal was fair until the referee called it, and they were finally able to cheer their national team and head for the exits.