The Venezuela national football team (Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Venezuela), nicknamed La Vinotinto (lit. 'The Red Wine'), represents Venezuela in men's international football and is controlled by the Federación Venezolana de Fútbol (lit. 'Venezuelan Football Federation'), the governing body for football in Venezuela. Their nickname is a reference to the unique red wine team color that is used on their home jerseys. When playing at home in official games, they usually rotate between three stadiums: The Polideportivo Cachamay in Puerto Ordaz, the Estadio José Antonio Anzoátegui in Puerto La Cruz and the Estadio Pueblo Nuevo in San Cristóbal, though recent FIFA World Cup qualifying campaigns saw home games in other stadiums around the country, including the Estadio Monumental in Maturín. Likewise, in friendly matches, they tend to rotate between the rest of the stadiums in the country.
Unlike other South American nations, and akin to some Caribbean nations, baseball is extremely popular in Venezuela, which diverts athletic talent away from football, contributing to its historic lack of success in CONMEBOL competitions. They are the only CONMEBOL team to have never qualified for the World Cup. Often Venezuela would go through entire qualification tournaments without recording a single win, but this has not happened since 1998. Until Copa América 2011, their best finish at the tournament was fifth in their first entry, in 1967. It is only recently with the spread of the World Cup's popularity in nations where football was not the primary sport (such as Canada, Japan, the United States, and Australia) that the national team found incentives to increase player development and fan support. As of December 2019, Venezuela has the highest position on the FIFA World Ranking of any team that has not yet qualified for the World Cup, being ranked 25th.
Contents
History
20th century
Venezuela did not participate in FIFA World Cup qualification until the 1966, in which they were drawn with Uruguay and Peru, but did not register a point in four games. In the 1970 qualifiers they managed to register a point, and after withdrawing from the 1974 series, repeated that in the 1978 qualifiers. The 1982 qualifiers saw them register their first win, over Bolivia. They wouldn't register another World Cup qualifying win until the 1994 series when they defeated Ecuador. A highlight of the 1998 qualifiers was goalkeeper Rafael Dudamel scoring against Argentina in a 5–2 defeat.
Despite poor results during the 1960s and 1970s, outstanding players like Luis Mendoza and Rafael Santana achieved recognition. Venezuela also managed to qualify for the 1980 Summer Olympics around this time, the first-ever major international football competition they participated in.
Richard Páez era
After José Omar Pastoriza's resignation during the 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign, Richard Páez took over as head coach of the national team. In their remaining qualifiers, Venezuela achieved 4 victories in a row against Uruguay, Chile, Peru, and Paraguay. In terms of World Cup qualifying matches, this was the first time the team won more than one game in row and away from home as well as avoided finishing in last place in their entire history.
However, the team failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup, or the 2006 World Cup, gaining 16 and 18 points respectively. However, the team did achieve progression to the second round of the 2007 Copa America on home soil.
In November 2007, Páez resigned after disagreements with the media and supporters.
César Farías era
With a new coach César Farías, Venezuela national team improved their performances. At the beginning of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Venezuela won its first game in the World Cup qualification against long-unbeaten Ecuador in Quito and received its first point against Brazil. Despite not reaching the final tournament, Venezuela achieved its best result in qualification. It finished this round with 22 points in 18 matches, surpassing Peru and Bolivia for eighth place in the region.
On 6 June 2008, Venezuela achieved its first-ever triumph over Brazil, defeating the Seleção 2–0 in a friendly match in Boston, United States. Venezuela obtained excellent results in the 2011 Copa América when they finished fourth, their highest finish in the tournament to date. With a squad composed mostly of footballers playing in Europe, they began 2014 World Cup qualification with a historic 1–0 victory against Argentina in Puerto La Cruz, beating it for the first time.
Noel Sanvicente era
On 4 September 2014, Noel Sanvicente was made coach of the Venezuela national team. The team's first match under Sanvicente was against South Korea in Bucheon on 5 September 2014, ending in a 3–1 defeat.
Venezuela began the World Cup qualification campaign with a 1–0 defeat against Paraguay at home, and did not earn their first point until their match against Peru, a 2–2 draw in Lima where Venezuela led until the last minute of stoppage time. Their match with Chile ended in a disappointing 4–1 defeat. Sanvicente announced his resignation a week later after mutual consent with the FVF. At the time of Sanvicente's departure, Venezuela was last in the qualification standings with a sole point.
Rafael Dudamel era
Sanvicente was replaced by former Vinotinto goalkeeper Rafael Dudamel, who decided to revamp the entire national team, by injecting the team with the promising young generation of Venezuelan players that finished second at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup that was dubbed as the country's first-ever football Golden Generation. Under his management, La Vinotinto quickly improved and reached the quarterfinals in the Copa América Centenario, with two 1–0 victories against Jamaica and Uruguay and a 1–1 draw against Mexico in the group stage and then a 4–1 defeat against Argentina in the quarter-finals. In the seventh matchday of the 2018 World Cup qualifier, Venezuela lost against Colombia 2–0 in Barranquilla, the first loss against Los Cafeteros since 2009. Later, on matchday 11, Venezuela won for the first time in the qualification, 5–0 against Bolivia in Maturín with a hat-trick from Josef Martínez and goals from Jacobo Kouffati and Rómulo Otero.
On 2 January 2020, Dudamel resigned from the national team.
José Peseiro era
Following Rafael Dudamel's resignation in January 2020, the Venezuelan Football Federation appointed Portuguese coach José Peseiro as the new head coach in February 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic subsequently disrupted the international football calendar, and Venezuela's 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign did not begin until October 2020.
Venezuela opened the qualifying campaign with defeats against Colombia, Paraguay and Brazil before defeating Chile 2–1 in Caracas for their first points of the campaign. The team subsequently participated in the 2021 Copa América in Brazil. Venezuela drew against Colombia and Ecuador but lost to Brazil and Peru, finishing last in their group and failing to reach the knockout stage.
Peseiro resigned as head coach in August 2021, citing outstanding salary payments and financial difficulties affecting his coaching staff.
Leonardo González and José Pékerman eras
Former Venezuelan international Leonardo González took over as caretaker manager in September 2021. Under González, Venezuela continued its difficult World Cup qualifying campaign.
In November 2021, the Venezuelan Football Federation appointed Argentine coach José Pékerman as head coach. Pékerman oversaw the final four matches of the 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign, but Venezuela finished tenth and failed to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, recording 10 points from 18 matches.
Pékerman remained in charge during the beginning of the next World Cup qualifying cycle, but left his position in March 2023. He was replaced by his former assistant Fernando Batista.
Fernando Batista era
Fernando Batista was appointed head coach of Venezuela in March 2023 after previously serving as an assistant to José Pékerman.
Under Batista, Venezuela made an encouraging start to the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign. In 2023, the team defeated Paraguay and Chile at home, drew with Brazil and Ecuador, and also drew away to Peru, while losing its opening match against Colombia.
At the 2024 Copa América in the United States, Venezuela won all three of its group-stage matches against Ecuador, Mexico and Jamaica, finishing first in Group B. It was the first time Venezuela had won all three of its group matches in a single Copa América.
Venezuela was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Canada after a 1–1 draw, losing 4–3 in the penalty shoot-out.
Venezuela's World Cup qualifying campaign subsequently declined. After a strong start in 2023, the team went through a difficult period in 2024, collecting three draws and three defeats in the second half of the year.
In 2025, Venezuela remained in contention for a place in the 2026 World Cup intercontinental play-off. However, the team lost its final two qualifying matches and ultimately failed to qualify for the tournament.
Following the end of the qualifying campaign, the Venezuelan Football Federation ended Batista's tenure along with his coaching staff.
Oswaldo Vizcarrondo era
Following Batista's departure, former Venezuela international Oswaldo Vizcarrondo was appointed interim head coach in September 2025. He subsequently became the permanent head coach in January 2026 as part of a long-term project covering the 2026–2034 cycle.
The Venezuelan Football Federation presented Vizcarrondo's appointment as part of an eight-year sporting project covering the men's national teams from 2026 to 2034, with an emphasis on continuity, development and coordination between the senior and youth national teams.
Copa América history
Venezuela first participated at the Copa América in 1967, and finished fifth after defeating Bolivia 3–0 with a team containing Mendoza and Santana. The 1975 tournament led Venezuela to be drawn in a group with Brazil and Argentina, and finished bottom with an 11–0 defeat against Argentina. In the 1979 edition, which would be the international swansong for Mendoza and Santana, they held a goalless draw against Colombia and 1–1 against Chile. A highlight of the 1989 tournament was midfielder Carlos Maldonado's four goals. In the 1993 series, Venezuela drew with Uruguay and the United States.
The team's overall Copa América record has been relatively poor (goal difference 33–145 before the 2011 Copa América), but the "Auge Vinotinto" (lit. 'Vinotinto Rise') period in the early 2000s (decade) brought increased attention to the sport in the country, which also brought increased support from both government and private institutions. Said support contributed perfectly to the "Vinotinto" rise in quality. In 2007, during the Copa América held in Venezuela, the team progressed to the quarterfinals for the first time in its history after finishing first in a group containing Peru, Bolivia, and Uruguay. Venezuela's 2–0 victory against Peru during the competition was its first Copa América victory since 1967.
2011 Copa América
At the 2011 Copa América championship, Venezuela reached the semi-finals round for the first time by defeating Chile in the quarter-final, 2–1. Despite their commanding presence against Paraguay in their semifinal, Venezuela was unable to convert their chances into goals. They eventually lost 5–3 against Paraguay in a penalty shootout after remaining scoreless in normal and extra time. Venezuela and Peru played for third place at the Estadio Ciudad de La Plata, where Venezuela would suffer their biggest loss of the tournament, losing 4–1 against Peru and falling into fourth place overall. Nonetheless, it was their best-ever finish at the competition.
Group B:
Results:
Team image
Venezuela made its international debut in the Central American and Caribbean Games held in Panama in 1938, wearing the vinotinto (burgundy) color. The burgundy color originated from the uniform of the Venezuelan National Guard. In the 1967 Copa América Venezuela also wore the Peñarol shirt v Chile to avoid colors clash, as Venezuela had arrived in the Estadio Centenario (Peñarol's frequent venue) with no alternate shirts.
In 1993, a vertical band with the colors of the National flag was added to the left side of the jersey, which changed its colors to a more traditional red tone. This lasted until 1996 when Venezuela returned to the vinotinto tone.
In 1998, Venezuela adopted a yellow/blue/red scheme, similar to their flag colors, by Mexican manufacturer "ABA Sports". The national team returned to the traditional color in 2000. It has been remaining (with few changes) as the main uniform up to present days.
Uniform and coat of arms
Uniform
In October 2018, the Venezuelan Football Federation announced that the national team would end its thirteen-year relationship with Adidas and switch to uniforms made by the Italian company Givova starting in 2019. Givova supplied the Venezuelan national teams from 2019 through 2023.
In June 2023, the Venezuelan Football Federation announced that Adidas would return as the official kit supplier of all Venezuelan national football teams beginning in 2024. The agreement covers the men's and women's field football teams, as well as futsal and beach soccer teams, at all age levels.
Adidas unveiled the new Venezuelan national team kits in February 2024. The home kit returned to the traditional Vinotinto colour, while the away kit incorporated the yellow, blue and red colours of the Venezuelan flag.
In November 2025, Adidas and the Venezuelan Football Federation presented a new home shirt inspired by the tepuis of Venezuela. The design retained Vinotinto as its predominant colour and incorporated the colours of the Venezuelan flag in the Adidas shoulder stripes.
In March 2026, Adidas and the Venezuelan Football Federation presented the new away shirt for 2026. The shirt features a historical version of the federation's emblem, based on the emblem used between 1961 and 1967.
Kit providers
Source:
Coat of arms
The emblem of the Venezuelan national football team is derived from the insignia of the Federación Venezolana de Fútbol (FVF). The current emblem incorporates the national identity of Venezuela and is used by the country's national football teams.
The federation has used different emblems throughout its history. The 2026 Adidas away kit features a historical emblem based on the insignia used by the federation between 1961 and 1967, with the word "VENEZUELA" prominently displayed. The design was introduced as a historical reference connecting the current national teams with the origins of Venezuelan football.
Results and fixtures
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Win
Draw
Loss
Fixture
Coaching staff
Coaching history
Caretaker managers are listed in italics.
Players
Current squad
The following players were called up to the squad for a training module held from 23 to 27 August 2026.
Caps and goals are correct as of 9 June 2026, after the match against Iraq.
Friendlies not recognized by FIFA are not counted.
Recent call-ups
The following players have been called up for the team in the last 12 months.
Player records
As of 30 March 2026
Players in bold are still active with Venezuela.
Competitive record
Copa América
Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
Honours
Regional
Bolivarian Games
Silver medal (5): 1947–48s, 1951, 1965, 1970, 1977
Bronze medal (2): 1961, 1981
Friendly
FIFA Series
Runner-up (1): 2026 Uzbekistan
Notes
s Shared titles.