With the arrival of José Néstor Pékerman, Venezuela dreams of qualifying for its first World Cup in history. Despite multiple attempts, the Vinotinto has never earned a spot in the prestigious international tournament. However, the Argentine coach has a clearly defined goal for the 2026 World Cup.
And it is because the Caribbean country wants its national anthem to be sung loudly in the edition of that year, just as many fans did in Qatar 2022. However, how is Venezuela preparing to reach the World Cup?
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Venezuela is the only South American team that has never qualified for a World Cup. Photo: TheFreedomPost
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Venezuela is the only South American team that has never qualified for a World Cup. During the qualifying campaign for Brazil 2014, under the management of César Farías, the Vinotinto reached the playoff positions for a few matchdays. Nevertheless, the national team fell five points short of Uruguay, which secured their place in the playoffs against Jordan.
2026 World Cup: How is Venezuela preparing for qualification?
Pékerman is aware that he has the toughest challenge of his career in front of him: qualifying for the World Cup with a Venezuela that has never even reached the playoff positions. The Caribbean team barely managed to finish in sixth place during the qualifying campaign for Brazil 2014, which is the closest they have been to securing the fifth position.
And that is why the preparation for the tournament has to be thorough. In recent months, Venezuela has been playing friendly matches against teams from different parts of the world, from Panama to Iceland.
José Néstor Pékerman was officially announced in November 2021 as the new coach of the Vinotinto, as part of the process leading up to the 2026 World Cup. Photo: Venezuelan Football Federation
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However, beyond the result, Pékerman's goal is to build a long-term project. The former coach of Colombia and the Argentine national team has set out to add more young talent to the first team.
"The main objective is to qualify for the 2026 World Cup in Mexico, the United States, and Canada," said Pékerman during his presentation as the coach of the Venezuelan national team in November 2021. "But that path is not easy, patience is required."
For that reason, it is not surprising to see a team that strikes the perfect balance between experience and youth in Venezuela. In the last friendly match, Pékerman called up Salomón Rondón, Tomás Rincón, and Darwin Machís, players with extensive experience. However, he also included Christian Cásseres (22), Christopher Varela (22), Miguel Navarro (23), Christian Larotonda (23), and other youngsters.