Salomón Rondón’s penalty in the 57th minute secured Venezuela’s spot in the Copa America quarterfinals with a 1-0 win over Mexico on Wednesday night.
Venezuela, having previously beaten Ecuador 2-1, is now guaranteed a top-two finish in Group B.
Mexico, which started the tournament with a 1-0 win over Jamaica, has three points, the same as Ecuador, which defeated Jamaica 3-1 earlier on Wednesday.
Mexico will face Ecuador in Glendale, Arizona, on Sunday, needing a win to advance.
Meanwhile, Venezuela will play against the already eliminated Jamaica in Austin, Texas.
This victory ended Venezuela’s 13-game winless streak against El Tri.
The decisive penalty was awarded by Brazilian referee Raphael Claus after Julián Quiñoned pushed Jon Aramburu in the penalty area.
Rondón converted the penalty, sending the ball to the right of goalkeeper Julio González, who jumped left.
This goal marked Rondón’s 42nd in 107 international appearances, nearly doubling Juan Arango’s 23 goals, who is second among Venezuelan scorers.
In the 87th minute, Mexico had a chance to equalize when they were awarded a penalty for a handball by Miguel Navarro on Jorge Sánchez’s shot.
However, Rafael Romo dived to his right, successfully deflecting Orbelín Pineda’s penalty kick wide.
Venezuela has now reached the Copa America quarterfinals for the third time in four tournaments, while Mexico is at risk of a first-round exit for the third time in its last four Copa America appearances.
Under Argentinian coach Fernando Batista, Venezuela has lost only twice in their last 15 matches, to Italy and Colombia.
Mexico, playing at SoFi Stadium for the first time since their CONCACAF Gold Cup victory 11 months ago, dominated the first half with an 8-3 shot advantage but failed to capitalize.
Notably, Santiago Giménez missed a key opportunity in the 19th minute.
Mexico was without several key players due to injuries, including top goalkeepers Guillermo Ochoa and Luis Malagón, captain Edson Álvarez, and forwards Raúl Jiménez and Hirving Lozano.
