Mexico, which lost its captain Edson Alvarez to injury, suffered on Saturday in Texas. His only goal was the work of Gerardo Arteaga, served by Luis Romo in the 69th minute, igniting the overwhelmingly Mexican crowd at the NRG Stadium.
Previously, the Mexican team experienced a big scare when Michail Antonio took advantage of a hole in the opposing defense to score with a header. What would have been the Reggae Boyz’s first Copa America goal was ultimately ruled out for offside by VAR.
A nasty gesture
In Santa Clara, California, Venezuela overthrew an Ecuador team which opened the scoring in the 40th with a goal from Jeremy Sarmiento even though they were outnumbered after the direct red card inflicted on Enner Valencia at the 22nd.
The 34-year-old Ecuadorian striker and captain was sent off for delivering a violent kick to the chest of Venezuelan José Martinez. This red card, decided by VAR, is the first since the start of this edition of the Copa America.
Taking advantage of its superiority in numbers, Venezuela turned the situation around in less than ten minutes after the break, thanks first to Jhoner Cadiz (65th) then to Eduard Bello (74th), two players barely off the bench.
