AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Eduard Bello opened the scoring in the 49th minute and Venezuela completed Group B play with a perfect record, beating Jamaica 3-0 on Sunday night in Copa America.
Venezuela (3-0-0) played without coach Fernando Batista after he was handed a one-match suspension by CONMEBOL for his team’s late arrival to the field in a victory over Mexico.
By winning Group B, Venezuela avoided a Thursday matchup in the quarterfinals against tournament favorite and defending champion Argentina. Instead, the Venezuelans will take on Group A runner-up Canada on Friday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Bello took a crossing pass from Jon Aramburu and sent a header to the bottom right corner of the net from the right side of the 6-yard box. It was the second goal of the tournament for Bello, who scored the winner in a 2-1 victory over Ecuador in the opener.
In the 56th minute, Salomón Rondón used an assist from Yangel Herrera to send a left-footed kick from the center of box to the middle of the net. It was also the second goal for Rondón, who scored on a penalty kick in a 1-0 victory over Mexico in the team’s second match.
Eric Ramírez completed the scoring when he took a through ball from Kervin Andrade in the 85th minute and drilled a right-footed shot from the center of the box to the center of the goal.
Goalkeeper Rafael Romo stopped one shot on goal for Venezuela.
Jahmali Waite did not have a save in goal for Jamaica (0-3-0).
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