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Bolivia vs Venezuela Match Preview

The country is second from bottom in the CONMEBOL table, but a 6-1 demolition of Diego Maradona’s Argentina has given them some immeasurable pride. They continue their World Cup qualifying campaign with a game at home to Venezuela on June 6.

But this time, Bolivia will be without Joaquin Botero. The 31-year-old was a hat-trick hero in his side’s astonishing 6-1 crushing victory over the Argentines, and it has now been understood that this sparkling performance was Botero’s last for the national team, as he has decided to retire. "I firstly told Carlos Aragones (national squads’ coordinator). Erwin and the FA did not expect it. The boss asked me to play until the end of the qualifiers, but I told him my reason and he respected my decision," Botero said in newspaper La Prensa. "I am not very motivated in this phase of my career and I think that leaving space for a youngster is the best thing to do. I want to clarify that I gave my last drop of sweat for my country." "My departure is final and I think I gave my best always." The Bolivian national team will certainly mourn the departure of their celebrated striker. Despite the fact that Bolivia is considered as one of South America’s weakest team, the Correcaminos forward managed an impressive number of 20 goals in 47 appearances for his country –the last of which came against Argentina on April 1.

The tree young men

Meanwhile, Coach Erwin Sanchez has opened the door for three youngsters: Gibert Alvarez, Leonel Justiniano, and Samuel Galindo. These players could make their senior national team debut against Venezuela after being called-up amongst Bolivia’s 23-man home based squad. All three were part of Bolivia’s U-17 team that featured in the just-ended South American Championship in Chile so being promoted so quickly into the national team comes as a big prize to forward Alvarez: "I am very happy for being called,” he told ATB television network. “I did not expect to be named. Now I am decided to win a spot in the squad to play against Venezuela."

Venezuela analysis

The Burgundy travel to La Paz with the aim of picking up from where they left off earlier in April. Venezuela bounced back from a heavy 4-0 defeat to Venezuela with a 2-0 victory against Colombia where both goals came in the last 15 minutes. Despite bagging all three possible points out of this encounter, Venezuela still remain far away from a place in the finals of the World Cup in South Africa. They seat just one place and one point above the Bolivians but reaching the promise land is very much a prospect mathematically. However, it goes without saying that the mission ahead is enormously difficult. Venezuela have had an inconsistent run throughout the qualifiers but they might find some source of inspiration ahead of the match against Bolivia. Aside the 2-0 victory they managed against the Colombians, Venezuela can look back at a spirited 5-3 comeback in the first leg part of the qualifying campaign at home to Bolivia. A brace each from Arismendi and Maldonado, with Alejandro Guerra scoring in between, powered La Verde to a thrilling win against Bolivia in Venezuela. These players’ heroics will surely be needed when these two teams clash together again. Can the 2007 CONMEBOL hosts qualify to the finals of the World Cup for the first time in their history?

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