Football: Venezuela to Play US in Friendly Match

<a href=www.voanews.com>VOA Sports 27 Mar 2003, 20:25 UTC

Venezuela is happy with the opportunity to play the United States in a soccer friendly on Saturday in Seattle. Venezuela has only one week to prepare for the match as they are ranked 69th in the world by FIFA. The United States is ranked 10th in the world.

It is Venezuela's first match since a 1-0 win over Uruguay in November. Better known for its baseball, Venezuela is slowly being recognized as a soccer nation after a series of upset wins during South American qualifying for the 2002 World Cup.

The chance to play the Americans came after Japan canceled a two-game tour, citing security reasons because of the war in Iraq. In their last meeting, Venezuela rallied from a 3-0 deficit to tie the United States 3-3 in the 1993 Copa America.