These two South American soccer teams are going to play at Hard Rock Stadium on June 1
Here is a bit of welcome news for Venezuelans in South Florida, who have been preoccupied with the political turmoil back home: The Venezuelan national soccer team is playing a friendly match against Ecuador at Hard Rock Stadium on June 1 at 8 p.m.
The game will offer a respite — albeit a brief one — from the unrest that has been dominating the news.
Hard Rock Stadium officials announced the match on Tuesday afternoon and on Wednesday morning are expected to reveal another soccer match for later this summer involving two high-profile teams.
Fans interested in buying tickets to the Venezuela-Ecuador match can register in advance during the preregistration period from March 13-19 at HardRockStadium.com. By preregistering, fans will be granted access to buy tickets during a presale during March 20-21. The general public ticket on sale will begin March 22 at 10 a.m. Tickets will be available at Ticketmaster.com.
Venezuela went unbeaten in its last five 2018 World Cup qualifying matches, and has a lot of young talent. The team is using the Miami match as preparation for Copa America 2019. Among the players to watch are Josef Martinez (Atlanta FC), who broke the record for most goals scored in one Major League Soccer season (31), Salomon Rondon (Newcastle Premier League), Tomas Rincon (Torino of Italy) and Rolf Feltscher (LA Galaxy).
Ecuador is also relying on new talent. Its U20 national team was a surprise winner in CONMEBOL and qualified for the next U20 World Cup in Poland. Ecuador’s Copa America team national team is expected to include Enner Valencia, Christian Noboa, Jefferson Montero, and CONMEBOL U20 star Jordan Rezabala.
Other marquee events being held at Hard Rock Stadium are the Miami Open tennis tournament (March 18-31), Super Bowl LIV and the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship.
This story was originally published March 12, 2019 at 3:59 PM.