Fort Lauderdale

Soccer: Fort Lauderdale Stadium Readies for Pre-Copa America Match

Soccer fans get ready!

The Venezuelan and Peru national soccer teams are here in South Florida prepping for a friendly match being held at Fort Lauderdale’s Lockhart Stadium Tuesday night.

The warm up game between the two South American countries serves as preparation and a chance for coaches to polish their game plans ahead of the Copa America (Americas Cup) tournament being held in Chile this summer.

Making his debut with the Peruvian team right here on American soil is Argentine native Ricardo Gareca who was recently appointed head coach for the team.

Gareca will be in charge of guiding Peru through this year’s Copa America tournament and the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup.

"This is the most important challenge of my life. We have a hard and complicated task ahead of us but it is not impossible. Nothing is impossible when you are united." Gareca said.

On the other hand Venezuela’s lead coach Noel Sanvicente who is looking forward to the opportunity to play against their Group C rival ahead of the Chile games, says his main focus right now is on his defense.

“Building pressure is a challenge, the intensity I ask of my defenders takes time and to develop a team who plays as one depends on all the 11 players,” Sanvicente said.

Peru and Venezuela form part of what many are calling “the group of death” in the Copa America tournament.

Both teams face top World Cup rivals Colombia and Brazil who are hungry and looking for a win in this year’s Chile games.

The friendly match at Lockhart Stadium takes place Tuesday March 31, 2015 at 8:30pm in Fort Lauderdale.

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