England U20s World Cup final opponents Venezuela profiled
Friday 9 June 2017 14:10, UK
England booked their place in the FIFA U20 World Cup final with a landmark 3-1 semi-final victory over Italy in South Korea.
Dominic Solanke and Ademola Lookman were the heroes for Paul Simpson's men, scoring the goals as the Young Lions progressed to the final against Venezuela.
With relatively little known about Sunday's South American opponents, here's the lowdown on the men standing between England and World Cup glory...
Style of play
While the likes of Brazil and Argentina pride themselves on flair and individual brilliance, Venezuela have become known for their well-organised and dogged displays.
Not blessed with the endless stream of technically-adept players their South American counterparts enjoy, Rafael Dudamel has assembled a squad of players whose team ethic stands out.
Nowhere was this more evident than in their semi-final triumph against Uruguay, where they equalised deep into stoppage-time before completing the turnaround against their much-fancied opponents on penalties.
Imposing in stature, Venezuela will go about intimidating England at every opportunity, whether that be physically or with the tenacious will to win that runs through the team.
Route to the final
Grouped with Germany, Vanuatu and Mexico in Group B, Dudamel's side breezed into the last 16 with three consecutive victories, the highlight of which was a 7-0 thumping of the South Pacific minnows.
Things, however, were not as easy in the knockout stages as Venezuela required extra-time in each round to reach the semi-finals.
Extra-time and penalties were require once more in the last four,where it took a dramatic shootout victory over South American champions Uruguay to seal their nation's first ever appearance in the final of a FIFA tournament.
Dangerman: Sergio Cordova
It would be a disservice to Venezuela to simply cast them aside as mere brutes, given their historic run to their nation's maiden international final.
Key to that historic run has been the goals of Sergio Cordova. Two of his four strikes came in the thrashing of Vanuatu but he notched the decisive goals against Mexico and Germany.
What's more, Cordova currently sits joint-second in the race for the tournament's Golden Boot, how fitting would it be for the 19-year-old score the winning goals that secure accolades for himself and his nation?
One to watch: Samuel Sosa
Venezuela looked dead and buried heading into stoppage-time of their semi-final against Uruguay. Trailing to a contentious penalty, awarded with the help of video technology, the sun looked to be setting on their impressive, yet plucky, campaign.
Step forward Sosa; rising to the occasion when his country needed him most with an exquisite free-kick which forced extra-time.
It completely knocked the wind out of Uruguay, who eventually succumbed on penalties, and serves a clear warning to England not to give away free-kicks within range.
Weaknesses
There's no getting away from the fact that Venezuela have failed to put any of their knockout stage opponents to bed in normal time.
It means Dudamel's men have played a staggering 90 minutes more than England on their way to the final, opening the door for fatigue to potentially play a part.
It also raises question over the Venezuelans' ability to be clinical when it matters most, something Simpson's England have proven more than capable of on their way to the final.
