Venezuela is football-mad South America's only country never to have made it to a World Cup. Not only that, but football is not even regarded as the No. 1 sport in the country.

"For a long time, Venezuela was all baseball and beauty contests but a few things have changed," South American football expert Tim Vickery told DW. 

This will be apparent when an expected crowd of more than 50,000 turn out to watch Venezuela host Brazil in a 2026 World Cup qualifying match in Maturin this week. After 10 of 18 games played, the home team are in in eighth spot out of the 10 teams in the regional table, but just two points out of sixth place – and qualification.

"They can qualify for the World Cup, but it is going to be tight," Vickery said.

After wins over Paraguay and Chile and a 1-1 draw in Brazil in October 2023, there was much early optimism but just three points from their last five games means Venezuela still have a lot of work to do.

Legendary forward Salomon Rondon agrees.

"We are under no illusions," the 35-year-old said in an interview published on FIFA's website.

"We face Brazil at home next and then travel to Chile, and we just need to focus on winning football matches. We have to go into every game looking for the win, because that's the only way we'll make it to the World Cup."

International club experience 

Rondon has played his club football in Spain, England, China and Russia, and his wealth of international experience is by no means unique. The latest Venezuela squad includes players that ply their trade in Brazil, Argentina, France, Spain, Poland and Saudi Arabia.

It wasn't always this way. Venezuela made little impact internationally until 2001 when Richard Paez became the first Venezuelan head coach of the national team since the 1980s. He instilled a sense of national pride and an attacking philosophy that started to get results with a new generation of players.

"For a long time, football was the game of immigrants from Europe but Paez made a difference and the government got behind the team," Vickery explained.

Making progress

In 2007, Venezuela hosted the Copa America and reached the knockout stage for the first time. After that, their players started to be snapped up by foreign teams on a regular basis.

In 2011, Venezuela reached the semifinal of the Copa America and since then they have made it to the quarterfinals in three out of the last four tournaments – including this year's. Attention has been paid to youth development too, with the team reaching the final of the U-20 World Cup, losing 1-0 to England in 2017.

"Football was always there in the background but it was just waiting for something to cheer for," Vickery said.

However, baseball remains king. US oil companies introduced America's pastime to the country in the early 20th century. Venezuela went on to win the 1941 Amateur Baseball Series to widespread acclaim and excitement, helping the sport to grow. In the 21st century some of Major League Baseball's biggest stars have been Venezuelan, making their compatriots proud.

"Baseball will always have that tradition and history," Jordan Florit, a Caracas-based scout with the player agency Andrade Sports Group, told DW.

"There is more money in the domestic baseball league than the football league and while football has improved there is so much space and room for the sport to grow and evolve."

Losing that 'embarassing tag'

Making it to the World Cup would be a big step forward – likely giving the domestic league a boost but also benefitting the international image of Venezuelan football.

"When Venezuela lose heavily, people in Europe just see the result and think that 'Venezuela are awful' and people here are acutely aware of that," Florit noted.

"If they qualify for the World Cup then overnight, they lose that embarrassing tag of being the only South American country not to appear and that means a lot."

It is not just about what happens on the pitch. Compared to the limited global reach of baseball, popular in the United States and a few other countries such as Cuba, South Korea, Japan and Canada, football brings a much bigger spotlight.

"Football is the world," Vickery said.

"South American teams like Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay are in the World Cup to win but the next group of countries on the continent just want to say to the rest of the world, 'we exist, we are part of this global narrative.'"

A different narrative

This is especially true for Venezuela, a country that has been in the international headlines for reasons that are not positive. In recent years, a drop in the price of oil, rising inflation and economic hardship have led to over seven million people leaving the country

In the presidential election in July, opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez and many international observers felt that he had won convincingly yet a government-controlled election commission declared that Nicolas Maduro had won a third consecutive term. Tensions have remained high since.

"People don't know anything about Venezuela except maybe the politics, oil and the currency crisis," Florit said.

"Football has this unrivalled power to bring another level of attention to a country and Venezuela is in a sensitive period at the moment. Getting to the World Cup can help unite a country that is divided over a lot of things."

Edited by: Chuck Penfold