Salomón Rondón scored on a penalty kick in the 57th minute and goalkeeper Rafael Romo made the goal stand up with a diving on Orbelin Pineda’s penalty try 28 minutes later, giving Venezuela a 1-0 upset over Mexico in a Copa América group-stage game played before a sellout crowd of 72,000 at SoFi Stadium.
With the victory, Venezuela advances to the tournament semifinals while Mexico, a loser in four of its last six matches, needs a win over Ecuador on Sunday to avoid elimination.
Venezuela got the only goal in would need when Rondón rolled a right-footed penalty kick just inside the left post for his 42nd international goal.