Saturday, November 18th, 2023.- With two goals from Anthony Rea in injury time (66' and 68'), Venezuela won 2-1 against Canada in their debut in PC football at the Santiago 2023 Parapan American Games, in a match held at the Estadio Bicentenario in La Florida.

In a closely contested match, the South American team managed to secure victory thanks to two minutes of inspiration from Anthony Rea, who, with his two goals in additional time, gave Venezuela the win.

After a goalless first half of 30 minutes, the Canadians were the first to open the scoring with Samuel Charron's goal (36'). But just when it seemed that the North Americans were going to secure the victory, Rea's goals turned the tide.

"I didn't expect to score two goals. The team was looking and looking for the equalizer, and with God's will, we managed to level the score and then secure the victory. Canada sought the goal and closed up; that was their strategy. But when we equalized, we filled ourselves with hope and went for the victory, which we fortunately achieved," commented Anthony Rea.

Regarding the upcoming match against Chile (Sunday at 17:00 local time), Rea mentioned, "Despite losing to the United States, Chile showed quality and is a team that deserves respect."

PC football is a form of 7-a-side football adapted for people with cerebral palsy. It follows the same FIFA rules as football, with some adaptations related to the minimum conditions of parity that must exist between the two teams.

Written by Marcelo López-Rodrigo Vargas; tranlated by Paulette Bertín / Santiago 2023 vía Photosport
Photo by Jonnathan Oyarzún / Santiago 2023 vía Photosport