Venezuela and Iceland will do battle for the first time in history in an International Friendly in Austria on Thursday.

The two nations both face stretches without competitive action, having failed to qualify for the upcoming World Cup.

Match preview

Venezuela return to action on Thursday after over three months away, having most recently recorded a pair of friendly wins in June.

They firstly beat Malta away from home, as Salomon Rondon hit the only goal of the game, before recording another 1-0 triumph against Saudi Arabia, thanks to Nahuel Ferraresi's goal.

Those results came after the culmination of an unsuccessful World Cup Qualifying campaign, as La Vinotinto finished at the foot of the South American group with just 10 points from their 18 contests.

Their continental qualifying came to an end in March with games against Argentina and Colombia, and with their fate already sealed, Jose Pekerman's men would fall to two further defeats, eventually losing 3-0 and 1-0 respectively with James Rodriguez's penalty making the only difference in the latter after a commendable effort from Venezuela.

Now on the back of the disappointment of not reaching the World Cup once again, having still never made the group stage of the global tournament, La Vinotinto will look to continue rebuilding with what would be a third consecutive friendly win on Thursday.

Iceland come into the friendly having gone unbeaten in their last four outings across all competitions, including the start of their UEFA Nations League campaign, after also falling short in World Cup qualifying.

A pair of thrashings of Liechtenstein were their only victories in 10 outings, as Strakarnir okkar amassed just nine points before going without a win in a stretch of International Friendlies and kicking off their Nations League campaign at the beginning of June.

They started with a trip to Israel and were held to a 2-2 draw as Shon Weissman drew their opponents level late on, before Arnar Vidarsson's side took a second point at home to Albania thanks to Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson's second-half equaliser in a 1-1 draw.

Following a friendly win over San Marino, Iceland would again meet Israel most recently and play out a stalemate by the same scoreline, eventually drawing 2-2 as Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson and Thorir Johann Helgason were on the scoresheet in another 2-2 draw.

Having now gone four games unbeaten in international action, Strakarnir okkar will aim to build momentum with a positive result in Austria before the culmination of their Nations League group campaign later this month.

Team News

Venezuela have called up a strong squad for this round of friendlies, albeit with some notable absentees as experienced defenders Roberto Rosales and Alexander Gonzalez miss out alongside key midfielder Yangel Herrera and goalkeeper Wuilker Farinez.

Everton forward Salomon Rondon is his nation's all-time top scorer with 35 goals in 89 caps, and he should again lead the line with Atlanta United's Josef Martinez also bound to play a key role in attack.

At the other end of the pitch, Nahuel Ferraresi has quickly made himself a key man in defence, already racking up 19 caps at the age of 23, and he is likely to start at centre-back alongside one or both of Mikel Villanueva and Jhon Chancellor.

Iceland's squad is also experienced, although they too have several key men left at home, with winger Johann Berg Gudmundsson only recently making steps in his recovery from an injury while midfielder Arnor Ingvi Traustason and striker Jon Dadi Bodvarsson also missed out.

Aron Gunnarson should again captain the side from midfield alongside Adana Demirspor man Birkir Bjarnason, who leads the current squad for international caps with 110, having scored 15 goals in that time.

Alfred Finnbogason also boasts 15 goals in his 61 appearances on the international front and will continue to lead the line, while Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson is a threat from the left wing.

Venezuela possible starting lineup:
Baroja; Hernandez, Villanueva, Ferraresi, Chancellor, Gonzalez; Jose Martinez, Rincon; Josef Martinez, Rondon, Soteldo

Iceland possible starting lineup:
Runarsson; Sampsted, Gretarsson, Magnusson, Olafsson; Bjarnason, Gunarsson, Palsson; Thorsteinsson, Finnbogason, Gudjohnsen

We say: Venezuela 1-1 Iceland

While Venezuela may have slightly more star power in their ranks, Iceland have proven themselves to be tough to beat in recent years with a tight-knit squad, and we anticipate a low-scoring draw in Austria as a result.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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