Bolivia takes advantage of a higher altitude and beats Venezuela in a World Cup qualifier

EL ALTO, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivia took advantage of a higher altitude at its new host city and defeated Venezuela 4-0 on Thursday to record its second win in four matches at home.

Ramiro Vaca opened the scoring in the 13th minute, Carmelo Algarañaz converted a penalty kick in the 45th, Miguel Terceros in the 46th and Enzo Monteiro scored in the 89th.

The Bolivians used to play in the capital La Paz at 3,640 meters (11,940 feet) above sea level, but the South American soccer body CONMEBOL allowed them to move their games to El Alto, the second largest city in the country at an altitude of 4,150 meters (13,615 feet).

With the win, Bolivia is seventh place in the standings with six points and remains in contention for a berth in the 2026 World Cup.

Venezuela remains at fourth place with nine points but could move down depending on the results from this round.

On Tuesday, Venezuela will host Uruguay while the Bolivians play in Chile.

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