Heartbroken Venezuela are determined to capture bronze in tonight’s Copa America third place play-off against Peru despite believing they should really be featuring in tomorrow’s final against Uruguay.

Venezuela’s plucky campaign was finally derailed in the semi-finals in a penalty shoot-out by Paraguay after a match where they hit the woodwork three times and had a goal disallowed.

Despite their lingering disappointment at the cruellest of exits, coach Cesar Farias and his men will be fired up to beat Peru, not least as President Hugo Chavez continues to laud them with constant eulogies via Twitter.

“You were great – what an honour,” he said Thursday of a showing which left them undefeated, the penalties aside, throughout the tournament which they had opened by holding Brazil to a draw.

“They robbed us of a winner,” added Chavez from Cuba, where he is undergoing treatment for cancer, referring to Oswaldo Vizcarrondo’s ruled out header for offside.

Venezuela are to date the only South American country never to appear at the finals.

Peru themselves turned the form book upside down as far as the semi-finals were concerned before finding Uruguay a bridge too far.

They finished rock bottom of the last World Cup qualifiers but under Uruguayan coach Sergio Markarian they have earned new respect.