Venezuelan national soccer team coach Rafael Dudamel tells a press conference on July 22, 2018, that his team will most probably qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. EFE-EPA/Carlos Duran Araujo

Venezuelan national soccer team coach Rafael Dudamel tells a press conference on July 22, 2018, that his team will most probably qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. EFE-EPA/Carlos Duran Araujo

Venezuelan national soccer team coach Rafael Dudamel tells a press conference on July 22, 2018, that his team will most probably qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. EFE-EPA/Carlos Duran Araujo

Venezuelan national soccer team coach Rafael Dudamel said over the weekend that it was probable his squad would qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar thanks to the great dedication of his players and a self-confidence that has them thinking big.

Dudamel spoke during a press conference he gave Sunday in Barranquilla, where his team is competing in the Central American and Caribbean Games

"We believe it's highly probable - we see ourselves as having a very good chance and we're going to fight for it. We're going to compete with great hopes. And with the dedication of our players, we're going to keep improving over the next two to three years and have a very competitive, committed team going to Qatar," the coach said.

Dudamel said that he and his coaching staff viewed "the future with great optimism for Qatar 2022 and Tokyo 2020."

"It's our dream and we're betting on" being in the Summer Olympic Games in the Japanese capital, the coach said.

"We look at these names and how can we not get our hopes up, though we know it will be hard," the coach said about the generation that took second place in the Under-20 World Cup in South Korea and is now competing in Barranquilla, as well as Venezuelans who play internationally like Adalberto Peñaranda and Wuilker Fariñez.

Dudamel confirmed that Venezuela would play a friendly against Colombia on Sept. 7 in Miami to start preparing for South American World Cup qualifying and the 2019 Copa America in Brazil.

"What better way to do it than against a rival like Colombia, which did so well in the World Cup," Dudamel said.

For now, Venezuela is concentrating on winning a medal in the Central American Games, despite acknowledging that it's not likely to win the championship, the coach said.

Venezuela defeated Mexico 2-1 on Saturday in its first match at the Games and will play Haiti on Monday.

"We're not the favorite. The favorite is Colombia as the home team, and Mexico, which has played many international matches. We come with hopes of playing the five games. It's a good chance for winning," Dudamel said.