Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Edson Castillo was not in the match-day squad when Venezuela drew 1-1 with Brazil on Friday morning.
Castillo, 29, has been in fine form since his move to Chiefs in the off-season with four goals in his first 12 games in all competitions.
As a consequence, he received his first national team call-up since February 2022 after being brought in as a replacement for Jesus Bueno who stars for Major League Soccer (MLS) outfit Philadelphia Union.
But head coach Fernando Batista opted not to include Castillo and four others in his match-day squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Brazil.
Venezuela, who had started the qualifiers with a 1-0 defeat to Colombia and a 1-0 win over Paraguay, managed to hold the star-studded Selecao to a 1-0 draw after Eduard Bello cancelled out Gabriel’s opener in the 85th minute.
Venezuela currently sit in sixth place in the CONMEBOL qualifiers with four points and will next face Chile, who sit one spot ahead of them with the same amount of points.
To date, Castillo has made six appearances for his home country, scoring once, the last in a 3-1 defeat to Brazil in August 2021
