Chile's Paredes assures Venezuela 'better than Brazil' at Copa

Venezuela have played better than Brazil at the Copa América and will present Chile with a tough test in their quarter-final this weekend, Chilean striker Esteban Paredes said.

"We shouldn't underestimate Venezuela," Paredes told a news conference ahead of the match in the Andean city of San Juan.

"For me they've played better than Brazil in these three games, and we know what Brazil are -- a world power -- so it's going to be a difficult match on Sunday."

Venezuela drew with Brazil in their Group B clash and finished level on points with them at the top of the group, although the Brazilians had a slightly better goal difference.

Traditionally one of the weakest teams in South America, the Venezuelans have been one of the surprises of this tournament.

Around 20,000 Chileans are expected to make the trip to San Juan from Mendoza for Sunday's match. Both cities lies close to the Chilean border, and Claudio Borghi's team have enjoyed huge support in their matches in the region so far.

"We'll be like the home team in San Juan, with our fans behind us," Paredes said. "And if we win on Sunday we'll be back here in Mendoza (for the semi-final) with our fans, which is very important."