2024-07-05 17:44:17
The Seleção is in fact Peru’s worst rival in the qualifying rounds for a World Cup, the only team it has never beaten in eleven games played: four draws and seven defeats.
After a 5-0 win over Bolivia on matchday one, Brazil are favourites to take all three points at the Estadio Nacional in Lima in a match played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic despite last-minute attempts by the Peruvian Football Federation (FPF) to have a reduced attendance of fans.
However, the Peruvians will be working hard, driven by the desire to avenge the setbacks of the last Copa America. During this continental competition, organized in 2019 in the land of samba, Peru was outclassed in the group stage 5-0 by the Brazilians, before being crushed in the final at the Maracana (3-1) in a more balanced match.
Peru got a little revenge three months later by winning a friendly match 0-1 in the United States, a triumph that allows Peru to boast of being one of two teams (along with Argentina) that have managed to beat the five-time world champions since the last World Cup in Russia 2018.
“We don’t have the right to lose, we will always win and that is the only thing I believe in,” Peru coach Ricardo Gareca said at a press conference.
In the absence of captain Paolo Guerrero, the Argentine coach will have to continue to entrust the tip of the attack to Raúl Ruidíaz, despite the fact that he has not scored a goal with the Blanquirroja for more than two and a half years. Ruidíaz is nevertheless aware of what it is like to score a goal against a Brazil with a virtually impenetrable defense.
Thus, the only apparent variation in Gareca’s starting eleven will be the entry on the left wing of Christofer Gonzáles to the detriment of the injured midfielder Christian Cueva. On the right will continue Carrillo, author of both goals for Peru in the 2-2 draw against Paraguay on the first day.
But Tite downplayed the significance of those defeats. “Results, good or bad, remain in the past. The present is more important. It doesn’t make sense to say that the Copa America final was won or that the last match was lost. Both were true, but both are in the past,” Tite stressed.
Brazil will face the only team that managed to score away goals on the first day of these qualifying rounds, a challenge for Neymar, the Paris Saint-Germain star who was unable to score on Thursday night against Bolivia.
In principle, Tite will field the same starting team against Bolivia after training with his full squad on Sunday, which implies the continuation of a construction around Philippe Coutinho, in great form since his return to Barcelona after playing at Bayern Munich.
Realism is also required on the players’ side, including Roberto Firmino, who scored twice in the first match, and Philippe Coutinho who said they expected a complicated match, like all the qualifying matches.
“They are a dangerous team, with very good players and it will be even more difficult to play against them at home,” said the Liverpool forward.
If they get the three points from Lima, the Brazilians will most likely finish the first two days of these qualifying rounds as leaders of the standings, which they lead thanks to the difference in goals scored.
The other big game of the second day will see Bolivia and Argentina face off, one eager to turn the page after their resounding defeat to Brazil and the other determined to improve on their timid 1-0 home win over Ecuador. But the Albiceleste must first overcome the physical challenge at the Hernando Siles stadium in La Paz, which sits at an altitude of over 3,600 metres.
2024-07-05 17:44:17