November 14, 2024, 8:20 PM
November 14, 2024, 8:20 PM
Peru receives Chile this Friday in Lima, in the so-called ‘Pacific Classic’, which for both teams is almost the last call to not miss the 2026 World Cup qualifying train, in which they are at the bottom of the table .
The emergency puts pressure on the ‘bicolor’, which is ninth with six units, and La Roja, which is last, so only a victory would make a real difference in the reality of both.
There is barely a point of difference between the two teams, which are struggling to get closer to the seventh place occupied by Bolivia with 12 units and which is the last place that the classification option grants.
In addition to the rivalry with Chile, the duel has emotional roots for Peru. Precisely on November 15, seven years ago, they managed to qualify in the World Cup playoffs, after an absence of 36 years, and now they are fighting not to be left out of that option.
On the rival bench, the Peruvian players will see the Argentine coach Ricardo Gareca, who led them in that sporting feat and who is in the fight to return the Chileans to a World Cup, which they have not attended for two editions.
The red and white are looking for that much-needed victory under the direction of Uruguayan coach Jorge Fossati and will suffer the absence of a key figure such as goalkeeper Pedro Gallese, who is serving a suspension for yellow cards.
For the same reason, center back Carlos Zambrano and winger Bryan Reyna will not be present either, but the Peruvians are hoping that forwards Gianluca Lapadula or the experienced Paolo Guerrero, 40, provide the goals they need.
On the side of La Roja, the match has become a referendum for the figure of the ‘Golden Generation’ Arturo Vidal, who after criticizing the Gareca cycle for not mentioning him was called for the first time and now the pressure to rescue Chile falls on your shoulders.
Accustomed to public diatribe, Vidal classified the duel as “a war” and found the rival’s response in Lapadula’s mouth: “What I can tell Arturo is that we are waiting for him here,” declared the Italian Cagliari striker to the press. Peruvian
The midfielder, who has just won the Chilean league with Colo Colo, is back in La Roja, with whom he had not played since the end of 2023 when the Argentine Eduardo Berizzo directed it and he injured his knee.
Guerrero had a similar absence with Peru, as the Alianza Lima forward spent a year without being summoned. The last time was in November of last year when the red and white team was led by Peruvian Juan Reynoso.
Gareca also had multiple absences, among them that of the reference Alexis Sánchez, whom he has not counted on due to physical problems in the four previous qualifying matches, and in addition in this call four players left for the same reasons.
Chile will not have Darío Osorio from the Danish Midtjylland who had been a fixture in the attack, the midfielders Erick Pulgar from the Brazilian Flamengo and Williams Alarcón from the Argentine Huracán and the winger Marcelo Morales from Universidad de Chile.
Peru: Carlos Cáceda; Miguel Araujo, Wilder Cartagena, Alexander Callens; Luis Advíncula, Horacio Calcaterra, Oliver Sonne, Sergio Peña, Piero Quispe; Alex Valera and Gianluca Lapadula. DT: Jorge Fosatti.
Chile: Brayan Cortés; Felipe Loyola, Guillermo Maripán, Paulo Díaz, Gabriel Suazo; Rodrigo Echeverría, Vicente Pizarro, Arturo Vidal; Alexander Aravena, Diego Valdés and Eduardo Vargas. DT: Ricardo Gareca.
Referee: Brazilian Wilton Sampaio.
Court: Monumental Stadium of Lima.
