After six match days it was Peruvian team After the 1-1 draw against Venezuela at the National Stadium for qualification for the 2026 World Cup, the victory is still unknown.
Faced with the need to add three, the Blanquirroja came out with a more mobile eleven, with Piero Quispe and Joao Grimaldo being the unbalanced elements of the local team in the first half.
Unlike the previous rounds of the current qualification process, in which they showed a more aggressive game, Venezuela had several inaccuracies and few arrivals in the Peruvian area.
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After many attempts to break through Rafael Romo’s goal, the Peruvian team scored the long-awaited goal in the 17th minute Yoshimar Yotunwho took advantage of an excellent cross from Grimaldo to score the opening goal with a header.
Personality. Grimaldo was one of the most dangerous in Peru. Photo distribution
This also marked the first result for the national team in this edition of the South American competition. Coincidentally, the Sporting Cristal midfielder was the last player to score with the Bicolor in the March 2022 playoffs against Paraguay.
Without any major complications, each team with the slightest difference went into halftime and won. However, the addition would be a different story.
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The team led by Fernando Batista jumped with greater intensity and took advantage of the hosts’ retreat. In the 54th minute, the Bicolors were given a splash of cold water after Darwin Machís outran Marcos López and passed the ball to Jefferson Savarino, who scored the equalizer from the center of the penalty area.
In an attempt to regain the lead, Reynoso moved to the bench to freshen up the attack, but Blanquirroja’s associative play weakened as the minutes passed.
Motivated by the 1-1 result, Soteldo and Co. continued to put pressure on the Peruvian area and almost managed to turn things around more than once, but without success.
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The last few minutes were more about fighting than football, with the national team trying everything they could to win. However, both teams had to settle for a draw, which only increased the questions for Juan Reynoso as coach of the Bicolor.
Not reached. Reynoso gives his team instructions. Photo: Distribution
With this result, the Peruvian team remains in the final box with 2 points out of 18 possible and is 3 units behind Paraguay, which currently occupies the playoff position, while its counterpart from Venezuela is in fourth place with 9 points.
As if that wasn’t enough, Peru posted one of their lowest results in recent qualifying matches. It is worth remembering that in the previous qualification process for Qatar 2022, the Peruvian team added 4 points in this case.
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The Blanquirroja players will not meet until March, when they will meet again to play the relevant friendlies for that date Fifain which they would compete against European teams.
On the other hand, the qualifying matches for the next World Cup will continue in September 2024, the month in which Peru will clash with Colombia at home and Ecuador as a guest.