Chile and Peru will both aim to bounce back from slow starts to their World Cup qualifying campaigns on Friday, when they square off in the third round of South American fixtures at the Estadio Monumental David Arellano.
The two nations each boast a single point after their opening two matches last month in their bid to return to the global stage having missed out on the 2022 World Cup.
Match preview
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Chile headed into the latest World Cup Qualifying bid this year aiming to return to the global stage for the first time since 2014, most recently falling short in their bid to reach the 2022 competition in Qatar.
La Roja missed out on the group stage as they finished seventh in the South American qualifying group, ending with 19 points from their 18 outings, with manager Martin Lasarte departing on the culmination of that campaign.
Eduardo Berizzo has since taken over, and his tenure began last year with a seven-match winless run before scoring three straight victories over Paraguay, Cuba and Dominican Republic and a draw away at Chile in the summer before kicking off the new campaign last month in a tough trip to Uruguay.
They were unable to take any points from that curtain-raiser, though, eventually suffering a 3-1 defeat as Arturo Vidal's 74th-minute goal was not enough to force a comeback after Nicolas de la Cruz's brace and a Federico Valverde had the hosts 3-0 up.
Now on the back of a goalless draw at home to Colombia in their second outing last month, Chile will be keen to put a first victory on the board at the third time of asking on Friday to ensure they keep pace in the early stages of the qualifying campaign.
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They meet a Peru side who have experienced a similarly slow start after also falling short last time around in qualifying, albeit falling at the final hurdle as they finished fifth in the continental group, earning an inter-confederation playoff place as a result.
Australia stood between them and the group stage, and after the 90 minutes and extra time remained goalless, Los Incas eventually bowed out as they lost in a penalty shootout, missing out on a second straight group-stage appearance as a result.
Long-serving manager Ricardo Gareca would depart after that disappointment, and a run of friendlies under the new management of Juan Reynoso beginning last September produced four victories, one draw and three defeats prior to the commencement of World Cup 2026 qualifying.
Los Incas faced a trip to Paraguay in their group opener early last month and put a point on the board as the contest ended goalless, but they were unable to manage the same in a tricky test at home to Brazil in the following encounter despite a valiant effort on home turf, as the encounter looked set to end goalless again only for Marquinhos to net a 90th-minute winner for their visitors.
Still with plenty of positives to take from that display, but without a goal scored yet in two qualifying outings, Peru will look to score their first win of the campaign on Friday to move onto four points before hosting Argentina next week.
Team News
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Eduardo Berizzo has again called up a particularly experienced Chile squad for their two October qualifiers, although veteran midfielder Arturo Vidal is a notable absence, with the 36-year-old, who boasts 124 caps and 36 international goals, ruled out with an injury.
Bayer Leverkusen's Charles Aranguiz should return to the engine room from the start in his absence, with Erick Pulgar continuing to play a key role in the centre, while captain Gary Medel, who tops his nation's all-time appearance charts with 158, will again be joined by Guillermo Maripan at the heart of the defence.
Fellow La Roja veteran Alexis Sanchez will continue to lead the line, as he seeks to add to his tally of 51 goals in 156 caps, while Villarreal's Ben Brereton Diaz will offer further support from the left-hand side, having already notched up seven goals in 23 appearances for his nation, leaving the likes of Diego Valdes, Diego Rubio and Felipe Mora to fight for one spot.
Peru should steer clear from making too many changes to their starting XI from the Brazil game after their valiant effort almost resulted in an unlikely goalless stalemate, but Reynoso does have a decision to make in defence, with Luis Advincula returning to contention after being suspended for that contest, while Aldo Corzo, Renato Tapia, Luis Abram and Miguel Trauco impressed as a back four in his absence.
Tapia has played in midfield for the majority of his international career, though, and he may instead rejoin long-term partner Yoshimar Yotun in the engine room, while the likes of Andre Carrillo and Christofer Gonzales will hope to operate further forward in a 4-2-3-1 shape.
They should play important roles in a supporting trio behind lone striker Paolo Guerrero, who tops his nation's all-time scoring charts with 39 goals from 111 caps at the age of 39 years old.
Chile possible starting lineup:
Cortes; Catalan, Medel, Maripan, Suazo; Aranguiz, Pulgar, Nunez; Valdes, Sanchez, Brereton Diaz
Peru possible starting lineup:
Gallese; Corzo, Advincula, Abram, Trauco; Yotun, Tapia; Carrillo, Gonzales, Polo; Guerrero
We say: Chile 2-1 Peru
Both sides certainly have plenty of experience on this stage throughout their ranks and will be desperate for a first win of qualifying, but we see La Roja having slightly more quality running through their squad and fancy them to take all three points on home soil given the superior firepower.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
Argentina
Uruguay
Ecuador
Colombia
Brazil
Paraguay
Bolivia
Venezuela
Chile
Peru
