For the first time in their history, Peru and Nicaragua will play a friendly match which takes place on Friday at Estadio Alejandro Villanueva in Lima.
The Peruvians squandered a 1-0 lead in their previous encounter versus Venezuela last year, playing to a 1-1 draw, while Nicaragua earned a 0-0 result last November against the Dominican Republic.
Match preview
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It seemed like Peru needed a break in the worst way, as they are currently experiencing a dismal 2026 World Cup qualification campaign thus far.
Los Incas are bottom of the table in South American qualifying with a mere two points from six fixtures, though they ended a five-match losing run with their draw against Venezuela.
Jorge Fossati has a massive job ahead of him to restore some pride back in this team who are winless in their last seven matches in all competitions, with their previous victory coming in a June 2023 friendly versus South Korea (1-0).
The man who guided Universitario de Deportes to the Peruvian league title in 2023 takes over a side who have only found the back of the net in one of their previous six matches in all competitions.
La Bicolor have yet to win a game played on Peruvian soil since defeating Paraguay 1-0 during a November 2022 friendly at Estadio Monumental in Lima.
They have won two of their last three encounters versus CONCACAF opponents, most recently defeating El Salvador 4-1 in a September 2022 friendly.
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Nicaragua will enter 2024 with a lot of momentum on their side, currently riding a six-match unbeaten run in all competitions.
Marco Antonio Figueroa guided them to an impressive campaign at the 2023-24 CONCACAF Nations League, going unbeaten in their six group fixtures and earning a promotion into League A of that tournament.
The Nicaraguans only gave up one goal in their recent Nations League B campaign and will enter this match without conceding in four successive competitive fixtures.
That has given the Nicaraguans hope that they might make it beyond the second round of World Cup qualifying this year for the first time since the 2018 campaign.
Los Pinoleros are in a second-round World Cup qualification group that features the likes of Belize, Montserrat, Guyana and Panama.
Thursday will be the first time they face a side from CONMEBOL since June 2023, with La Azul y Blanco losing three consecutive games against that region, while they have never beaten a side from South America.
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Team News
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Paolo Guerrero will be questionable for Peru on Friday after suffering foot inflammation earlier this month while in action for his club, Universidad Cesar Vallejo.
Oliver Sonne, Erick Noreiga, Renato Solis and Diego Romero are all seeking their first caps with the national team, Luis Advincula is on 114 caps and can move into a tie with Guerrero for third all-time should he play and Guerrero misses out, while Pedro Gallese is just two caps behind Hector Chumpitaz for fifth, with the Orlando City goalkeeper currently on 103.
Yoshimar Yotun had their only goal versus Venezuela, moving into a tie for most all-time appearances alongside Roberto Palacios on that occasion, though he was not selected for this international window.
Ariagner Smith is the only injury concern for the Nicaraguans after the FK Panevezys striker suffered broken ribs last November.
Jeremy Cuarezma, Evert Martinez and Justing Cano are the three uncapped Nicaraguan players selected for this encounter, while record goalscorer Juan Barrera is their most experienced player chosen with 79 international caps.
Miguel Rodriguez started in place of Cesar Salandia in their final Nations League group fixture, earning a clean sheet, while Jacob Montes led them with three goals in that competition.
Peru possible starting lineup:
Gallese; Corzo, Abram, Callens, Lopez; Grimaldo, Quispe, Pena; Polo, Lapadula, Flores
Nicaragua possible starting lineup:
Salandia; Cano, Acevedo, Fletes; Coronel, Medina, Arteaga, Barrera; Hernandez, Lopez, Treminio
We say: Peru 1-0 Nicaragua
While the Peruvians are in relatively poor form at the moment, we are tipping them to pull out a narrow victory because we believe that having a new face on the sidelines could give them a boost for this fixture.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
