Uruguay aim to seal World Cup spot against a Peru side on the ropes | OneFootball

With a draw, La Celeste will secure their ticket to the World Cup, while Óscar Ibáñez's team needs to win to keep their playoff hopes alive. They face off at 20:30.

Marcelo Bielsa's La Celeste hosts Peru this Thursday from 20:30 at the Centenario Stadium for the 17th round of the South American Qualifiers. With a draw, Uruguay will secure their ticket to the World Cup, while La Bicolor needs to win to keep their playoff hopes alive.

The Uruguayan National Team comes to this match with 24 points and the possibility of qualifying directly for the 2026 World Cup by just adding one point. However, the current state of Marcelo Bielsa's team is concerning: in their last five matches, they managed only one victory, a 2-0 win against Venezuela, and lost several key players. José María Giménez, Maximiliano Araujo, and Nicolás de la Cruz are out due to injury, while Ronald Araujo, Nahitan Nández, and Darwin Núñez will serve suspensions and can only return against Chile in the final match.

On the other hand, Peru arrives with their backs against the wall. The team led by Óscar Ibáñez occupies the second-to-last position with 12 points and must win to keep their chances alive. La Bicolor needs to earn six points in the remaining two matches and hope for favorable results to reach the playoffs. To make matters worse, they have significant absences: Paolo Guerrero, Edison Flores, and Alex Valera will not be available due to injury, while Renato Tapia is suspended. Despite everything, Yoshimar Yotún was clear beforehand: "We have no margin for error, we only need to win."

The last encounter between the two was on October 11, 2024, in Lima, where Peru won 1-0 with a goal by Miguel Araújo. Now, at the Centenario, the story will be different: the pressure is on the visitors, who will seek to make an impact against a Celeste that wants to celebrate their qualification at home.

Probable lineup for Uruguay

Probable lineup for Peru

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.