With nothing at stake, Paraguay travel to Peru | OneFootball

Paraguay, qualified for the World Cup, will visit Peru, who no longer has any chance of reaching the Playoff

Peru will play against Paraguay at the National Stadium of Peru starting at 8:30 PM, for the 18th matchday of the South American Qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup to be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The Bicolor comes from being thrashed by Uruguay and doesn't even have a chance to play in the playoff, while Gustavo Alfaro's Albirroja drew with Ecuador and made it to the World Cup after 16 years of waiting.

How Peru and Paraguay arrive at the Qualifiers clash

Peru comes from being thrashed by Uruguay and was left with no possibility of being present at the next World Cup, not even through the playoff. The Bicolor has only 12 points and has won just 1 of the last 8 played. "We have to keep working. We leave sad because we couldn't give the Peruvian people what we wanted so much, but we leave calm because we gave everything on the field," said captain and leader Yoshimar Yotún after the match against the Celeste.

On the other hand, Paraguay achieved something historic: they drew 0-0 against Ecuador and made it to the next World Cup, something they hadn't achieved since 2010. Following this historic milestone, the government declared last Friday a holiday. Argentine coach Gustavo Alfaro, in an emotional press conference after the qualification, stated: "When we took on this challenge, we were convinced that we could achieve this. I don't want to go to the World Cup just to participate; I want to compete for the maximum."

The probable lineup of Peru vs. Paraguay, for the Qualifiers

Peru: Pedro Gallese; Luis Advíncula, Carlos Zambrano, Renzo Garcés, Marcos López; Erick Noriega, Yoshimar Yotún, Sergio Peña; Andy Polo, Luis Ramos, Kenji Cabrera. Coach: Óscar Ibáñez.

Paraguay: Roberto Fernández; Juan Cáceres, Gustavo Gómez, Omar Alderete, Junior Alonso; Diego Gómez, Andrés Cubas, Matías Galarza, Miguel Almirón; Alejandro Romero, Antonio Sanabria. Coach: Gustavo Alfaro.

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