Bolivia vs Peru

Estadio Hernando Siles as South American minnows Bolivia take on a resurgent Peru side in an intriguing World Cup qualifying showdown.

Bolivia’s hopes of qualifying for their first World Cup finals since 1994 look far-fetched following a thumping 3-0 away defeat to Ecuador a few days ago. The hosts head into proceedings second-bottom in the South American World Cup qualification standings, winning just one of their ten matches to date (D3, L6). Having won 2+ World Cup qualifiers in every World Cup qualifying campaign since 1990, the Bolivians stare at the prospect of making an unwanted record if they fail to record a victory here. However, after losing their last three World Cup qualifiers via at least a two-goal margin, Bolivia’s chances of snapping a four-match H2H losing streak looks pretty slim. Unfortunately, ‘La Verde’ have developed a habit of falling behind early on, conceding the opener within 20 minutes of play across their last three World Cup qualifying fixtures.

On the other hand, Peru eked out an all-important 2-0 home victory over Chile last time out to stay within a three-point distance from the inter-confederation play-off spot. Peru’s upturn in form has seen them go from going winless in their first five World Cup qualifiers (D1, L4) to winning three of their last five (D1, L1). Therefore, Peru’s hopes of securing back-to-back World Cup finals appearances for the first time since 1982 have been handed a massive boost. Delivering action from the get-go, the Peruvians have broken the deadlock in four of their last five World Cup qualifying matches, which has been the case in all but one of their previous six competitive H2Hs (W4, D2). So, the visitors look in good shape to claim what could be a precious three points here.