Peru vs Argentina

CONMEBOL heavyweights Argentina take a trip to the Estadio Nacional de Lima to meet continental strugglers Peru in a lopsided 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

A gut-wrenching 2-0 defeat against Chile at the weekend puts Peru on the cusp of an unwanted piece of history. After drawing a blank in their opening three 2026 World Cup qualifiers (D1, L2), ‘La Blanquirroja’ stare down the barrel of a four-game scoring drought in World Cup qualifying games for the first time in the nation’s history. That’s a distinct possibility, considering they’ve failed to score in three straight meetings with Argentina (D1, L2). Under-fire manager Juan Reynoso has come under the microscope after overseeing just one win across his last seven games in charge of the national team (D2, L4). However, the Peruvians’ seven-match home form in World Cup qualifiers offers some respite (W4, D2, L1). Their only loss in that run came at the hands of Argentina’s eternal rivals, Brazil.

Meanwhile, Argentina’s form in the ongoing World Cup qualifying has been nothing short of impressive as they start this round as the only CONMEBOL nation to have won all three matches thus far. However, their performances have flattered to deceive, with two of those three wins yielding an identical 1-0 scoreline, including a narrow victory over Paraguay at the weekend. But ‘La Albiceleste’ annihilated Bolivia 3-0 on their only travel in the current qualifying cycle. That success forms part of Argentina’s formidable 13-game winning streak, which includes a historic victory over France in the 2022 World Cup final last winter. Adding to the visitors’ confidence, they’re unbeaten across their last 11 away World Cup qualifiers (W7, D4). They now bid to post an eighth consecutive clean sheet!