Peru vs Uruguay

Estadio Nacional is the venue as rock-bottom Peru take on Uruguay in a must-win 2022 World Cup qualifying fixture.

Peru did manage to upset the odds and finish fourth in this summer’s Copa America, which could be a massive morale boost amid an underwhelming World Cup qualifying campaign. After losing four of their six World Cup qualifiers (W1, D1), the Peruvians are nailed to the bottom of the standings and face an uphill battle of reducing a four-point gap on fifth-placed Chile. Before beating Ecuador 2-1 on the road in their most recent World Cup qualifier, ‘La Blanquirroja’ had been on a run of four consecutive defeats in the ongoing qualifying cycle, their longest losing streak since 2009. A tight, keenly-contested affair remains very much on the cards, with each of Peru’s last six meetings with Uruguay seeing the sides separated by under 1.5 goals at full-time (W1, D2, L3 – 90 mins only).

Uruguay still boast a massive advantage in the overall H2H record (W38, D14, L17) despite failing to win three of their last four World Cup qualifying trips to Peru (D1, L2). Without star strikers, Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, Uruguay’s hopes of improving a paltry goalscoring return of four goals from their last eight internationals are up in the air. Seeking their fourth consecutive World Cup finals appearance, the Uruguayans sit fourth in the standings, with a mixed record following their first six matches (W2, D2, L2). On the bright side, ‘La Celeste’ have kept a clean sheet in their last two away World Cup qualifiers, something they’ve failed to do in their previous three visits to Peru. Yet, the visitors have suffered just one loss from their last seven internationals held on foreign soil (W3, D3 – 90 mins only).