Peruvian national team: New Zealand would be the rival of the 'bicolor' in friendly before the repechage

The Peruvian national team left the South American Playoffs behind after being placed in fifth place with 24 points. This earned him the quota for the pre-World Cup repechage in Qatar 2022. In that sense and on the occasion of the preparation for this single duel, the Peruvian Football Federation (FPF) would be enlisting the rival of the 'bicolor' for a friendly, which would be New Zealand.

This information was communicated by journalist Gustavo Peralta of ESPN Peru in the program 'Equipo F'. “If Morocco fell, New Zealand was plan B for the Peruvian national team. And Morocco fell, because of the issue of the calendar, everything was very tight. They wanted to close now, the FPF is still waiting for the economic issue that FIFA will give them and a number of factors such as the issue of tickets also to sell for the repechage match,” he said.

And it is that at first it was thought that the Moroccan team was going to be the opponent of the 'red white'. In fact, several media outlets took it for granted. However, this was even ruled out by Antonio García Pye himself, FPF's selection manager. “The friendly with Morocco is not true, it is one of the proposals and nothing is closed. We have five or six possibilities that will be handled in the next few days,” said the leader at the time.

However, now the next rival would be the ocean country. In this case, Peralta even mentioned the possible dates and the scenario of this engagement. “Today New Zealand is almost certainly Peru's rival for the pre-repechage match in Barcelona. It would be at the Espanyol stadium on June 5, 6 or 7. But New Zealand already has a pre-agreement with the FPF. This must be analyzed, signed and formalized tomorrow (today) or on Tuesday,” added the communicator.

If this option were to materialize, it would not be the first time that both teams met. For the Peruvian fan will be in the retina the matches they played for the playoff prior to the Russia 2018 World Cup. The 'bicolor' culminated in fifth place in the South American qualifying process, while the 'All Whites' came first in Oceania.

This earned them to measure themselves in back-and-forth duels. Wellington remembers the goalless draw and the warmth of the fans who crossed the planet to reach this city. In fact, thousands of fans gathered, both at the flag outside the Sofitel Hotel and at Westpac Stadium.

However, the excitement broke out for the return match that took place at the National Stadium in Lima. With all the stands full and millions of fans pending this momentous match, they encouraged the team that was playing to return to a World Cup after 36 years of absence. Finally, the feat was achieved with the notes of Jefferson Farfan and Christian Ramos.

NEW ZEALAND FIGURES

Now, among the top figures of the New Zealanders are Newcastle United Premier League striker Chris Wood, who scored 5 goals in the last Playoffs. Mention should also be made of defender Bill Tuiloma of MLS Portland Timbers and left back Liberato Cacace of Italy's Serie A Empoli.

OTHER FRIENDLIES

On the other hand, Peralta announced that the national squad will play two friendly matches in September, whatever the result in the repechage. “Whatever happens, in September 2 friendlies will surely be played in the United States that have already been agreed and talked about a long time ago: against Mexico and the locals,” he said.

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