Peru will receive Colombia in Lima on June 3 and will visit Ecuador, at 2,850 meters above sea level in Quito, on June 8.
Peru prepares its artillery with the ‘Italian’ Gianluca Lapadula to face Colombia and Ecuador on June 3 and 8 in the return of the South American qualifiers to the Qatar-2022 World Cup, where it urgently needs to add points to leave the last places of the table.
Under the baton of DT Ricardo Gareca, the Peruvian team practiced behind closed doors at the National Sports Village in Lima on Thursday with nine ‘legionaries’, including midfielder Renato Tapia, from Celta de Vigo, defender Miguel Trauco, from Saint- Étienne, and Italian-Peruvian striker Gianluca Lapadula, from Benevento in the Italian Serie B.
“Two very difficult games are ahead, but we can win them,” Lapadula said.
Peru will receive Colombia in Lima on June 3 and will visit Ecuador, at 2,850 meters above sea level in Quito, on June 8.
“All forwards always want to score goals. I like to play alone or with another striker, I have no problem, “added ‘Lapagol’ who admitted that he never played at the height.
According to the sports press, Gareca will line up Lapadula, 31, along with Paolo Guerrero, 37, who was absent in the first four qualifying rounds due to injury.
Among the players called up by the ‘tiger’ Gareca there are five youth called to the senior team for the first time: Martín Távara, Jhilmar Lora, Renzo Garcés, Luis Ibérico and Alex Valera.
The left-back Miguel Trauco said for his part that “the games with Colombia and Ecuador we take it easy because we trust in what each of us can do. We are working on some details and hopefully we can give the points to improve in the table ”.
“We have to reverse (what has been done so far). Colombia is complicated but not impossible, you have to beat it so that the three points stay at home, ”Miguel Araujo, from FC Emmen de Holland, told a local radio station.
Gareca will not be able to count due to injury for this double date with midfielders Edison Flores, from MLS DC United, and Christofer Gonzáles, from Sporting Cristal.
Added to them is the loss of striker Jefferson Farfán, who suffered a knee injury.
Disputed 4 of the 18 dates of the World Cup, Peru occupies the last place in the classification, together with Bolivia, both with a single point.
The qualifier grants four direct spots to Qatar-2022 and the fifth the possibility of a play-off against a team from another continent.
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