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FIFA World Cup 2018 team analysis: Peru ride on emotions, captain Guerrero's bad-boy image

FIFA World Cup 2018: Peru will play in the World Cup after 36 years and their captain Paolo Guerrero is out to prove everyone wrong.

Raul Ruidiaz of Peru during a FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifier against Venezuela

FIFA World Cup fixtures | Groups and points table

myKhel.com breaks down the chances of all the 32 countries playing the World Cup final stages.


Country: Peru

Placed in Group C also featuring France, Denmark and Australia

Fixtures: Peru vs Denmark, June 16, at 9.30 pm IST (Saransk)

Peru vs France, June 21, at 8.30 pm IST (Ekaterinburg)

Peru vs Australia, June 26, at 7.30 pm IST (Moscow Luzhniki)

FIFA ranking: 11

Previous World Cup: 1982 (eliminated from group stages)

Best finish: Quarter-finals in 1970, 1978

Star players: Jefferson Farfan (winger for Lokomotiv Moscow), Paolo Guerrero (striker for Flamengo), Christian Cueva (midfielder for Sao Paulo)

Coach: Ricardo Gareca


Peru have waited 36 years to reach the final stages of a World Cup and it all goes down to coach Ricardo Gareca, an Argentine who scored against Peru during the 1986 World Cup qualifying. It's an emotional tournament for them, not just because they are playing after so long, but also because their captain Paolo Guerrero will get to play the competition after all.

Captain in, captain out

Guerrero was tested positive for a metabolite of cocaine after a World Cup qualifier against Argentina in November 2017. He was handed a 12-month ban initially, which was reduced to six months so that he could play the Cup. However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and extended his ban to 14 months. But that decision was provisionally suspended after Group C captains - Hugo Lloris (France), Mile Jedinak (Australia) and Simon Kjaer (Denmark) - supported his inclusion. Then a Swiss Supreme Court judge suspended the sentence, which was not contested by the CAS or the WADA, finally ending the off-pitch drama surrounding the Peru captain.

Passion for the game

Now, why is Guerrero so important to the team? Apart from being the captain, he's a beloved figure in Peru. The entire country backed the Flamengo striker in his fight and now can finally be content on seeing him play his first - and probably last - World Cup. The entire squad will strike an emotional chord with the fans when they play.

Team of individuals

Peru has a set of individuals who will together form a pattern that oppositions will have to breach.

Creative playmaker Christian Cueva will dazzle his opponents with some crazy dribbling, hoping to provide for one of the two strikers. Jefferson Farfan, who plies his trade in Russia itself, supports Guerrero, Peru's all-time topscorer, by playing the goal poacher.

Most of the team plays for clubs within South America and it's not by luck that they squeezed into the final 32 in Russia. They had to fight all the way and the war will continue when they play their first WC game in 36 years against Denmark on June 16.


Prediction: Peru have slogged through the rigourous South American CONMEBOL qualifying to make it to Russia and they will not go down without a fight. They can pull off results against Denmark and Australia, but it won't be easy in the knockouts.


Team-by-team analysis:

Argentina</a> | <a class=Iceland | Croatia | Nigeria" title="Argentina | Iceland | Croatia | Nigeria" />Argentina | Iceland | Croatia | Nigeria

Brazil</a> | <a class=Costa Rica | Serbia | Switzerland" title="Brazil | Costa Rica | Serbia | Switzerland" />Brazil | Costa Rica | Serbia | Switzerland

Germany</a> | <a class=Sweden | Mexico | South Korea" title="Germany | Sweden | Mexico | South Korea" />Germany | Sweden | Mexico | South Korea

Belgium</a> | <a class=Panama | England | Tunisia" title="Belgium | Panama | England | Tunisia" />Belgium | Panama | England | Tunisia

Poland</a> | <a class=Japan | Colombia | Senegal" title="Poland | Japan | Colombia | Senegal" />Poland | Japan | Colombia | Senegal


Group A</a> | <a class=B | C | D | E | F | G | H" title="Group A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H" />Group A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H

Story first published: Friday, June 15, 2018, 23:03 [IST]
Other articles published on Jun 15, 2018