Peru 1-0 Paraguay
Don’t be fooled by the label: nothing about this tight game was friendly at all.
Both Peru and Paraguay have 18 points on the South American front of the World Cup Qualifiers, and two consecutive wins can shoot them straight up to the final tournament. With that much at stake, Ricardo Garcia and Francisco Arce needed a win to put them on the right track for the next set of football games.
Fans who bet online on this game expected a close one, and that’s exactly what they got. The two nations wrestled for control from kick-off but failed to make anything happen in the first half. Carlos Orbe’s yellow card got pulled out four times as both teams were fighting to get the advantage they needed.
Not a lot happened until the second half, and it seemed for quite a while that the game will end scoreless. The hosts had more of the ball but failed to crack Paraguay’s defence until the 75th minute.
Rodrigo Rojas, one of the four players booked in the first half, got his second booking and was sent off. Paolo Guerrero didn’t let the chance pass him by and slotted home a beautiful free kick on the top-left corner, away from Roberto Fernandez’s reach.
Rojas’ ejection proved to be too much for the Paraguayans as they failed to equalise in the game’s dying minutes. The game ended in a close 1-0 victory for the Peruvians.
This victory is a much-needed confidence booster for Peru as they are now on a three-game unbeaten streak. Meanwhile, Paraguay will have a lot of adjustments to do as they have only won one of their last six games. This game might become the preview of their form in the qualifier’s last few games.
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