World Cup: Uruguay to Plunder More Points in Peru

Peru vs Uruguay

The CONMEBOL World Cup 2026 qualifiers are back on the agenda this week when third-placed Uruguay make the trip to basement nation Peru on Friday night.

Marcelo Bielsa’s boys will enter Estadio Nacional de Lima as favourites to take all three points after making a solid start to their campaign, which leaves them four points clear of Ecuador in fourth place and just three behind table toppers Argentina.

But two consecutive goalless draws, at home to Paraguay and then away to Venezuela in September, has taken the wind out of Le Celeste’s sails, and they will be keen to get back to winning ways in Lima.

This match is another challenge for the hosts’ head coach Jorge Fossati, who is under some pressure to get a tune out of his team rooted to the bottom spot, two points behind underachieving Chile and six behind eighth-placed Bolivia after a poor run of World Cup 2026 results.

And it looks to me, like things are about to get a whole lost worse for La Bicolor.

Talking Points

Horrible run on the way for Peru

They have struggled to get their World Cup campaign off the ground, but Peru did earn a useful 1-1 draw with Colombia in their last home game. And then, they followed that up with a disappointing performance and a loss away to Ecuador.

The World Cup 2026 betting odds reckon Fossati’s team could take a beating on Friday night, and then they face a trip to Brazil, where I suspect the Selecao, currently fifth and in need of points, will be ruthless.

After that, Chile at home might provide an opportunity, but it will be a high-pressure game, and while La Roja are in a period of transition, they still have some quality players.

At the end of this little run, Peru travel way to Copa America and World Champions Argentina, and that could be really messy!

So it’s one game at a time for Fossati, who will look to his experienced players to lead the team.

Goalkeeper Pedro Gallesse and wing-back Luis Advincula both have over 100 caps, and they will try to make it difficult for the visitors, but there is no place for another centurian, midfielder Christian Cueva.

Bielsa is a hard task master for Uruguay’s all-stars

Federico Valverde scored a stunning goal against Villarreal before their World Cup qualifying match against Peru — Real Madrid’s Uruguayan midfielder Federico Valverde celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during their La Liga match against Villarreal CF

Captained by Atletico Madrid centre-back Jose Gimenez, Uruguay, unlike their hosts, have plenty of world stars in their ranks and should expect to be in the CONMEBOL top three.

Federico Valverde is La Celeste’s playmaker, and he scored a stunner in Real Madrid’s 2-0 win over Villarreal last weekend, while Liverpool’s 25-year-old striker Darwin Nunez has scored five goals in six qualifiers.

But manager Bielsa is no respecter of reputations and, with a sometimes unconventional style, he can be a hard task-master.

In last year’s match away to Argentina, he apparently berated Nunez so much at halftime that the Liverpool man had to be comforted by the experienced Luis Suarez even though Uruguay were 1-0 up.

La Celeste eventually won the game 2-0 to end Argentina’s 14-match winning run, with Nunez scoring the second goal.

Uruguay legend Suarez announced his international retirement last month at the grand old age of 37, so there is space for new blood to come through.

20-year-old Lucas Sanabria could make his breakthrough, while 19-year-old Joaquin Lavega and 18-year-old Pablo Suarez are also in the pipeline.

Uruguay have a lot more resource than their hosts, and Bielsa will do all he can to make sure they take advantage.

History

Uruguay were first ever winners of the World Cup in 1930, and they were world champions again in 1950, while, more recently, La Celeste reached the quarter-finals in Russia in 2018.

Peru’s best period came in the 1970s when they reached the quarter-finals or the World Cup twice in 1970 in Mexico and again in 1978 when the finals were in Argentina.

With eight wins to five in all competitions, La Celeste have had the better of the head-to-heads, winning the last meeting 1-0 in Uruguay. Meanwhile, the most recent encounter in Peru in 2021 ended in a 1-1 draw.

Uruguay’s recent form has been solid with two wins, three draws, and a single loss from the last five, while Peru have drawn two and lost three since last winning a game six matches ago.