Both nations are gearing up for their upcoming World Cup playoff ties, with Peru set to play either Australia or UAE on June 13, while New Zealand up against Costa Rica a day later.
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Peru will take on New Zealand in an international friendly match at the Estadi Cornella-El Prat in Spain on Sunday. Both nations are gearing up for their upcoming World Cup playoff ties. In the last couple of years, the La Blanquirroja have been doing pretty well in the international circuit, having qualified for the 2018 World Cup in Russia and now they are on the cusp to repeating the feat. Meanwhile New Zealand, who missed out on the last edition of World Cup, are alive and well in the pursuit for a spot in Qatar later this year. Both sides head into the tie on the back of convincing victories as Peru got the better of Paraguay 2-0 in their World Cup Qualification match while New Zealand thrashed Solomon Islands 5-0.
Peru will play either UAE or Australia in their World Cup playoff tie on June13. The South American’s progressed this far courtesy of a strong CONMEBOL qualifying campaign that saw them finish fifth in the 10-team league stage, ahead of the big guns Chile and Colombia. Ricardo Gareca’s side head into the class in Barcelona on the back of some fine form, having been defeated just once in their last nine games across all competitions. Meanwhile in their last outing against Paraguay in March, goals from Gianluca Lapadula and Yoshimar Yotun helped them secure the victory.
On the other hand, New Zealand beat off competition from the likes of Tahiti and the Solomon Islands in the OFC qualifying rounds to make it this far. Danny Hay’s side are on a run of 4-game winning streak, stretching back to January. In their last encounter against Solomon Islands, Bill Tuiloma scored a brace while Chris Wood, Joe Bell and Matthew Garbett netted one goal each to earn the victory. Meanwhile five years ago, the All Whites’ dreams of reaching the 2018 World Cup was ended by Peru.
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Peru has no injury concerns and Gareca has a full-strength squad at his disposal. Captain Pedro Gallese could line up between the posts as usual, but the two central defenders Luis Advincula and Carlos Zambrano could be rested.
As for New Zealand, talismanic striker Chris Wood has an achilles problem and may not be risked for Sunday’s encounter. The Newcastle United player has 33 international goals to his name. Meanwhile goalkeeper Matthew Gould is the only uncapped player in the squad.
Peru probable starting lineup: Gallese, Corzo, Ramos, Callens Trauco, Carillo, Pena, Aquino, Yotun, Cueva, Valera.
New Zealand probable starting lineup: Marinovic, Payne, Boxall, Reid, De Vries, Bell, Stamenic, Lewis, Rojas, Wood, Rogerson.
The international friendly between Peru and New Zealand will take place at the RCDE stadium and it will kick-off at 9:00 pm IST on Sunday, June 5.
For the viewers in the USA, live streaming of the match is available on Fubo TV.
