Peru defeated New Zealand 1-0 in a pre-World Cup playoff friendly in Qatar.

First change: 06/05/2022 – 20:04Last change: 06/05/2022 – 20:02

In a match played in Barcelona (Spain), Italian-Peruvian Gianluca Lapatula scored Peru’s winning goal in the 69th minute.

It will be the last Test for Peru, who have eight days’ play-off in Doha against the winner of this Tuesday’s match between Australia and the United Arab Emirates in the Qatari capital.

On June 14, another ticket to the World Cup between New Zealand and Costa Rica will be decided in Doha.

with high pressure

Peru started the match with high pressure combination football to try to open the scoring in their last gap.

With an attacking trident formed by Lapatula, Christian Cueva and Andre Carrillo, they tried to break down the competition’s defensive line.

Kareka reserved some starters for playoff contention.

New Zealand have left England with striker Chris Wood from Newcastle. And Italy’s Empoli midfielder Liberato Cacas looked for counter-attacks in Pedro Calais’s goal.

After 20, the South American side pressed the accelerator to find Stefan Marinovic’s goal with direct shots in a 25 degree Celsius tussle at the RCDE Stadium of Club Espanyol in Barcelona.

In the 24th minute, Peruvian midfielder Yoshimar Yoten hit a long-range shot with his left foot onto the crossbar, making a brilliant save for ‘Los Kiwis’.

After the game, Peru kept New Zealand at bay with good triangles but failed to score in the first 45 runs.

Labadula, goal man

In addition, New Zealand coach Danny Hay made two changes to give the team more attacking power to break the deadlock. With the entry of Nando Bijneker and Clayton Lewis, he is back in midfield.

With Lapatula and Carrillo, Peru continued to attack but failed to define their attacking plays.

In the 67th minute, Peru’s Argentine coach Ricardo Gareca made three changes to score, and two minutes later, the left-footed ‘Bambino’ Lapatula took the ball from goalkeeper Oliver Sail to make it 1-0.

The goal sent thousands of Peruvian fans into the stadium to celebrate.

“It was a very close match, but the playoff will be similar,” Peruvian defender Carlos Zambrano said after the match.

With a goal in their favour, the Peruvians continued to pressure the Oceanic team, with midfielder Christopher Gonzalez coming on in the second half.

But New Zealand were undeterred and tried to tie the game by combining Lewis and Kages.

In the final minutes of the game, Peru, who had been in great form, tried to score again, but the New Zealanders closed their goal.

“The important thing is that it works, it’s always good to win, [pero] The important thing is June 13,” said Peruvian midfielder Yoshimar Yoten.

© 2022 AFP