Team Form and Qualification Status
Peru’s national team is among the two South American nations already eliminated from contention for the 2026 World Cup. In contrast, Paraguay’s national team secured their spot in the global tournament on Friday night.
Offensive Struggles and Defensive Strengths
Consequently, both teams will likely play without significant pressure. Peru aims to conclude their campaign on a positive note, despite suffering nine defeats and extending their winless streak to four matches. Across 17 rounds, they have managed only six goals, marking the weakest offensive record in South America. The ‘Blanquirroja,’ much like most away teams on the previous matchday, faced a crushing defeat, conceding three unanswered goals to Uruguay (0:3). Notably, all of Peru’s goals in this cycle have been scored on home soil.
Paraguay secured their World Cup berth in typical fashion, playing out a dull 0-0 draw against Ecuador. This isn’t surprising, given that the ‘Guaraní’ have scored only 13 goals in 17 rounds (third-lowest) while conceding just 10 (third-best defense). Expect a similar pattern away from home, where six out of their eight matches have seen no more than one goal scored.
Historical Head-to-Head and Key Prediction
The last two head-to-head encounters held in Peru both ended with Under 2.5 goals. In 2022, the hosts claimed a 1-0 victory, followed by a 0-0 draw less than a year later. Although these were friendly matches, there’s a strong likelihood that this trend of low-scoring games will persist in official fixtures. I anticipate Peru to avoid defeat in a minimalist fashion, especially considering they have conceded only six goals in eight home matches during this qualification cycle.