Ecuador have been a surprise package in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying collecting nine points from 15 possible. La Tri are third in CONMBOL standings after five games and have set themselves up well for qualification to next year’s World Cup.
Peru qualified for the 2018 edition of the World Cup, but so far, they have struggled for points in CONMEBOL 2022 World Cup qualifying. Peru are at the bottom of the standings with a mere one point from 15 possible.
¡Inicia la semana creyendo más que nunca en #LaTri que nos une! 🙌🏼E S T I E M P O D E A L E N T A R#VamosEcuador ⚽️Falta 1️⃣ día 🇪🇨 vs 🇵🇪 pic.twitter.com/GmxwYQsOoM— La Tri (@LaTri) June 7, 2021
¡Inicia la semana creyendo más que nunca en #LaTri que nos une! 🙌🏼E S T I E M P O D E A L E N T A R#VamosEcuador ⚽️Falta 1️⃣ día 🇪🇨 vs 🇵🇪 pic.twitter.com/GmxwYQsOoM
The Peruvians have conceded 13 times with just four goals scored. Los Incas need to improve quickly to have any hope of catching the top five and qualify for next year’s World Cup.
The top four teams in CONMEBOL qualify for the World Cup while the fifth-place finisher obtains an inter-continental playoff place.
Despite losing their last two matches to Ecuador, Peru have a strong historical record versus La Tri. Peru have posted a record of 21W-15D-17L dating back to 1938.
Ricardo Gareca’s Peru national team are on a four-match losing streak in qualifying. On June 3, Peru fell 3-0 against Colombia at home.
A loss versus Ecuador on Wednesday would likely eliminate Los Incas from finishing in the top five despite having a number of games left to play.
Ecuador are coming off of a 2-0 loss to Brazil on June 4. It was their first loss in four straight matches. La Tri have played well to this point claiming surprise wins over Uruguay and Colombia.
Their only losses in qualifying came versus Argentina and Brazil – the two nations expected to finish in the top two.
Fenerbahce striker Enner Valencia is Ecuador’s leading scorer with 31 goals in 57 national matches. He will likely start in attack versus Peru.
The defensive duo of Robert Arboleda and Xavier Arreaga should anchor the centre of defence and Carlos Gruezo will be in the heart of midfield.
Peru are low on high-quality talent and looking over their squad, it is easy to see why they are bottom of CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying.
Thirty-seven-year-old Paolo Guerrero is the team’s top caps winner with 101. He has scored 38 times for the national team.
Guerrero’s inclusion in the team at 37 displays just low little fresh talent is coming through for Gareca. Yes, he helped Los Incas to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, but now a few years older, it is unlikely he can inspire the team to progress to Qatar.
Ecuador are coming off of a loss as are Peru. Wednesday’s game is likely to finish in a score draw as the two national teams struggle to get the goals needed to claim a win.