All about the Peru Team at Football World Cup 2018
Peru was the final team to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The team beat New Zealand to qualify for the tournament, and have made it into a draw with Spain, England, Mexico, Colombia, Switzerland, Croatia and Uruguay. The team dedicated their qualifying win to their striker, Paolo Guerro, who has been suspended on suspicion of doping. Peru has a long history of involvement with the World Cup. They took part in the very first one in 1930, and have been involved in every tournament to take place since 1958, although they have only gotten past the qualifiers on four occasions - 1970, 78 and 82, and in 2018. There were no qualifiers for the 1930 World Cup.
Tips for Betting on Peru in the World Cup 2018
It can be fun to put a bet on the overall outcome, but the smart money goes on the matches. Striker Paolo Guerrero has been given permission to play at the World Cup – his suspension was reduced from 12 months, down to just 6. This means that the team is looking a lot stronger and that it could well do very well in Group C.
Guerrero has had suspensions for yellow card accumulation, so with him back in the game, betting on that could be a good way to move the odds in your favour. As the matches draw closer, the odds are falling more into line, but there could still be some option for arbitrage if you check the odds across multiple sites. A bet on Jose Paolo Guerrero as the top scorer at the time of writing would be 7/2 (3.75). A flutter on Christian Ramos is 19/1 (20) – an outside chance, but also a good chance to potentially net some big wins.
Betting Odds on Peru to Win the World Cup 2018
The betting odds for teams to win the World Cup right now are varying significantly, but if you bet early you could stand to win big. At the time of writing, for example, offering odds vary between from 200 to 1 (201.00) on Peru winning the World Cup to 250 to 1 (251.00) – contrast this to Brazil, which has odds of 5 to 1 (6) to win, and you can see that few expect it to happen!
Expected Peru Lineup at the World Cup
Peru has a strong team. The players that were called up for the qualification and play-off games where:
Goalkeepers:
- Pedro Gallese
- Carlos Caceda
- Jose Carvallo
Defenders:
- Alberto Rodriguez
- Aldo Corzo
- Anderson Santamaria
- Adrian Zela
- Miguel Trauco
- Christian Ramos
- Luis Advincula
- Nilson Loyola
Midfielders:
- Paulo Hurtado
- Christian Cueva
- Renato Tapia
- Andy Polo
- Andre Carrillo
- Wilder Caragena
- Yoshimar Yotun
- Edison Flores
- Pedro Aquino
Forwards
- Yordy Reyna
- Jefferson Farfan
- Raul Ruidiaz
They have a much bigger squad than this, but many of the other players are older and have not been called up for a year or more. The ‘ones to watch’ include youngsters such as Pedro Aquino and Nilson Loyola, as well as stalwarts such as Jefferson Farfan, who has scored 23 goals for the team already. Having Paulo Guerrero back on the squad is a boon for the team. He has 86 appearances and 32 goals to his name, and is a sure-thing to be making regular appearances in the squad, including in the early Group C games.
Peru’s players are strong in a number of different formations. One potential formation, with the return of Guerro, is a 3-4-3 made up of:
- Gallesse in Goal
- Rodriguez / Ramos / Corzo
- Trauco / Yotun / Tapia / Advincula
- Flores / Guerrero / Carrilo
Getting to the World Cup was a struggle for Peru. They are a young team, and most of the players are still ones form the Primera Division. Carrillo is the only English-based team member, and Jason Farfan, a key part of their team, is now 32 years old, which is quite an age compared to some of the others. Farfan also has the dubious claim to fame of being regarded as the most underwhelming 84-rated player in the history of Fifa. Now that they’ve qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 36 years, Gareca will have a balancing act to do figuring out who to play. The World Cup is not a stage on which one would want to be attempting to develop fresh talent.
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Paulo Guerrero
Shirt number nine, Guerrero is 34 years old and is a centre-forward. He was born in Lima, Peru, and has an impressive record with 83 international caps and 32 international goals. He was facing a twelve-month suspension for suspected drug use, but that has been reduced to a six-month suspension, which means that he is now free to take part in World Cup games. He is definitely one to watch.
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Christian Ramos
Centre-back Christian Ramos has an international cap record of 58, with two goals. He was born in Lima, Peru, and is 29 years old. He made his debut on the adult squad aged 20, and has been a strong performer over the last few years, avoiding injury, and suffering just one red card suspension.
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Andre Carrillo
Andre Carrillo is a relatively young talent, being aged just 26. He was born in Lima, Peru, and currently plays for Watford in the Premier League. He is expected to be a prominent player on the Peruvian World Cup squad, however. He has an international record of 36 caps and 3 goals and is a reliable right wing player.
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