The conclusions that the last exam of the selection left us before the playoff

It was a tough game this morning at the RCDE Stadium. New Zealand, that unforgettable rival that we beat to return to the world championships after 36 years, showed a better face than the one we met at the end of 2017. A less innocent team that went with intensity to each division. It was suffered by Marcos López who had to be changed and spent the last 25 minutes with ice on the bench. Yoshimar Yotún who stepped on him in a clash. And Lapadula who had his ankles bitten off.

With eight days to go before the playoffs and 48 hours to find out who our rival will be, we have passed the test against New Zealand, with some outstanding performances, but also with worrying details. Basically for absences that are irreplaceable. Gareca’s gesture at the end of the game (without the slightest trace of a smile), indicates that there is much to correct in the week. And there is not much time left.

The habit of winning

In the last seven years we have achieved unforeseen triumphs. We have been successful in squares that had always been adverse to us. Hits have been several in the Qualifiers for Russia 2018 and in this last route to Qatar 2022. The Barranquillazo was the last of them. It’s intangible, but it shows: the Peruvian team has gotten used to winning. It is a team that has climbed a rung in that sense. Today against New Zealand we knew how to get the result despite the fact that we suffered in a couple of arrivals (a goal disallowed in the second half and a right shot up the middle that Gallese knew how to conjure up). Vital to continue dreaming of our second consecutive World Cup.

Little forcefulness and elaboration

Gianluca Lapadula is a goal certificate: he has scored seven goals since he decided to process his ID and donned the Blanquirroja. He is not in the physical fullness of it. He was exposed in more than one dive, where he even grabbed his ankle, worrying us. But, like any striker, he manages to extract oil from isolated plays. In the goal, he smelled that the Sail goalkeeper could fail, he hit him, stole it and scored the solitary goal in Catalonia. But beyond the Italian-Peruvian, the Bicolor was not a steamroller. In the summary we don’t have much more than Yotún’s stick (Gareca’s prepared move to take advantage of the corners), and some other insinuation. Our attack depends a lot on how Christian Cueva and André Carrillo get out of bed. They alleviate the 67 minutes of the “Culebra” that a few weeks ago was ruled out for the playoffs. It will come and bite.

intensity in the middle

When Pedro Aquino is focused, he causes a great dilemma for Ricardo Gareca and his technical team. The ‘Rock’ returned after a string of injuries that prevented him from competing in the last qualifying duels, and he did it in the best possible way: imposing conditions in the midfield, making that area his fiefdom. Aquino scratches and plays. He delivers it clean. Not for nothing he was ’10’ during his adolescence. Against such a physical opponent as New Zealand, we needed a strong leg like his. Then the usual questions arise: should he play alongside Renato Tapia? Or will they get in the way? Are Yotún and Peña untouchable? Would it be worth changing the system and the interpreters at this point?

Output losses

New Zealand’s most dangerous play came from a ball taken from Sergio Peña. The Malmo midfielder needs to have it glued to the foot, as if it were a hockey chip. Against some rivals it turns out. But against others, who press high up and fight from corner to corner for the ball, no. Today it was New Zealand, on the 13th it could be Australia and at the end of the year Denmark. Peña must work on his movements, gain dynamics, and release it faster. Yotún, with similar characteristics, suffers from the same constraints. It is the risk of having it.

Right wing uncovered

Luis Advíncula is the absentee who was most noticeable in the minimal victory against New Zealand. Aldo Corzo, who boasts of having controlled Luis Díaz and Neymar, had a hard time with Liberato Cacace, the New Zealand left-back for Italian Empoli. He was seeing the number in more than one play. Carrillo, who was not necessarily born to score, helped him little. It was Carlos Zambrano who had to help the Universitario side. The presence of ‘Rayo’ Advíncula is essential in the playoffs.

weak spare parts

Neither Santiago Ormeño nor Raziel García currently have the level for the highest international competition. It is curious: both are in two prestigious leagues: the Mexican and the Colombian. However, they do not measure up, and the selection does not wait. Raziel is a substitute in Tolima, to the point that he has hardly participated in the Copa Libertadores. He lives for twenty minutes against Brazil. In the case of Ormeño, he seems out of place, as if he had just arrived on the team. Point in his favor: Gabriel Costa did not throw a center when he should have and diluted what could have been a poisonous attack through the air. Canchita Gonzales doing her thing, handing out and going to space. Trauco and Cartagena unnoticed.