The rivals, the shadow of Gareca and why it is Elimination seems more difficult than the previous two for the selection

Let’s analyze: Peru debuts on September 7 against Paraguay visiting Ciudad del Este, in a field unknown to the Peruvian delegation and without confirmation that the efforts will be in charge of Antonio García Pye, the experienced team manager. The red-and-white debuts the Argentine coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto officially, who has summoned 21 players who are active abroad. Simply, because of the location and individual weight, Paraguay is a favorite. First possible defeat.

Then we face a power like Brazil in Lima. For Juan Reynoso’s Peruvian team to achieve three points against a team valued at close to a billion dollars according to Transfermarket is to put themselves in a rather optimistic position. We lost the last two games against Brazil in Lima (0-2 in the process for Russia 2018 and 2-4 for Qatar 2022). I am sure that a draw would be a good result for Reynoso. Second probable defeat.

The third game is against Chile in Santiago, the visiting classic from the south. La Roja is hurt after being left out of the last two World Cups and thanks to Eduardo Berizzo, they take it for granted that those three points stay at home to start the qualifiers on the right foot. Third game that could be lost.

To make matters worse, we faced the Argentina of Lionel Scaloni and Lionel Messi, the last world champion in Qatar 2022, on the fourth date in Lima. That is, we played in Lima against the two South American powers and the visiting classic from the south. On top of that, we debuted against the fierce Paraguay on the first date. A horror fixture in the first four days.

Peru is closer to losing all four games than rescuing a point. Juan Reynoso said in his last press conference that his objective is to achieve 50% of the points in dispute, it is a fairly high fence that the coach of the now renamed “bicolor” team has set.

Man to man, or collectively, Peru is nothing more than any of these four teams. If we do indeed lose all four games, the press and the fans themselves will begin to miss Ricardo Gareca more than ever and we may fall for the record of having let Gareca go or of having “kicked him out”, as the Argentine journalist Jorge Barraza indicated in a interview I did for my YouTube channel.

With Gianluca Lapadula in the process of recovering from an operation on his right ankle and the absence of Carlos Zambrano due to injury, Reynoso also loses two key players in an eleven that has few replacements and that cannot afford to give anything away.

It is in the best interest of all of us that Peru do well and fight for the classification. From sports journalists to the corner grocer who sells more beers on game days. But unfortunately the winds are not in our favor, especially in the game. Above all, everything that has to do with Videna has a bad vibe today due to the doubts and complaints that fall on the management of the president of the FPF, Agustín Lozano. Internally it is known that the atmosphere of the selection has changed a lot in recent times. But for bad.

The fact that FIFA has given Conmebol two more places for this new format of 48 teams in the next World Cup does not ensure that we are classified in advance. Paraguay, Colombia, Chile, Venezuela and Bolivia are going to fight for those two additional direct places as well. Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and even Ecuador are virtual classified, a catastrophe would have to happen for it not to be so.

If Peru loses the first four games, Gareca’s image will become even more current in the fan’s imaginary group, an insight that a bank has activated with exact timing, launching a spot with the Argentine coach, just before the start of the qualifiers South American. It is that Reynoso knows very well that when he sits on the bench of the selection, he always has the shadow of Gareca behind.

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