Two shots in 270 minutes and a team that looks fearful: conclusions from a Peru that today is penultimate in the Qualifiers

The only thing there is time for is to rethink the three games. And look at Messi’s Argentina as that key game to start over. I, who belong to the second group, look at the Qualifiers for what it is, a marathon and not a 100-meter race. Of course, with terrible concern.

The idea

Having played three qualifying matches, adding just one point, and Juan Reynoso’s plan has already been rehearsed with the team in 11 games – 4 wins, two draws and 5 losses -, it would have to be said that Peru, more than defensive, is harmless. His game plan involves having two very solid lines of four, which avoid cracks, eight men chosen from the best physical conditions the hours before the game. The zero adds to it. That’s why Tapia was a back against Brazil, ahead of other men made for the position. That’s why Callens doesn’t play, even though he has played 4 games in 25 days. And although he resists, and can spend 60, 70 minutes entrenched near Gallese, the team feels uncomfortable, contained: tied in a straitjacket. He allows himself to be hit and hit and only when he acknowledges receipt and is groggy, does he rush out to try some counter, some zigzag, some cross. And sometimes it’s either too late – like against Brazil at 88′ – or the attention is no longer the same – like in the two Chilean goals.

Defending yourself is, of course, a plan. Reynoso believes the locks in the hardware store much more than in the chocolate factory. Bilardo knew that the most important thing was tactical discipline to protect himself and thus he became world champion, but he knew that he had to attack. The problem is just playing that. Peru will never be Uruguay, his sensitivity demands something else. The debt is here. Paolo Guerrero said it best: “We don’t play, we never meet.” Categorical.

Players

The best Peru of the last eight years was always supported by six notable soccer players, who reached the elite and went to the World Cup. Two of them are no longer there -Cueva and Flores-, one is 39 years old -Paolo-, the other is 33 -Yotún- and only two of them keep intact the profile needed to win a game. I’m talking about Tapia and Gallese. Reynoso’s selection is built on this column, and not even the efforts to have something similar to a replacement elevate the category of a team that is predictable, tired, and, above all, without the surprise or the imprint of other times.

Is it possible to think of a reaction from the technical command and the serious inclusion of footballers like Grimaldo or Reyna and not as alternatives with 20 minutes left? Is it crazy or is it urgent, thinking that that Generation Russia 2018 will not arrive in real condition to compete when the Qualifiers end in 2026? The adjustments have to be made now, since three dates have only been played and that horrible ninth place can be traced back.

The goal

Three games and only two shots on goal. No goal option in Brazil. Nothing clear with Chile. The cruelty of the team’s attacking numbers is an urgent wake-up call, forcing us to rethink whether the team’s only option is to depend on a miracle or, in other words, a geometric shot by Paolo Guerrero (who has 39 goals with the national team but has not scored one for three years). The wingers don’t work, Yotún is easily approached and the young attackers on the list are just that, part of the list. The worst offensive record in South America, played three rounds of Qualifiers – zero goals – hides a mathematical spell that for decades was a curse and seemed conjured. You go to the World Cup with goals. Even if it’s goals won at the table.