Peru vs Bolivia: three reasons to believe in a victory for the national team in La Paz

It is always inevitable to look at the table, check the matches that are coming and make a game of what would happen if certain results are given. It is more inevitable if Peru he has just won a very important game against Chile and is only three points from fifth place, square that gives access to the playoffs.

The normal thing is that the fan is put in the optimal scene, to win. And the math is simple: if Colombia loses to Brazil, Peru beats Bolivia in La Paz and Chile does its home work against Paraguay, Ricardo Gareca’s team enters the qualifying zone. Of course, the opposite can happen and we go to sleep on Sunday at six points, but nobody wants to think about it.

The question that many of us ask ourselves is: Can Peru really beat Bolivia in La Paz? History says no. We have played eight times at the height and we have only achieved two draws. It has always cost us and we have tried everything. From taking players (from teams like Cienciano) who are used to being more than 3,000 meters above sea level, to doing all kinds of physical exams to the campus to find out who performs better.

For Russia 2018, the highland team beat us 2-0 on the field. But the inclusion of a player who was not qualified made Peru receive the three points. In the archives it counts as a win, but on the grass they were better.

Can history be made this Sunday? Here are three reasons to believe in a victory for Peru in La Paz

We have learned to play at height

The best demonstration are the last two games we played with Ecuador in Quito. Without testing from another generation, neither doing microcycles to adapt, nor taking footballers ‘tall’. Peru added two wins in a row against the third of the Qualifiers with the players we all know. And when you analyze and rewatch those games, you realize that the key was in the approach. They were duels in which the national team knew how to hold zero, never lost order and planted more to get out of the backlash and exploit spaces. He played them intelligently and finished – both in the second half – when he had the chance to do so.

Performance of Gianluca Lapadula in the past match against Ecuador it was remarkable. He ran, scored and gave the two goal passes. He played as if all his life he had played matches in height. There is no doubt that Gareca has saved it against Chile to have it 100% this Sunday.

Of course, between Quito and La Paz there are almost 800 meters of difference. It is not the same, but the Ecuadorian city is the best way to measure ourselves.

The level of Bolivia

Bolivia has not been able to form a squad with high-level footballers for a long time to dream of a classification. It is not news to say that he is a weak selection, but this may be one of his lowest points. His only outstanding player is Marcelo Martins -which could be playing his last qualifying round- and from there there are five more footballers who are active abroad. Of them, Carlos Lampe, the goalkeeper, is the most recognized.

In this Qualifying Qatar 2022 he has 6 points product of a victory and three draws. In La Paz he lost against Argentina, fell to Ecuador, defeated Venezuela and drew with Colombia. It is not in the last position of the table of positions – the Vinotinto has four points- but it is the team that has received the most goals: 25. That is, 2.5 per game. He already has three defeats in a row and we have to take advantage of this bad moment.

The team present

The victory against Chile has given us another air from every point of view: in the table, in the mood and in the football. We are not that far from fifth place anymore, the players are more motivated than ever and we finally won a match with even performances on all lines. And that’s where I want to stop.

If on the last triple date we suffered with the defensive problems of Santamaría, now we see with good eyes the Ramos-Callens duo, impassable against Chile. In the middle, we have achieved greater ball control with three players, two of whom might not be there if it weren’t for the casualties. Yotún, Aquino and Peña played a great game and it would be rare for the Argentine coach to change them in La Paz. Upstairs, Cueva is impressive. The Peruvian attacker is at a superlative level and never as focused as now.