El Comercio-Ipsos Survey: 9 out of 10 Peruvians believe in qualifying for the Qatar 2022 World Cup

“Faith is the most beautiful thing”declared the former defender Luis Guadalupe, giving a football celebration the necessary dose of poetry. That video went viral on all social networks, among other factors, because sports faith is in the DNA of the average Peruvian fan. The fan of the bicolor likes to win, but above all to believe. The latest national survey by El Comercio-Ipsos confirms this trend.

89 percent of those surveyed believe that Peru will qualify for the Qatar 2022 World Cup. The closing of the year of the bicolor has returned that feeling that great objectives can be achieved. Six points out of six disputed determined the expected jump of the white and red in the table of positions of the Playoffs.

The figure that persists with the World Cup illusion is overwhelming, 6% do not see possibilities for the bicolor, while 5% of the survey does not specify.

“I have told them that we have to run the same as our rivals in order to have a chance to go to the World Cup”, he replied Ricardo Gareca to the ESPN network, as a way of relating how are his harangues to face this closing of the Qualifiers. The ‘Tigre’ has also come out with a very good rating in this El Comercio-Ipsos survey. 95% of those surveyed approve of Gareca’s work in the selection process. That is, the Argentine coach returns to obtain the figures of four years ago, when Peru became the last team classified for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Stays?

Juan Carlos Oblitas, sports director of the Peruvian Football Federation, it also enjoys significant acceptance. The ‘Blind’ has maintained his averages of the last four years.

In fact, Oblitas, in dialogue with this newspaper, announced that there is an open interest of the FPF in renewing Ricardo Gareca’s contract for four more. 82% of those surveyed consider that the ‘Tiger’ must remain for one more process, with a view to the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. “We have a contract until March and it will only be automatically renewed if we qualify for the World Cup. In case this does not happen, Peru will continue to have the priority to talk”Gareca said in his last press conference in Lima. It is important to specify that the Oblitas contract will also expire at the end of March (it has the same clause as Ricardo Gareca).

The future

In the first half of December, some of the soccer players from the local tournament, from the United States MLS, and some who are completing their recovery phase, will begin to attend Videna, such as Paolo Guerrero and Andy Polo.

In the case of Ricardo Gareca, his return is scheduled for after the Christmas and New Year holidays. The physical trainer, Néstor Bonillo, will have a somewhat cooler schedule in December as he is in charge of supervising the work of the footballers who are going to train Videna.

The friendly matches are already very close to being confirmed. Panama is the first option as a rival between January 8 and 12. The other team would also be from Concacaf. The Panamanian squad today is in playoff position.

. Lozano will run for the next FPF elections, probably as the only candidate.

As confirmed by the El Comercio-Ipsos survey, faith in the Peruvian fan has returned. Two months to go until the Double Playoff date. At the end of January, Colombia awaits us in Barranquilla and starting in February, Ecuador will come to the National Stadium. There is time to hold this pleasant illusion.