To conquer Europe. The peruvian team It will be released this 2023 and the rival will be a world potential: Germany. The bicolor, led by Juan Reynoso, will visit the Germans this Saturday from 2:45 pm, in Mainz. It will be the fifth game for ‘Cabezón’ and, without a doubt, this will be the most difficult test since he took over. and see what we are made of facing the Playoffs 2026 which will start in September. In addition, it will be the return of Peru to Europe, a continent where it played 28 games, between official and friendly games. The first time was at the 1936 Olympic Games and the last time we ‘crossed the pond’ was last year, when we defeated New Zealand 1-0 in Spain, prior to the playoff against Australia, qualifying for the Qatar World Cup 2022. In total, we won 8, drew 6 and lost 14 games. In this special we tell you about the adventure of the bicolor in Europe throughout history.
The first time that the Peruvian team set foot in Europe was for the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. The base was made up of Sport Boys soccer players, reinforced by some from Alianza Lima and Universitario de Deportes. The bicolor faced and defeated Finland and Austria, with great performances from ‘Lolo’ Fernández, ‘Manguera’ Villanueva and ‘Campolo’ Alcalde. This national participation generated a lot of controversy, since several hypotheses were woven about a two-color plot. Even from an intervention by Adolf Hitler, something that could never be verified. The only thing that is certain is that in that game against Austria (Peruvian victory 4-2), Peruvian fans invaded the playing field and, faced with the claim of the rival, the national leaders did not show up on time and that is why the European team agreed to semifinals.
DATE
PLACE
TOURNAMENT
GAME
PERU GOALS
08/06/1936
Berlin (GER)
Olympic Games
Finland 3-7 PERU
‘Lolo’ Fernandez (5), Alejandro Villanueva (2)
08/09/1936
Berlin (GER)
Olympic Games
Austria 2-4 PERU
Jorge Alcalde, Alejandro Villanueva (2), ‘Lolo’ Fernandez
The Peruvian team at the 1936 Olympic Games. (Photo: El Comercio)
Two World Cups in 36 years
Peru played two World Cup events on the European continent. The first time was in 1982, when the team led at that time by the Brazilian Tim arrived in Spain with the favorite sign to reach the round of 16. The bicolor had as figures Julio César Uribe, César Cueto, José Velásquez, Juan Carlos Oblitas and Teófilo Cubillas, who rejoined the squad prior to the World Cup and preceded by his 10 goals that he achieved in Mexico 1970 and Argentina 1978. The goal of overcoming the group stage was not achieved, but nobody thought that we would wait 36 years to return. The second experience was in Russia 2018, a World Cup expected by all. Ricardo Gareca restored the identity and illusion to a group of footballers hungry for glory, led by Paolo Guerrero, Jefferson Farfán, Christian Cueva, among others.
In the last 50 years, Peru has played twenty friendlies on the ‘Old Continent’. Whether to face local teams or for neutral clashes. It all started with a preparatory tour to face the 1974 Qualifiers. The coach was the Bulgarian Lajos Barotti and he arrived well preceded. The results were not as expected and the team did not qualify for the World Cup in Germany, despite having the base of the Mexico 1970 team. A game more remembered by the national fan is that game against France, in the ‘Parque de los Príncipes ‘. It was 1982 and the bicolor was preparing in Europe for the World Cup in Spain. The visit to the ‘Gauls’, which had Michel Platini as its top star, was one of the most stately presentations according to specialists of the time. A game where stars like César Cueto and Julio César Uribe gave a football concert that even the French recognized with applause.
DATE
PLACE
TOURNAMENT
GAME
PERU GOALS
04/19/1972
kyiv (USSR)
Friendly
Soviet Union 2-0 Peru
04/23/1972
Bucharest (ROM)
Friendly
Romania 2-2 Peru
Percy Rojas, Teofilo Cubillas
04/26/1972
Glasgow (SCO)
Friendly
Scotland 2-0 Peru
05/03/1972
Rotterdam (NED)
Friendly
Netherlands 3-0 Peru
09/12/1979
Glasgow (SCO)
Friendly
Scotland 1-1 Peru
German Leguia
04/18/1982
Budapest (HUN)
Friendly
Hungary 1-2 PERU
Julio Cesar Uribe (2)
04/28/1982
Paris (FRA)
Friendly
France 0-1 PERU
Juan Carlos Oblitas
10/10/1998
Einhoven (NED)
Friendly
Netherlands 2-0 Peru
02/18/2004
Barcelona (SPA)
Friendly
Spain 2-1 Peru
Nolberto Solano
06/03/2007
Madrid (SPA)
Friendly
Ecuador 1-2 PERU
Jefferson Farfán, Ulises de la Cruz (against)
06/06/2007
Barcelona (SPA)
Friendly
Ecuador 2-0 Peru
05/31/2008
Huelva (SPA)
Friendly
Spain 2-1 Peru
Hernan Rengifo
03/29/2011
Den Haag (NED)
Friendly
Ecuador 0-0 Peru
05/30/2014
London (ENG)
Friendly
England 3-0 Peru
06/03/2014
Lucerne (SWI)
Friendly
Switzerland 2-0 Peru
06/03/2018
St. Gallen (SWI)
Friendly
Saudi Arabia 0-3 PERU
Andre Carrillo, Paolo Guerrero (2)
06/09/2018
Gothenburg (SWE)
Friendly
Sweden 0-0 Peru
09/06/2018
Amsterdam (NED)
Friendly
Netherlands 2-1 Peru
Peter Aquino
09/09/2018
Sinsheim (GER)
Friendly
Germany 2-1 Peru
Luis Advincula
06/05/2022
Barcelona (SPA)
Friendly
New Zealand 0-1 PERU
Gianluca Lapadula
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