The almost thirty names that have been on the playing field against Paraguay, Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Bolivia are only surpassed by Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. All of these teams have accumulated at least two defeats in this qualifying process and share the same problem as our national team: they still cannot define a starting lineup. They are in the middle of the testing process, something quite risky in a tournament of this magnitude.
It is not a pure coincidence that Argentina, the leading team in the classification, is also the one that has called up the fewest players to face the start of the South American Qualifiers. Lionel Scaloni has only had the participation of 21 men. This circumstance is explained by the recent achievement of the ‘Albiceleste’ as world champion, which has allowed them to maintain a consolidated basic scheme. More than 90% of the squad that achieved glory at Qatar 2022 remains in action.
Country | Number of players |
---|---|
Brazil | 33 |
Bolivia | 30 |
Paraguay | 30 |
Peru | 29 |
Colombia | 28 |
Ecuador | 27 |
Chili | 25 |
Venezuela | 25 |
Uruguay | 25 |
Argentina | twenty-one |
One step further down are Uruguay, Venezuela and Chile. The most notable case is the team led by ‘Maestro’ Tabárez, who did not have to consider many names when starting his pre-World Cup process. Despite leaving out several experienced players, he has not rotated his squad much, and they are currently in second position in the overall table. Although one step below, but equally worthy of applause, is what Venezuela has achieved. Fernando Batista has left behind the time of experimenting with different names and has chosen to maintain a constant scheme in his attempt to take the llaneros to their first World Cup event.
Peru and its long list
Only Pedro Gallese has been a constant in all the bicolor starting elevens. Subsequently, Juan Reynoso made substantial changes to defenders, midfielders and attackers. On the defensive line, he tried 11 players, including full-backs and central defenders.. A few meters later, he opted for eight midfielders, either in marking or creative roles. In the forward zone, he opted for nine wingers and center forwards.
Defenses | Midfielders | Attackers |
---|---|---|
Carlos Zambrano | Renato Tapia | Paolo Guerrero |
Luis Advíncula | Yoshimar Yotun | Andre Carrillo |
Marcos Lopez | Peter Aquino | Bryan Reyna |
Luis Abram | Christofer Gonzales | Andy Polo |
Aldo Corzo | Wilder Cartagena | Raúl Ruidíaz |
Miguel Araujo | Sergio Pena | Edison Flores |
Miguel Trauco | Jesus Castillo | Joao Grimaldo |
Carlos Ascues | Piero Quispe | Franco Zanelatto |
Alexander Callens | Gianluca Lapadula | |
Nilson Loyola | ||
Anderson Santamaria |
A vital area
Peru is the second team with the most goals against in the Qualifiers. If it weren’t for the outstanding performances of Pedro Gallese, we could even occupy the last position in this statistic. The national goalkeeper has seen his goal violated seven times, a figure that is attributed to the discreet level exhibited by the defenders lined up by Juan Reynoso in the first five days.
So far, six central defenders They have defended our shirt: Carlos Zambrano, Alexander Callens, Miguel Araujo, Luis Abram, Carlos Ascues and Anderson Santamaría. However, neither duo has managed to consolidate. The last ones were Carlos Zambrano and Alexander Callens, a tandem that disappointed in La Paz, being directly responsible for the goals of the highland team. Given this scenario, it is very likely that, against Venezuela, they will choose to change and look for a new pair of central defenders.
It is important to note that Renato Tapia has also played this position, which brings to seven the number of players who have tried to protect Gallese’s goal, without success. It is striking that Juan Reynoso, familiar with that position, should represent one of the main strengths on his tactical board. Also taking into account that his style prioritizes defending his own goal before entering the rival area. This is somewhat contradictory.
Paraguay vs. Peru | Peru vs. Brazil | Chile vs. Peru | Peru vs. Argentina | Bolivia vs. Peru |
---|---|---|---|---|
Miguel Araujo-Luis Abram | Renato Tapia-Luis Abram | Carlos Zambrano-Luis Abram | Anderson Santamaría- Luis Abram | Carlos Zambrano-Alexander Callens |
Experience or replacement
As for the attack, it is clear that Paolo Guerrero and the already recovered Gianluca Lapadula are the two fixed names to occupy the ‘9’ position, either individually or by finding the right system to make them play together. However, the problem lies in the winger position. Juan Reynoso has tried two types of players, both experienced and young.
Within the first group are footballers who have already taken us to a World Cup, such as André Carrillo, Edison Flores and Andy Polo. None of the three showed their best credentials in the last two qualifying processes, although some have not had as many minutes as they would have liked.
Given the lack of response from senior players, Juan Reynoso turned to young blood and placed Bryan Reyna, Franco Zanelatto and Joao Grimaldo on the field. Although they did not manage to make transcendental plays, they left the impression of deserving more opportunities. This is largely due to the fact that they were not affected by the difficult situation of the team or the quality of the rival. This last aspect is evidenced by the good debut of Zanelatto against Argentina and Grimaldo against Brazil.
Players | Bryan Reyna | Franco Zanelatto | Joao Grimaldo |
---|---|---|---|
Games played | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Minutes per game | 30 | 62 | 53 |
Duels won | 64% | Four. Five% | 3. 4% |
Pass Accuracy | 63% | 74% | 84% |
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