Another 2022 World Cup ticket is getting handed out on Monday as Australia and Peru clash in an intercontinental playoff. The Aussies are looking to secure their fifth trip to the World Cup finals while Peru hope to seal a second consecutive spot at the tournament.
Bookmaker 10bet has the odds at 4.95 for Peru to win both halves and at 18.00 for Australia to win each half.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: June 12th, 9:30 A.M. (EST)
Peru are the favorites on Monday, but it’s a one-off game and anything can happen. The Australian side is very experienced and they know how to sneak out results. Graham Arnold’s record as the team manager speaks for itself as the Socceroos have lost just six of 30 games under him.
Australia’s run during the World Cup qualifiers includes an amazing 11-game winning streak and the team should be a confident bunch although Peru aren’t exactly slumping either.
Local legends Jefferson Farfan and Paolo Guerrero don’t feature for the side anymore, but Peru have still stayed strong and the team enters Monday’s match-up with a run of six wins in nine games. The run of results also features just a single loss.
Argentinian Ricardo Gareca has been in charge of Peru since 2015 and he’s proven time and time again that he knows how to get the best out of the team. His work has been very impressive as Peru doesn’t have a very deep talent pool. In fact, the average age of the team stands at 29.2, which shows that youth development seems to be a big issue in Peruvian football.
A lot of the current players won’t be around anymore when the next World Cup rolls around so they should be very highly motivated to qualify for the 2022 tournament.
Christian Cueva has been a vital piece for the team in the qualifiers and he is expected to shine again against Australia. The 30-year-old attacking midfielder led Peru with five goals in the South American qualifiers and also had two assists.
With Farfan and Guerrero out of the picture Peru lacks star power, but there are still a number of tricky offensive players in the squad and Australia can get easily punished if they make any mistakes defensively.
The two teams meet for only the second time ever. They first got acquainted with each other during the last World Cup when Guerrero was the star of the show and led Peru to a 2-0 win with a goal and an assist. The stage is set for a new hero to step up on Monday.
