Next win for the Selecao?
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar was just over three quarters of a year ago. Already, the 2026 World Cup in North America is casting its shadow ahead. In South America, the first qualifying matches have already taken place and the second matchday continues there on the night of Wednesday. We check in our Peru vs Brazil tip if the Selecao will get off to a flawless start with their second win in their second match.
It’s the usual qualifying round in South America. All ten teams play in first and second legs for the World Cup tickets. However, this year it takes a lot to miss the World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada. Six South American teams qualify directly, and even the seventh-place team still gets to try intercontinental playoffs.
A place among the top six teams is not the aspiration of the record world champions. They should win the group ahead of their arch-rivals and reigning world champions Argentina. After one matchday, it’s not really worth looking at the standings yet, but already the Selecao are saluting their place in the sun after an emphatic 5-1 win over Bolivia in their first match.
Peruvians, on the other hand, have started with a poor 0-0 draw in Paraguay. It could well end up being tight for the Blanquirrojas to qualify for the World Cup, especially since it’s fair to assume they won’t get off to a good start. In the match between Peru and Brazil, the forecast goes clearly in the direction of an away win and then the Incas would be a little behind early on.
Peru – Statistics & current form
After many years of abstinence, the Peruvians were finally back at a World Cup in 2018, whereas they missed out on qualification in 2022. Many current national players don’t want to go out like that and will want to seize the current opportunity by the scruff of the neck. Among them, Paolo Guerrero, now 39, has been reactivated and given the role of leader in the Blanquirrojas.
Too few goals, too few wins
This year, however, things are not really going well for the Peruvians. Juan Reynoso’s team has just one win from five international matches. In addition, there have been two draws and two defeats. The attack is the main problem area, with only two goals scored in the five games mentioned this calendar year. Therefore, the question arises whether you want to place a bet on goals from both teams in the duel between Peru and Brazil.
In sum, it is safe to say that the effect of new coach Juan Reynoso, enthroned after losing the World Cup playoff to Australia, may have already fizzled out. Last week’s game in Paraguay also showed that the Peruvian train has yet to get rolling, even if the coach was not unhappy with an away point in the aftermath.
Nevertheless, the 0-0 draw in Paraguay also showed where the Peruvians’ game is lacking. However, one could not expect much more than a draw, as right-back Luis Advincula of Boca Juniors was shown the red card right before the break. For an entire half outnumbered, a draw is certainly a decent start. Of course, Advincula will now miss Wednesday night through suspension. Also, Edison Flores, Christian Cueva, Gianluca Lapadula or Anderson Santamaria are not starting due to injury.
Projected lineup of Peru:
Gallese – Trauco, Abram, Araujo, Corzo – Tapia, Yotun – Carrillo, Gonzales, Polo – Guerrero – Coach: Reynoso
Brazil – Statistics & current form
In Brazil, everything is waiting for Carlo Ancelotti, but he will still finish the season at Real Madrid before devoting himself to his new task at the record world champions. In the meantime, Fernando Diniz will take the reins as interim coach of the Selecao and, at best, will have already recorded a number of victories in South America’s World Cup qualifying campaign.
Wins for Ancelotti
Not much has gone right for the Selecao since last year’s World Cup. Among other things, they were defeated in test matches against Morocco and Senegal. Just a few years ago, that would have been an unthinkable scenario. Now, under Fernando Diniz, who made his debut against Bolivia, there should be an upturn in fortunes that will last at best until the handover to Carlo Ancelotti in the summer of 2024.
The start has been strong, to say the least. There was an emphatic 5:1 home victory over Bolivia in Belem at the weekend. However, things started off with a failure. Neymar, whose nomination was hotly debated in Brazil, miserably missed a penalty after a quarter of an hour. So it was up to Rodrygo to give the Selecao a 1-0 lead.
After the changeover, Raphinha, Rodrygo again and then Neymar twice added the goals for a 5:1 victory. Neymar has thus replaced the great Pele as the Brazilians’ record scorer, but not without paying tribute to the legend as he cheered. On Wednesday night, we can expect a similar lineup. Especially Vinicius Junior and Anthony, the latter not because of injury, will be missing for the Selecao. Nevertheless, after the good performance in Belem, we would now dare to predict a handicap victory for the Selecao between Peru and Brazil.
Predicted lineup of Brazil:
Ederson – Lodi, Magalhaes, Marquinhos, Danilo – Guimaraes, Casemiro – Rodrygo, Neymar, Raphinha – Richarlison – Coach: Diniz
Peru – Brazil Direct comparison / H2H balance
In South America you can’t avoid each other at all in the World Cup qualifiers. Therefore, there are regular comparisons between the teams on the continent. Peru and Brazil have played each other 50 times. In the direct comparison, the Selecao is clearly ahead after victories with 36:5. Nine games have ended in a draw.
However, the Blanquirrojas’ last victory was not so long ago. The Peruvians won 1-0 in Brazil just over four years ago, and since then there have been three Brazilian victories. The last meeting was on September 10, 2021, when the Selecao won 2-0 after goals from Everton Ribeiro and Neymar in qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Recife.
Peru – Brazil Tip
Peru certainly has the footballing ability to be in the 2026 World Cup in North America. This also requires only one of the top six positions in the South American qualifiers. That should be doable in any case. The Selecao is not the opponent to look up to in this case. Admittedly, though, a point against the Brazilians would be a bonus point on the road toward the World Cup.
In 2023, however, the Peruvians haven’t really performed well and even scored only two goals. The Brazilians have also had their problems, but seem to have wiped them off the table with a wave of their hand in a 5-1 win over Bolivia.
Tentatively, we can also imagine the visitors winning this game by zero, if we assume a strong Brazilian defense and Peruvian problems in attack. There are actually a few variants to place an interesting bet. In the end, we decided to play the betting odds on HT/FT of the Selecao between Peru and Brazil.
