This is a match which, this Monday, will not fail to interest the Blues just before welcoming Croatia to the Stade de France.
In Qatar, Australia and Peru compete with the challenge of a place in the World Cup, and more precisely in Group D, along with France, Denmark and Tunisia.
The kick-off of this intercontinental play-off, the penultimate qualifying match for the World Cup, will be given at 9 p.m. (local time, 8 p.m. in France) in the air-conditioned air of the Ahmad ben Ali stadium in Al-Rayyan (at West of Doha), which will host seven matches during the tournament from November 21 to December 18.
ALL SET!
It will be: Peru 🇵🇪 vs Australia 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/C9k4ctXJYv
— Because I'm Peruvian 🇵🇪 (@BcuzImPeruvian) June 7, 2022
The Peruvian selection, 22nd in the Fifa rankings and 5th in the qualifications for the South American zone, is aiming for a sixth participation in the World Cup, the second in a row after 2018 – which had been obtained after 36 years of absence.
The Australian "Socceroos", 42nd nation in the world and 3rd in their qualifying group, have kept their hopes of playing a sixth World Cup alive by beating the United Arab Emirates 2-1 in a pre-play-off match in the Asia zone. in Qatar last week.
The two countries have only faced each other once before, in the 1st round of the 2018 World Cup in Russia where they were in the group of ... Blues and Denmark, in a match that ended in a 2- 0 of the South Americans, already under the leadership of the Argentinian coach Ricardo Gareca.
Accustomed to play-offs to access the World Cup, Australia likes this position of outsider, "back to the wall", as coach Graham Arnold claimed after the victory over the Emirates: "I instilled in these guys that, sometimes, you don't play well, but you can still win by fighting, running, chasing and being aggressive.
And that too can be a success.
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In the opposite camp, Peruvian midfielder Renato Tapia foresees "a very difficult match" against "a very physical, very tough opponent", as he confided in a press conference last week in Barcelona, ​​where his team won 1-0 against New Zealand in a friendly.
"Our national team always plays a final in every game and this (dam) is the most important of our lives in recent years," added Edison Flores, another midfielder.
In the country, the public authorities are in tune with their national teams.
Monday has thus been declared a public holiday for Peruvian officials, in order to allow them to follow the meeting.
Twelve shamans performed a ceremony at the top of a sacred hill in Lima on Friday to try to influence its outcome... After Australia - Peru, the last ticket for the World Cup will be disputed on Tuesday, between Costa Rica and New Zealand who are vying for the last spot in Group E, along with Spain, Germany and Japan.