Colombia continues World Cup qualifying without James Rodriguez, with the Cafeteros star’s controversial exclusion from the national team for qualifying and Copa América drawing plenty of the national spotlight.
New coach Reinaldo Rueda, hired in January to help turn around the national team’s qualifying campaign, has made the call, and it’s a significant one as he roams the sidelines of a match that will feel like a must-win for both sides.
While Colombia has four points through its first four matches, Peru only has one, and if it wants to reach a second straight World Cup after ending a lengthy drought, then it’ll need to start accumulating points immediately.
How to Watch:
Time: 10 p.m. ET
TV Channel: None in the USA
Live Stream: You can watch the match live via fuboTV.
Lineups:
Peru XI: Gallese; Corzo, Ramos, Abram, Trauco; Tapia, Yotun; Advincula, Cueva, Carrillo; Guerrero
Colombia XI: Ospina; Medina, Mina, Sánchez, Tesillo; Cuadrado, Cuéllar, Uribe, Díaz; Muriel, Zapata
Colombia opened qualifying with a promising 3-0 win over Venezuela, but since then, a draw vs. Chile and embarrassing defeats to Uruguay and Ecuador turned the tide. The 6-1 defeat to Ecuador in November spelled the end for manager Carlos Queiroz and left Colombia with a goal differential of -5.
Since Peru’s opening draw with Paraguay, it’s been a string of defeats, with Ricardo Gareca’s men falling to Brazil, Chile and Argentina consecutively.
Peru and Colombia will also meet later this month as part of the group stage at Copa América, which was moved from Colombia and Argentina to Brazil in a late switch by CONMEBOL.
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