World Cup qualifying is always a tense affair, especially in an environment like South America. When the entire continent is in a single giant qualifying group with everyone playing everyone else twice, we can see some pretty crazy swings in form and standings. Two teams hoping that those swings favor them will be going head to head in qualifying action on Friday, with struggling Peru hosting Paraguay.
Peru vs. Paraguay 2015 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch World Cup qualifying online
In a rematch of the Copa America third-place match, Peru are aiming to beat Paraguay again as they search for their first CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying points.
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Peru, who beat Paraguay to finish third in the Copa America this past summer, have yet to earn a single point in qualifying through the first two rounds of play. Part of that is some unlucky scheduling -- Colombia and Chile were their first two opponents, and they're both pretty darn good teams -- but they've also been unconvincing on defense and often flat in attack over the last few months. Paraguay have earned a couple of of upsets, with an eye-opening defensive showing against Argentina at home following a mildly surprising but fairly convincing win away at Venezuela.
How this one plays out seems very up in the air. Both teams are very evenly matched, and while Peru have the home field advantage, Paraguay have the edge in form. This match could go almost anywhere in terms of its result, and seeing what winds up driving the final score should be fascinating to watch happen.
Key Peru player -- Paulo Guerrero
Guerrero's tough, hard-nosed style is a perfect fit for a game like this. Paraguay's defense isn't afraid to play rough, and Guerrero will give as good as he gets -- and oh yeah, he's a pretty darn good striker, too. He's getting on in years, but he's arguably Peru's best striker right now, and is having a solid season for Flamengo in Brazil. Paraguay will need to focus on stopping him in order to make sure they hold Peru down -- but Guerrero won't let himself be stopped without putting up one heck of a fight first.
Key Paraguay player -- Nelson Valdez
The versatile Seattle Sounders forward is coming off a strong but injury-plagued club campaign and the emotions of a turbulent playoff exit. That could wind up going very well or very poorly for Paraguay, because he could either focus that disappointing loss into fuel for for a man of the match-quality performance, or lose his focus altogether and wind up being a liability on the pitch. Obviously they’ll be hoping for the former, because when Valdez is “on,” he is almost impossible to hold at bay, especially in a match like this.
Match Date/Time: Friday, 9:15 p.m. ET
Venue: Estadio Nacional de Lima, Lima, Peru
TV: beIN Sports en Español (U.S. & Canada - Spanish), Andina de Television (Peru), Tigo Sports (Paraguay)
Online: Fubo TV, beIN Sports Connect (U.S. & Canada),
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