One of the names that returned to the Peruvian national team, at least for the preliminary list, was Carlos Zambrano. The Alianza Lima defender left behind his injury and is 100% ready to face the commitments against Chile and Argentina for the 2026 Qualifiers.
The presence of the 'Kaiser' has not gone unnoticed in Chile, especially after his recent statements ahead of the 'Clásico del Pacífico', which will be played on Thursday, October 12th in the city of Santiago.
"With Chile, the matches are always very complicated, knowing that they also have a lot at stake, but we have already dropped a lot of points in the first double header and well, we know it will be a very tough match in which we are going to go out and add because they are a direct rival," clarified the central defender in a press conference.
However, the Chilean press, specifically in this case 'En Cancha', considers Carlos Zambrano as "the most controversial player in Peru". This may be due in large part to his frontal and aggressive style on the field.
Let us remember that in the Peru vs. Chile match in the semifinals of the 2015 Copa America, the 'León' was sent off after delivering a strong kick to the back of Charles Aránguiz. An action that was recorded in the followers of 'La Roja'.
What was Zambrano's last match with Peru?
Carlos Zambrano has not played with Peru since June 20th of this year, when the 'Bicolor' lost 4-1 to Japan in an international friendly. The 'León' played the full 90 minutes of the match.
How did the last Peru vs. Chile match end?
The last 'Clásico del Pacífico' took place on October 7th, 2021 at the Estadio Nacional in Lima, also for the third round of the Qualifiers but towards Qatar 2022. Peru won 2-0 with goals from Christian Cueva and Sergio Peña.