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Last Monday, Depor learned that Christian Cueva is suffering from a knee injury, which has not allowed him to be at his best in the last rounds of the Liga 1 Betsson; in fact, this caused his name not to appear in Juan Reynoso's universe to play the first matches of the 2026 Eliminatories. In the midst of this context, Juan Carlos Oblitas - Sports Director of the FPF - took charge of giving details of the injury and the limitations it caused in 'Aladino'.
"In the case of Christian (Cueva), I have talked to him. He has a problem in his knee; he can play, but it also limits him for training. That is why he is not in the best physical condition. Perhaps he has not done the right thing with the Peruvian National Team; that is why his non-call is purely a technical matter," stated the director in a press conference.
Pay attention to a detail, Christian Cueva already knows what it's like to play under Juan Reynoso: he was in the friendly matches against Mexico, El Salvador, Paraguay, Bolivia, South Korea, and Japan. However, he did not appear on the list of call-ups for the start of the qualifying process, where we faced Paraguay, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina.
Wearing the blanquiazul shirt, the midfielder has played 1,217 minutes and 22 matches. However, he hasn't scored yet. In the Copa Libertadores, he didn't have great numbers either: he appeared in five group stage matches, but he couldn't score either.
Oblitas on Liga 1 Betsson
Juan Carlos Oblitas also took the time to talk about the current situation of the Liga 1 Betsson and expressed his concern because there hasn't been any progress. "Recently, I handed over some guidelines regarding licensing to the General Secretary of the Federation, and tomorrow I will have a meeting with Jesús Gonzales; a couple of directors requested a meeting to exchange ideas, but we are not making progress. If I say otherwise, I would be lying to their faces and that's not who I am. That's why I'm asking, what are we doing to try to change this?," he said.
In turn, the Sports Director of the FPF pointed out that "we all know that our league is not one of the best, we know that perfectly; I would ask myself what we have done to improve the league and I include myself. We had a certain improvement in infrastructure, lighting, type of fields, and unfortunately we had a setback. Now, what are the clubs doing so that there is not so much talk about gambling, double contracts? We are all part of the problem and I feel frustrated because of that."
What will be Peru's next matches?
After their last defeat by 0-2 against Argentina, the Peruvian National Team will play again next month when they visit Bolivia for the fifth round of the 2026 Eliminatories. This match is scheduled for Thursday, November 16th at 3:00 p.m. (Peruvian time and one hour more in Bolivian territory), it will be played at the Hernando Siles Stadium (La Paz), and will be televised by América TV, ATV, and Movistar Deportes.
Later, completing the last double matchday of 2023 - they will not play again until September 2024, after the Copa America of that year -, the 'Blanquirroja' will host Venezuela for the sixth round. This match is scheduled for Tuesday, November 21st at 9:00 p.m. (Peruvian time and one hour more in Venezuelan territory), it will take place at the Estadio Nacional and will also be broadcast in our country by the aforementioned channels.