Everything is getting ready for the last game of the Peruvian national team in the Copa America. The goal of playing all six matches in the tournament has been achieved, although there is a bitter taste of not making it to the final. The match for third place, as stated by Gareca, will be taken seriously and seeking victory to repeat the podium finish, after finishing third in the 2011 Copa America in Argentina.
It will be a duel between two teams that surprised the continent, but arrive at the match with some absences. Paraguay will not have Roque Santa Cruz or Derlis Gonzáles, while Haedo Valdez will try to recover from a muscle edema. The good news is the return of the most important player in the midfield, Néstor Ortigoza, who appears to have recovered from his muscle injury and has trained normally.
The Peruvian team, on the other hand, will be without two important attackers. Jefferson Farfán has a sprained left ankle and is the furthest from the possibility of playing in Concepción. Claudio Pizarro has undergone an MRI, but the extent of his injury is still unknown. The captain has muscle fatigue and some problems in his spine. If both of them don't play, Carrillo would take Farfán's place, playing behind Guerrero, while Joel Sánchez would return to the starting eleven on the right wing.
Guerrero and his date with history
Peru is not only seeking third place, but also the consolidation of Paolo Guerrero as the top scorer of the tournament, a feat he achieved in the previous edition. The number 9 has scored three goals and is one goal behind the current leader, Eduardo Vargas, who will play the final against Argentina. If Guerrero achieves this, he would be the first player in history to be the top scorer in two consecutive tournaments. Guerrero, who is the active player with the most goals in the competition, will also seek to become Peru's all-time top scorer, equaling the 26 goals scored by the legendary Teófilo Cubillas, the leader of the best Peruvian national team of all time in the 70s.
Check AS for the daily schedule of matches, all the results of the matches (both in the group stage and in the final stage), as well as the latest news, the best photo galleries, and the videos (goals, match summaries, technical details, great plays, analyses by Menotti...) of the 2015 Copa America.