Pedro Gallese will be the captain of the Peruvian national team in the World Cup Qatar 2022 playoff match against Australia.
The goalkeeper is one of the key players in Ricardo Gareca's squad, with whom he hopes to qualify for his second World Cup. Prior to this match, the goalkeeper gave an interview to FIFA to share his assessment of the process.
"(Peru) has stopped participating, now we compete. We can play on equal terms with all the national teams in the world. It is no longer those times when they said 'we play Peru and that's it, we have the three points'. We are a team that strikes when we have to strike, defensively organized and we can harm anyone. To win the three points, they have to run twice as much as us, because this Peru will always fight until the last ball," said the goalkeeper.
The 'Pulpo' recognized that, despite the experience they have from playing the playoff for Russia 2018, there are nerves for this new match. "Nerves will always be there. I believe that a player who doesn't have nerves doesn't become a footballer," he said.
Pedro Gallese is the starting goalkeeper of the Peruvian national team since the beginning of the Gareca era. Photo: AFP
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"There is pressure because we have worked very hard over all these years, we have played very difficult matches to get to this stage. But when the match starts, those nerves will go away and we will do what we have prepared so much for," he said.
Finally, he considered that the great contribution of coach Ricardo Gareca is to have made his players "very strong mentally": "There are many who have changed their diets, some have personal trainers in their clubs. There are many changes in us and that has favored the national team."
"He is always behind the player, always trying to bring out the best in each one. In my case, he once called me up and told me that I was a good blocker, a good goalkeeper, but that I needed more. That I should be focused on the whole match, that I should see what is happening all the time," he concluded.