Bernardo Cuesta thinks about the future of Peru before his own: "There are young people ahead of me."

Gianluca Lapadula will undergo surgery and will not be able to play for at least five months, so he will miss the start of the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup with the Peruvian national team. Therefore, many fans want to know who will replace him and some are asking for Bernardo Cuesta, an Argentine forward from Melgar who has Peruvian nationality, which is why the player himself decided to speak out.

Recently, Bernardo Cuesta spoke about it indicating that he is working for it and we will see if he achieves that objective, which is a dream for him. However, after Melgar's 2-0 victory over Sport Boys as a visitor, the attacker from the Arequipa team was asked again about a possible call-up to the national team and he was even clearer.

"I cannot say anything, whether I can or cannot, whether they will consider me or not, I work in Melgar to do things right here, if it happens, welcome. I always support the national team and even more so the technical command that I know. I don't know if I can or not, I don't know, I'm training here. Which player wouldn't like to represent the national team in a country that has given me so much, but I also know that there are many young players ahead of me who are doing things well," he explained.

This way, Bernardo Cuesta hinted that he would love to play for the Peruvian national team, but he also knows that at 34 years old, even older than Lapadula, Juan Reynoso is likely to prefer a younger player. However, it is also important to note that the forward knows the 'Cabezón' and his coaching staff very well.

According to FIFA's statutes, Bernardo Cuesta cannot be called up by the Peruvian national team of Juan Reynoso for the start of the 2026 qualifiers. This is because the player must have lived in the country for 183 days after obtaining his naturalization, a requirement that he has not yet fulfilled. The Melgar player was naturalized on March 3.