The Peruvian national team is about to face their first challenge on the road to the 2026 World Cup, the September double date for the South American Qualifiers against Paraguay in Asunción and Brazil at home.
Therefore, Juan Reynoso announced on Friday, August 25 the list of called-up players from the local football, who will fight for a spot in the final squad for the qualifying matches. Here are some names that were already expected, but also many surprises that the fans of the national team did not expect. Get to know them in the following article.
Surprises in the list of called-up players for the Peruvian national team
The main novelties among the called-up players are young footballers Piero Quispe and Joao Grimaldo, both with a great present in the Clausura Tournament with Universitario and Sporting Cristal, respectively.
The two mentioned players had already been rumored, but there are others that no one had in mind: among the most notable are goalkeepers Renato Solís and Diego Romero. The first is a fixed starter for Tiago Nunes in the team from Bajo, while the second alternates with José Carvallo in the Merengue squad.
In addition to them, the defenders Marco Huamán (Sport Huancayo), Carlos Ascues (UCV), Alonso Yovera (Cusco FC), Aldo Corzo (Universitario), Matías Lazo (Melgar), Emilio Saba (ADT), Sebastián Cavero (Melgar), and Rafael Lutiger (Sporting Cristal); the midfielders Adrián Ascues (Sporting Cristal), Kenji Cabrera (Melgar), Jostin Alarcón (Sporting Cristal), Gonzalo Aguirre (Sporting Cristal); and the forwards Matías Succar (Mannucci), Christopher Olivares (Cusco FC), Fabrizio Roca (Sport Boys) and Jhamir D'Arrigo (Melgar) also join them.
The majority of this list is for the under-23 national team
It is worth noting that the vast majority of this squad are being called up to form the under-23 national team that will face the South American Pre-Olympic of the category to be held in Venezuela, where two spots for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be disputed.
When will the final list of called-up players be announced?
These were only the players called up from the Peruvian football. Not all of them will be among the final squad for the qualifying matches, which will be announced next Thursday, August 31.
Peruvian national team: When and where will the first double match day of the Qualifiers be?
These are the confirmed dates and venues for the first matches of the Blanquirroja in the 2026 Qualifiers:
- Paraguay vs. Peru | Thursday, September 7 | Antonio Aranda Encina Stadium - Ciudad del Este | 17:30 hours
- Peru vs. Brazil | Tuesday, September 12 | National Stadium - Lima | 21:00 hours