In their final encounter before the Copa America, Peru will play a friendly against the Dominican Republic on Tuesday at Estadio Monumental "U" in the first-ever meeting between both nations.
The Peruvians claimed their first victory of 2024 last week, defeating Nicaragua 2-0, while Los Quisqueyanos beat Aruba by that same score.
Match preview
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Jorge Fossati began his tenure as Peruvian manager positively, winning his first match in charge as Los Incas ended a seven-match winless run on Friday.
That was the first time that Peru had netted multiple times in a single game since a 4-1 victory over El Salvador in a September 2022 friendly.
It was also the first time since playing to a 0-0 draw with Paraguay last September that this team did not concede in 90 minutes.
Peru have not lost to a side from CONCACAF since September 2022 (1-0 defeat versus Mexico), winning the last two meetings against that region by a combined margin of 6-1.
Winning once given their recent form, will be a relief for this team, though they have not won consecutive fixtures since claiming three successive victories to wrap up 2022.
They have not faced a side from the Caribbean since defeating Jamaica 3-0 in a 2022 friendly and have not lost against that region this century.
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The Dominican Republic ended a two-match winless run in all competitions last Saturday, scoring multiple goals in a game for the first time since defeating Barbados 5-2 last October.
Marcelo Neveleff's men have posted consecutive clean sheets while suffering just one defeat in their last six competitive fixtures (2-1 versus Montserrat).
The Dominican Republic were hot and cold throughout their Nations League B campaign this season, netting three or more goals in their three triumphs but also failing to score on two occasions.
Tuesday will be the last opportunity for Dominican players to make an impression with the national team before the second round of 2026 CONCACAF World Cup qualifying begins, with the Dominican Republic in a group featuring Jamaica, Guatemala, Dominica, and a team to be determined.
Los Quisqueyanos have won their last four matches in all competitions when scoring the opening goal, failing to concede in any of those victories.
They have never beaten a side from South America before, though Tuesday will only be the second time they face a team from the CONMEBOL region, after suffering a 5-0 defeat versus Chile last June.
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Team News
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Paolo Guerrero featured for Peru on Friday despite previously hurting his foot, as he remains one cap above teammate Luis Advincula for third in all-time, with the former at 116, while Oliver Sonne and Erick Noriega came on as substitutes, each collecting their first caps with the national team.
Joao Grimaldo notched his first international goal in the victory over Nicaragua, Gianluca Lapadula scored for the ninth time with Los Incas and Carlos Caceda made three stops to collect a clean sheet.
Junior Firpo was among the highest-profile players for the Dominican Republic to feature in the starting 11 versus Aruba, with the Leeds United man playing in the midfield, Jean Carlos Lopez is over the half-century mark for caps with the national team, while Lucas Breton and Alexander Romero are still seeking their first caps with the senior side.
Michael Sambataro and Erick Japa each scored a goal in Saturday's victory over Aruba, while goalkeeper Noam Baumann kept a clean sheet between the sticks.
Peru possible starting lineup:
Gallese; Araujo, Abram, Callens; Polo, Cartagena, Grimaldo, Pena; Flores; Guerrero, Lapadula
Dominican Republic possible starting lineup:
Lloyd; Sambataro, De Lucas, B. Lopez, Quezada; Vasquez, Firpo, J. Lopez, Breton; Japa, Espinal
We say: Peru 4-0 Dominican Republic
While the Peruvians are not the most potent attacking side in CONMEBOL, we expect them to have their share of openings against a Caribbean team that have little experience playing against sides from outside their region.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
