Peru fancied despite blow

– Paolo Guerrero’s ban for a failed doping test has deprived Peru of their talismanic skipper for the intercontinental play-off against New Zealand but the South Americans remain strong favourites to reach their first World Cup finals in 36 years.

Oceania champions New Zealand host the first leg of the playoff in Wellington tomorrow, with the second leg set for Lima next Wednesday.

Peru, who battled through a tough South American qualifying campaign to make the play-off, lost Guerrero, 33, when he tested positive for a stimulant after a match on October 5 and was given a preliminary 30-day suspension.

Guerrero (above) has scored 32 goals in 83 games and his presence is one of the main reasons Peru are so close to a fifth finals appearance, but first since 1982.

Grabbing the play-off place through the South American qualifying zone has seen Peru jump to 10th in the world, while Anthony Hudson’s side, who romped through Oceania qualifying to reach a third successive intercontinental play-off, are a lowly 122nd.

One of the reasons behind the All Whites’ low ranking is that they have played so few games, particularly against top-tier nations, in the World Cup cycle. Only 10 of their 22 matches since 2015 have been against teams from outside Oceania.

Five of those 10 games were part of the Confederations Cup campaign in June. New Zealand lost friendlies to Northern Ireland and Belarus before losing 2-0 to Russia and 2-1 to Mexico, before being crushed 4-0 by Portugal in the tournament.

While results have not met Hudson’s bold predictions, the team have shown signs of improvement under the son of former Chelsea and Arsenal midfielder Alan Hudson since he succeeded Ricki Herbert in 2014. – Reuters

Wellington