Ecuador achieved a job this Tuesday draw 1-1 during his visit to Lima and postponed, with 25 points, his very possible qualification for the Qatar 2022 World Cup, while the peruvian they added 20 and were in fifth position, which gives them the right to play in the World Cup playoffs. The goals of the intense game played at the National Stadium in Lima were scored by the Ecuadorian striker Michael Estrada, at 2 minutes, and by the Peruvian midfielder Edison Flores, at 69.
Ecuador entered the field of Nacional convinced that it would define its classification against a rival that presented very important casualties such as striker Gianluca Lapadula, who was unable to recover from an injury, and creative Christian Cueva, suspended due to an accumulation of cautions. The visitors’ offensive bet surprised the Peruvian players who, determined to handle the game calmly, saw how their goal was breached just two minutes into the game. After a long pass from Félix Torres, Road He won the back of defender Alexander Callens, who failed in a calculation to clear a high cross, and overcame goalkeeper Pedro Gallese with a subtle touch.
Surprised, the Peruvians went to the front with more momentum than order, but focusing their game on the right sector to seek partnership between Luis Advíncula and André Carrillo, who were intermittent and imprecise during the first half. Despite this, Peru had an option after 4 minutes, when a header by defender Carlos Zambrano was narrowly elevated from a corner kick. Beyond that, Ecuador continued to show a solid defense and led by an unbalanced Gonzalo Plata caused anxiety in the Peruvian field, to the point that Alan Franco could well increase the count with a shot that forced Advíncula to intervene. Peru, meanwhile, abused short touches to the wings and without much depth, although Carrillo sent a shot on goal that was also blocked by Piero Hincapié. After having defended reliably on their home turf, Ecuador went back to the front in the last minutes of the first half and had another clear option in the 45th minute, when Moisés Caicedo sent a shot high just over the Peruvian goal.
Determined to go all out, Peru coach Ricardo Gareca swapped Ormeño and García early in the second half to bring in playmaker Christopher Gonzáles and Edison Flores, with Carrillo moving into the forward position. With greater speed and offensive volume, Yoshimar Yotún soon forced goalkeeper Hernán Galíndez to his maximum effort with a powerful shot from the edge of the area, while Ecuador replied with a cross shot from the always dangerous Estrada. In the 69th minute a play came from the right that the entered striker Alex Valera fought and triggered a center by Advíncula that was connected with a header by edison flowers to match the account and make the Peruvian fans explode with emotion.
Although the locals went with everything to try to keep the three points, the Ecuadorians maintained their solid resistance against the attempts led by Flores, who failed to break a parity that gave justice to a game played with a lot of nerve. In the seventeenth and penultimate date of the South American qualifiers, which will be played on March 24, Peru will visit Uruguay, and Ecuador will visit the already eliminated Paraguay team.