After difficult opening games, Peru and Canada face each other on Matchday 2 of the 2024 Copa America hoping to get a strong footing in Group A.
Peru is 33rd in the World Rankings while Canada is 50th, making this a clash of the underdogs in a group containing Argentina and Chile. This would be their first competitive meeting in an international football match with the only previous one coming in a friendly in 2010 which ended 2-0 in favour of Peru.
Peru has endured a dismal 2026 World Cup qualification campaign so far with two draws and four defeats as they sit bottom of the group.
The 2023 calendar year started with a defeat to Germany and a goalless draw against Morocco, Bryan Reyna’s goal decided a friendly against South Korea but Peru was thrashed 4-1 by Japan.
The 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign began with a 0-0 draw away to Paraguay but they lost the second home game 1-0 to Brazil. Chile scored two second-half goals to beat Peru on Matchday 3 while Argentina also defeated them by the same scoreline five days later.
Los Incas lost to Bolivia but ended their four-match losing run with a draw against Venezuela in November. Something needed to change after only scoring three goals throughout 2023 and Juan Reynoso was duly replaced by Jorge Fossati as Head Coach.
The Argentine who guided Universitario de Deportes to the Peruvian league title in 2023 has a massive job on his hands to restore some pride in La Blanquirroja.
The two-time Copa America winners have started life brilliantly under Fossati as they beat Nicaragua 2-0 and the Dominican Republic 4-1 in the first international break of 2024.
Copa America kicks off in June and Peru has a chance to rally to a stunning campaign after they reached the final in 2019.
They will be up against a Canadian side who are playing in just their second-ever Copa America match and must bank on that experience to get the better of their opponents.
Canada’s fortunes have dipped since the last World Cup but they remain the only national team alongside Mexico and the United States to win a Gold Cup. The Copa America debutants returned from Qatar with a run to the CONCACAF Nations League final - their first final in 23 years - where they lost 2-0 to the United States.
The CONCACAF Gold Cup began only a few days later and a win with two group-stage draws was enough to see Canada through to the quarterfinal where they lost to the USA again on penalties. This game marked the end of John Herdman's tenure with the national team as he left at the end of August to manage Major League Soccer side, Toronto FC.
Interim coach, Mauro Biello, had a huge job on his hands as he was promoted from his role as Assistant Coach and tasked with guiding the team through the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Nations League A, where victory in a two-legged tie against Jamaica would qualify them to participate in CONMEBOL's 2024 Copa América.
Biello’s tenure was ushered in by a 4-1 friendly defeat to Japan but they regrouped to beat Jamaica 2–1 a month later. Canada needed only a draw in the second leg at home but they suffered a monumental collapse despite leading at halftime to lose 3–2 and relinquish the tie on away goals.
The humiliating loss capped off a disappointing year for Canada men’s soccer post-World Cup and they now had to qualify for a final place in the Copa America via a play-off against Trinidad and Tobago in March.
Cyle Larin and Jacob Shaffelburg each scored in the second half to lead them to the tournament being held in 14 cities across the United States.
Biello is gradually stamping his mark on the squad as a combination of factors meant no players above 30 years old were invited to the March squad. This attention to quality as well as the resolution of several off-pitch issues with the Soccer Federation may cause Canada’s players to approach this tournament much calmer than the calamitous showings of 2023.
To leave a mark on this tournament, they must get something out of this game against Peru - their weakest group opponents on paper - and we can expect to see them very motivated.
Match tickets
This Copa America matchday 2 fixture takes place on Tuesday, 25 June 2024 with kick-off scheduled for 11 PM UK time. Match tickets are available for sale on the websites of both national federations as well as the tournament organizers so you can hurry to purchase yours.
The Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City hosts this match and a capacity of around 18,000 may not be enough to accommodate the crowd who might be interested in attending the game.
Thus, getting match tickets may be complicated given the demand but any supporters who want to see the match can find their Peru vs Canada tickets on a ticket resale site.
Team news
Oliver Sonne and Erick Noreiga received their first caps with the Peru national team in March and they will look to play a role this summer.
Jonathan Osorio missed Canada’s crucial Copa America qualifying playoff against Trinidad and Tobago due to a hip injury but the veteran midfielder should be fine and included in the squad for the tournament.
Line-ups
Fossati is favouring a 3-5-2 system in his time with Peru so far and he could well stick to it to match Canada’s shape. The formation would allow them to be compact while having a direct channel to their dangerous forwards.
Peru: Gallese; Corzo, Abram, Callens; Lopez, Grimaldo, Quispe, Pena, Polo; Lapadula, Guerrero
Canada is blessed with exciting young talent and none more so than the versatile and pacy Alphonso Davies. The Bayern Munich man is a constant threat whether as a left-back or winger, and he would look to hurt Peru across the flanks.
Canada: St. Clair; Johnston, Cornelius, Miller; Davies, Eustaquio, Fraser, Buchanan; Ugbo, David, Larin
Prediction
Peru seems to have a better chance considering their history in this competition as well as their higher ranking. However, Canada are tough opponent and their Qatar 2022 experience cannot be disregarded.
Both teams would feel this is a winnable game and we are thus set to see an open encounter with the players putting in the maximum effort to get a win.
Peru 2-2 Canada
