At the end of an amazing scenario, Peru qualified for the Copa America semi-finals after defeating Paraguay. Despite receiving a red card in the first period, Eduardo Perizzo’s men equalized at the end of the match to snatch balls on goal (3-3). Peru will be more accurate in front of the opposing cages, thus relegating their energy to the final four of the competition.
Gustavo Gomez striker before he was sent off
In this meeting where the ups and downs were multiple, Paraguay was the first to strike. Gustavo Gomez took advantage of a weak comeback from the Peruvian defense to open the scoring. Peru woke up after 20 minutes and also took advantage of the slack of the opponent’s defence. Lapadula equalized in the 21st minute before scoring two goals five minutes after the end of the first half. On the green rectangle, André Carillo is enjoying the ball and creating a danger with every acceleration. He is also the one who makes the decisive pass to Lapadula in the first goal.
But the most important thing about this first half is the red card of the Paraguayan captain Gustavo Gomez. Guilty of the protests, which earned him a first yellow card, Gomez made a slight foul on his opponent causing him to warn him again. Berizzo tried to explain his position to the referee at halftime, but to no avail. With him trailing with a goal and a red card, the situation seemed difficult for Paraguay. But it is not impossible…
#Albirogh ⚪🔴
🗣️ GOOOOOOOOL ALBIRROJOOOO. Junior Alonso appeared in the second suit and tied the match.
⏱️ 54′# Paraguay 2 – Tweet embed 2
🗓️ CONMEBOL Tweet embed – Quarter-finals#TheDreamWhoUnees 🇵🇾#Bonity_Alberouja 🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/D2SBHQwCAu
– Selection of Paraguay (Albirroja) 2 July 2021
Miguel Traocco sends Peru into the semi-finals
The Paraguay coach decided, at half-time, to bring in a midfielder (Lucina) to bring in a defender (Robert Rojas). Despite their numerical superiority, the Peruvians still show many weaknesses in set-pieces. New junior captain Alonso is exploiting a call error from Peru to equalize and restore hope. But 10 minutes after the end of time, Jotin tried his luck and his ball was blocked by Rojas, who deceived his own goalkeeper. The case appears to be folded once and for all but Avalos, who just played, equalize in overtime and give Paraguay a penalty shootout.
Young Hector Martinez (23) is the first to miss the penalty kick, which flies into the empty stands of Estádio Olimpico Pedro Ludovico. His teammate Brian Samudio imitated him, while his shot was missed by Peruvian Santiago Ormenio. Even if Anthony Silva pushes the deadline by stopping Cueva’s penalty, he won’t be able to face Saint-Etienne’s Miguel Traocco, who converts his shot on target to send his team into the semi-finals.
Introducing the penalties
Aim of Miguel Traocco! ⚽Tweet embed 🇵🇪 🟢🟢❌🟢❌🟢Tweet embed 🇵🇾 🟢🟢 ❌❌🟢❌
We are in likeness! 🔴⚪🔴# Unidos_pornestros coloris#ArribaPerú 💪🏻 pic.twitter.com/eG22NxIcyB
– Choose Peru 🇵🇪 (SeleccionPeru) 2 July 2021
Peru will face the winner of the match between Chile and Brazil in the semi-finals. In any case, the finalists in the latest edition will have to up their game if they want to repeat this performance.
First credit: Twitter @SeleccionPeru
“Twitter advocate. Proud student. Devoted internet specialist. Pop culture aficionado.”
