After being eliminated in the semifinals by Chile and Peru respectively, these two countries look for a good ending to their Copa America with this third place match.
Paraguay will be without attacking duo Roque Santa Cruz and Derlis Gonzalez as Ramon Diaz's side meets Peru in the Copa America third-place playoff in Concepcion. After suffering a heavy defeat to Argentina by six goals to one, La Albirroja are looking to recapture and end the tournament on a high when they went into this tournament with low expectations. They went unbeaten in theCopa America, including a penalty shootout victory against Braziluntil that rout against the World Cup runners-up. Nevertheless, regardless of the result for the Paraguayans, it was seem as a great test as they now prepare for the World Cup qualifiers this coming fall.
La Albirroja's take
Santa Cruz sustained a hamstring strain and Gonzalez injured his thigh inside the opening half an hour against Argentina and will be out for the match against Peru, meaning top goalscorer for the country Lucas Barrios will start, but Nelson Haedo Valdez and defender Bruno Valdez are suffering similar injuries as well and are doubtful for the match against Peru. However, midfielder Nestor Ortigoza is back in contention after a knock ruled him out of the quarterfinal triumph over Brazil and the semifinal loss.
Los Inca's take
Peru, on the other hand, have slightly less problems. Jefferson Farfan missed training on Wednesday due to a sprained right ankle and faces a late fitness test ahead of the match and Carlos Zambrano will also be absent following his sending off in a 2-1 loss to hosts Chile, but other than that, it seems to be the only problem manager Ricardo Gareca seems to have. Striker Paolo Guerreronetted a hat trick when Peru defeated Venezuela 4-1 to finish third in Argentina in 2011 and repeated the feat during the quarterfinal triumph over Bolivia as he looks to overtake Eduardo Vargas ofChile with only two goals to put him as top goalscorer.
Gareca said before the match that they ''know that Peru have shown that they are in the process of growing and is sure both teams are going to give their best to finish in third place'.'' It has also been a great tournament for the Peruvians; as well as having exceeded expectation going out of a group as runners-up and reaching the semifinals just like they did in Argentina in 2011. Peru have gotten third place four years ago and haven't gotten fourth place since 1997 in Bolivia. Paraguay on the other hand looks to capture third place for the first time since 1983 having gotten runners-up four years ago as well.
Players to look out for:
Lucas Barrios for Paraguay will be the one to look out for, he's showing that fine form for the national team that he used to show atBorussia Dortmund and has scored in every match he played so personally, he will be a danger for the Peruvians when he's going forward as that lethal poacher and striker. As for Peru, the player to look out for is Paolo Guerrero. He's scored a hat trick againstBolivia and just looked fantastic following his move fromCorinthians to Flamengo, so with Gareca, he seems rejuvenated despite not a good group stage performance, he still capable of showing that.
Possible starting lineups:
Peru: Gallese, Advincula, Ramos, Ascues, Vargas, Ballon, Lobaton, Cueva, Carrillo, Farfan, Guerrero
Paraguay: Villar, B Valdez, Da Silva, Aguilar, Piris, Gonzalez, Caceres, Ortiz, Benitez, Barrios, N H Valdez
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