Overview
The Peruvian national team will not participate in the 2026 World Cup after continuing to miss the biggest football festival on the planet. However, coach Mano Menezes and his team are still determined to close the international gathering with a positive result against Spain.
In the most recent match, Peru defeated Haiti with a score of 2-1 after a comeback thanks to late goals from Renzo Garces and Jairo Velez. Previously, La Bicolor also drew 2-2 with Honduras, showing a significant improvement in spirit and scoring ability.
Menezes's team has only lost one of their last 4 matches, the only defeat was the 0-2 defeat to Senegal in March. Notably, Peru has scored at least 2 goals in 3/4 of the recent matches and has only been goalless once in the last 7 matches in all competitions.
However, stability is still a problem for the South American team. Peru has not been able to extend their unbeaten streak to 3 matches since June 2024 and has also not had two consecutive victories in more than a year.
On the other side of the battle line, Spain considers this match as the final preparation before entering the 2026 World Cup campaign.
The last time the two teams met was in May 2008. At that time, Spain won 2-1 against Peru and then won EURO 2008. La Roja fans hoped a similar scenario would be repeated before this World Cup.
However, coach Luis de la Fuente's team is going through a period of not really exploding. They drew 0-0 with Egypt at the end of March before continuing to be held to a 1-1 draw by Iraq in the most recent friendly match.
However, Spain still maintains a 9-match unbeaten streak since defeating Portugal in the 2025 UEFA Nations League final. During this period, La Roja won 6 matches and drew 3 matches.
Stability in playing style and squad depth help Spain continue to be considered one of the top candidates for the 2026 World Cup championship. Therefore, a victory against Peru will be a necessary morale boost before they enter Group H of the tournament.
Personnel situation
Peru will not have the services of winger Joao Grimaldo and striker Alex Valera in the friendly match with Spain because both are still in the process of recovering from injuries. The absence of this duo forces coach Mano Menezes to look for replacements in attack.
It is likely that Jhonny Vidales will be given the opportunity to play highest in the forward line. Supporting this striker on both wings may be Jairo Velez and Kenji Cabrera, players who possess speed and wide operating ability.
On the Spanish side, coach Luis de la Fuente is likely to continue rotating the squad to preserve the force before the 2026 World Cup. In the draw against Iraq, key players such as Pedri, Rodri and Mikel Oyarzabal were all given rest and a similar scenario could be repeated in the confrontation with Peru.
La Roja also cannot have the service of young talent Lamine Yamal. The Barcelona star is still recovering from a hamstring injury sustained at the end of April and is predicted to continue to be sidelined.
Expected lineup:
Peru: Gallese, Sonne, Garces, Barco, Lopez, Carrillo, Noriega, Concha, Velez, Vidales, Cabrera.
Spain: Raya, Porro, Pubill, Laporte, Grimaldo, Gavi, Zubimendi, Torres, Olmo, Baena, Iglesias.
The match between Peru and Spain takes place at 9:00 am on June 9 (Vietnam time).
