Peru vs Brazil prediction: SOUTH AMERICA: World Championship – Qualification betting tips on match 2023-09-12 02:00.
After missing out on consecutive appearances in the FIFA World Cup by losing on penalties to Australia in the inter-continental play-offs for Qatar 2022, Peru can no longer afford to disappoint their fans. They finished fifth in World Cup qualifying (WCQ) on that occasion, so the increase from four to six direct CONMEBOL qualification spots should make the task easier for head coach Juan Reynoso, who was appointed in August 2022.
Reynoso's men started this WCQ campaign with a goalless draw against Paraguay last Thursday, extending their recent record in the competition to one defeat in seven outings (W4, D2). Their home record is even better, with a six-game unbeaten run in WCQ action (W4, D2), but with Brazil in town, a nation they haven't beaten on home soil since 1953, that run comes under serious threat.
After two surprising friendly losses to Morocco (2-1) and Senegal (4-2) earlier this year, Brazil reassured their supporters with a convincing 5-1 victory against Bolivia to start their 2026 WCQ campaign. This match will also go down in history as the one where Neymar surpassed 'The King' Pelé’s national goals record of 77 by scoring a brace, taking his total to 79 goals in 125 appearances for the Seleção.
Fernando Diniz could hardly have dreamt of a better start to his time as interim head coach, and he should try to enjoy every moment knowing that he will be replaced by Carlo Ancelotti next June. Although they have won their last two away H2Hs with a combined score of 6-2, Diniz should not take anything for granted here, as they have been held to three draws across their last four WCQ away games (W1).
Players to watch: Peru’s Yoshimar Yotún will be one to watch, as he has contributed to four goals in his previous five matches with Sporting Cristal (G3, A1). Rodrygo could also steal the show after being involved in three of Brazil's five goals against Bolivia (G2, A1), leading to a sensational Flashscore rating of 9.2.
Hot stat: Five of the previous six competitive H2Hs have seen the opening goal scored inside 15 minutes.