Peru beats New Zealand to claim final spot in 2018 World Cup
New Zealand's attempt to react and qualify for its third World Cup in history never got even close to the Peruvian goalkeeper. Then at 65 minutes, defender Christian Ramos netted the second after a mistake from New Zealand's defense on a corner. Peru's qualification put the South American team in a World Cup pot with Spain, Switzerland, England, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay and Croatia. The final draw of the Russia World Cup will be on Dec 1 at the Kremlin in Moscow and groups will be formed with one team from each of the four pots. A still tearful Farfan said after the match that his team had "to endure a lot of nonsense until we got here." "I dedicate this to Paolo, I promised him we would deliver," Farfan said. Guerrero scored six goals for Peru in South American qualifiers. Peru finished fifth in South American World Cup qualifying. In his press conference Peru coach Ricardo Gareca preferred to thank the team's psychologist for the result. "He was very important for us at this turbulent moment," the Argentinian coach said. Midfielder Christian Cueva, who assisted Farfan in the first goal and took the corner kick that led to the second one, said Peru deserves the holiday promised by President Pedro Paulo Kuczynski. "It is a wait of 35 years, we didn't deserve to be away from the World Cup for so long," Cueva said. "All Peruvians should take this Thursday to celebrate as never before." Kuczynski used Twitter to ask for moderation in the festivities on the holiday. "Thanks to our warriors for giving us this joy. Let's celebrate with responsibility," he said. |