Peru Holds World Cup Semifinalists Morocco to Goalless Draw in Madrid Friendly

A difficult match for the Peruvians who faced the Atlas Lions, semi-finalists of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, on Tuesday in Madrid. The Peruvian team was not confident for this match, after its 2-0 defeat against Germany, and the incidents with the Spanish police leading to the arrest of captain Pedro Gallese. But the Peruvian team was able to implement a good defensive strategy with a 4-2-3-1 and tried to keep the ball as much as possible.

The good defensive closure allowed the Peruvian team to contain the attacks of Moroccan attackers like Ziyech, Aboukhlal, Boufal and others. However, the team of Juan Reynoso did not perform well in midfield and its rather low level of play was felt throughout the match. Captain Pedro Gallese, placed in detention, was released early Tuesday morning. But the Orlando City goalkeeper was one of the strengths of the Peruvian team. According to the specialized site Sofascore, he had the second best performance of the team with a score of 7.3.

With four clearances, four interceptions and two tackles, defender Anderson Santamaría, considered the best player of Peru during the match, obtained a score of 7.4, according to Sofascore. Defender Carlos Zambrano, too aggressive, was sent off after kicking Boufal on the ground (79’). According to Sofascore, he had two clearances, two interceptions and one tackle, and also won three ground duels out of six possible. He scored a 6.5.

But if the Peruvian team has improved in defense compared to the match against Germany, the problem remains the same in attack. Against Morocco as against Germany, the Peruvian attackers failed to score a single goal. One minute from the end of regulation time, Juan Reynoso brought in Percy Liza, but he was unable to materialize his only shot from outside the box. None of them worried the Moroccan goalkeeper, Yassine Bounou.