Having tasted the flavor of a World Cup again at Russia 2018 after 36 years of absence, Peru has no desire to watch Qatar 2022 from afar. The good news is that avoiding elimination is in their hands; the bad news is that they will not be able to count on one of their star strikers, Seattle Sounders Raul Ruidiaz.
FIFA awards 4.5 tickets to Conmebol to participate in the upcoming World Cup Qatar 2022. The half ticket requires playing the Intercontinental Playoffs against a National Team from Asia to complete it and thus qualify for this main soccer tournament.
Peru is in the convenient fifth position in the Conmebol Qualifiers, the last place that gives the possibility of fighting for a place in Qatar 2022. Ricardo Gareca’s team has 21 points and has the opportunity to climb to fourth place if it beats Uruguay in its visit to Montevideo. Afterward, it will close its participation by hosting Paraguay in Lima.
Raul Ruidiaz will not be able to play for Peru against Uruguay and Paraguay
Ruidiaz has not had the best start to the year in 2022. He played his last game on February 18, 2022, in the Seattle Sounders’ win against FC Motagua of Honduras, in the quarterfinals of the Concacaf Champions League, in which he played 45 minutes.
After that last appearance, the Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer revealed that Raul Ruidiaz had suffered a muscle injury in his right hamstring, which caused him to miss his team’s last five games, three in MLS and two in the Concacaf Champions League, plus Peru’s two matches against Uruguay and Paraguay in the Conmebol 2022 World Cup Qualifiers.
Raul Ruidiaz in an MLS game with Seattle Sounders. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
