This Saturday, two teams with vastly different experiences in the Copa América will clash at Seattle's CenturyLink Field. One one side will be Peru, who have featured in all but a handful of tournaments, whilst on the other side of the pitch will be Haiti, a small island nation who will be hoping to pull off some major upsets in their first ever appearance.
Haiti
Last summer, Haiti impressed at the Gold Cup by making a run to the quarter-finals. Although they were stopped by fellow Caribbean side Jamaica - who themselves surprised most due to finishing in second - Les Grenadiers will be eager to now test their mettle against teams from other football federations. As noted before, they have never featured at a Copa América tournament, and will be taking on a very experienced Peruvian side for their opening group stage match.
Under the tutelage of Patrice Neveu, Haiti have experienced mixed results since the start of 2016. Things started off well, as they edged out Trinidad & Tobago to book their spot at this summer's tournament. However, they will be coming into this match having lost their past two matches - including a 3-1 defeat to Colombia in a pre-tournament friendly.
Neveu will be heavily counting on skipper Johnny Placide to guide the team through three tough group stage matches. Given that they will next take on Brazil, followed by Ecuador, Haiti are by far the underdogs out of this quartet. Still, as they showed at last summer's Gold Cup, they are a hard-working unit that will not be going down without a tough fight.
Reims shot-stopper Johnny Placide will be one of the key players for Haiti at this summer's Copa América tournament
Peru
For Peru, the Copa América tournament do not represent unchartered waters. In fact, La Blanquirroja have featured at every single tournament dating back to 1975, and all in all, have only missed out due to withdrawals or non entry. They have also won this competition on two occasions - in 1939 and 1975 - and finished in third place at the 2015 edition.
With veteran striker Claudio Pizarro not featuring, much of the goal-scoring responsibilities have now fallen to Paolo Guerrero. The 32-year-old, who plays his club football for Brazilian outfit Flamengo, was the joint-top scorer at the 2015 Copa América with four goals. As such, coach Ricardo Gareca will be relying on him to lead the line against a Haiti side that will definitely employ an ultra-defensive approach.
Peru themselves also do have a strong defensive unit, which naturally will give them even more of an edge against their upcoming opponents. To date, Peru and Haiti have met a total of four times; they have yet to lose to the Caribbean nation, with two wins and two draws so far, and have outscored Les Grenadiers by ten goals to five.
Will Peru maintain their unbeaten record against Haiti in their fifth meeting this Saturday? Or will Haiti continue to surprise everyone by kick-starting their debut Copa América tournament with a win?
Which channel is broadcasting Haiti vs Peru on TV or Online?
Not able to make it to CenturyLink Field? No problem. LiveSoccerTV.com has put together plenty of options to tune in via TV, computer, phone, or tablet.
Here are some choices for fans residing in the following countries:
- In the USA at 19.30 EST on: Fox Sports 2 USA, Fox Soccer 2GO USA, fuboTV, Univision Deportes USA, Fox Sports GO, Univision USA
- In Peru at 18.30 PET on: América TVGO, DIRECTV Sports Peru, DIRECTV Play Deportes
- In Canada at 19.30 ET on: Univision Canada
Live elsewhere? Check out our special Haiti vs Peru broadcast page for viewing times and options for your current location.
*Note: Live broadcast data is subject to change*
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
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