World Cup Qualifying - Watch Australia vs Peru in the U.S. and the rest of the world

Topics: World Cup Qualifying, AFC, CONMEBOL, TV Schedules, TV Listings

One of the two available spots to play in Qatar this winter will be at stake between two familiar foes. Find out which side takes it home with this guide.

It will all come down to this: a one-match tie between Australia and Perú to determine the winner of the 31st spot to play in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. While these teams know each other from past meetings, there will be much more at stake as the Socceroos and La Blanquirroja take the pitch at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium this Monday.

Australia enter this match after finishing the AFC FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in third place of Group B, which forced them to play a one-leg tie against the United Arab Emirates earlier this week. The end result of that match saw Graham Arnold's team claiming a 2-1 victory and the spot for the intercontinental playoff. This was just Australia's second win of the year after five competitive matches, following losses to Japan (0-2) and Saudi Arabia (0-1), which compromised their spot in the FIFA World Cup.

One of the main problems faced by Australia this year has been their inability to find a proper striker, as they have seen their ten goals being scored by nine different players in 2022. If the team wants to succeed in their quest for a FIFA World Cup berth, then they will have to rely on players such as Mathew Leckie, Aaron Mooy, or Jamie Maclaren, three of the team's scorers this year.

On the other side of the pitch, Peru are eager to make it to their second FIFA World Cup in a row after finishing fifth in the gruesome CONMEBOL Qualifiers. The Peruvians lost more games (8) than those they won (7), but even with those numbers, they bested teams such as Chile and Colombia in the race to grab the intercontinental playoff spot. Peru have claimed four wins in their last six matches if we add friendly games to their record in 2022.

While Peru will rely on striker Gianluca Lapadula and other footballers in their goalscoring efforts, the team will surely miss the contribution of two historic figures: Paolo Guerrero and Jefferson Farfán. The elderly duo has been left out of the squad for this match, but those who were called up by coach Gareca are surely capable of keeping Peru in the fight for a key win and the spot in the quadrennial tournament.

Let's have a closer look at some additional details prior to the start of the clash.

Australia vs Peru: Team news

Australia will be playing this match with their best possible squad with a couple of exceptions. The first one of those is Bruno Fornaroli, who came up with an ankle problem, and the other one will be Harry Souttar, who is recovering from an injury to one of his knees. With that in mind, Australia's goalscoring duties will fall on Mathew Leckie and Jamie Maclaren, the Melbourne City duo that has combined for 21 goals for the Socceroos.

As for Peru, coach Ricardo Gareca will see his squad enter Ahmad bin Ali Stadium with a squad featuring some of their top players, including striker Gianluca Lapadula, Edison Flores, and playmaker Christian Cueva. The team's main doubt will be that of Luis Advíncula, who picked up a muscular injury that has kept fans guessing if he will be match fit for this clash.

Australia vs Perú - Head to head

This will be the second game in history between Australia and Peru.
The only prior meeting between these teams took place in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. In that game, goals by Paolo Guerrero and André Carrillo gave La Blanquirroja a two-nil win over the Socceroos.
Australia will be playing their tenth intercontinental playoff tie to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. Their record shows three wins (1974, 2006, and 2018) and six losses (1966, 1970, 1986, 1994, 1998, and 2002).
Peru are trying to make it to their sixth FIFA World Cup finals. The team qualified in 1930, 1970, 1978, 1982, and 2018, ending a 36-year wait to appear in another World Cup. This will be their firt intercontinental playoff tie.
Eleven Peruvian players will face Australia for the second time in history after their World Cup meeting in 2018.
There will be six of Australia's players facing Perú for the second time in history after their World Cup clash in 2018.