United States vs Peru | Preview | October 16, 2018

United States vs Peru


International Friendly


Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field — East Hartford


Tuesday, October 16 — 5:30 PM MT

After falling to Colombia, 4-2, on Thursday in Tampa, the US national team will look to bounce back against another South American World Cup squad when they host Peru Tuesday night at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field.

Peru is coming off a 3-0 win over Chile at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Friday night.

“Well, going into these two games, the idea was to get through the first game with a core group. There are plans to make a number of changes for Tuesday,” US interim coach Dave Sarachan said. “And that’s the reason you play these friendlies, to allow certain players opportunities, so we’re going to make a number of changes. We’ll address some of the issues from today and scout Peru. The same fundamentals we’ll apply to the new group this week, so we need to do better in all the areas I talked about.”

United States Outlook

After playing somewhat tentative and trailing after 45 minutes thanks to a sensational James Rodriguez strike in the 36th minute, the USMNT roared back after halftime only to fall short against Colombia, 4-2, Thursday in front of a pro-Colombian crowd at Raymond James Stadium.

Kellyn Acosta of the Colorado Rapids leveled five minutes into the second half and Bobby Wood gave the US a 2-1 lead three minutes later. But Carlos Bacca equalized just three minutes after that, followed by goals by Radamel Falcao and Miguel Borja five minutes apart to lift Los Cafeteros to the win.

“You play against a team like Colombia, who have, obviously, very good players,” Michael Bradley said. “If your reading of certain situations, if the way you deal with certain advantages that they have isn’t good enough, then they can punish you. In moments tonight, they were sharper than we were, but like I said, that’s what nights like tonight are for.

“I thought the response at the beginning of the second half to put the game back on our terms was very good. In all ways, we’ll use this in the right way as we continue to move ourselves forward.”

Peru Outlook

Pedro Aquino struck for a second-half brace to help lift Peru to a 3-0 win over Chile at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Friday night. It was the 78th encounter between the South American rivals, and first on US soil.

Following an own goal by Enzo Roco in the 64th minute, Aquino added an insurance goal in 11 minutes later and the Leon midfielder put in a second goal four minutes from full time. Orlando City SC midfielder Yoshi Yotun and Seattle Sounders FC forward Raul Ruidiaz both started for Peru, which fell to the Netherlands and Germany by matching 2-1 scores last month, while Yordy Reyna of the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Portland Timbers midfielder Andy Polo both came off the bench.

“The important thing is to get over the losses,” Peruvian coach Ricardo Gareca said after the match. “Now on to recover and moving on.”

History

The United States are 3-2-1 all-time against Peru. In the last meeting, Toronto FC’s Jozy Altidore scored twice in a come-from-behind 2-1 win for the US at RFK Stadium on September 4, 2015. Tuesday’s match comes 22 years to the day of Peru’s first win in the series, 4-1 in Lima on October 16, 1996.

Players to Watch

United States — Aaron Long: The New York Red Bulls defender is having a career year and after watching his first three games with the USMNT as an unused sub, Long could become the 17th player this year to earn his first cap

Peru — Alex Callens: A few days after Ben Sweat made his US debut, his New York City FC teammate could be in line for his 11th all-time appearance in East Hartford. He’s the lone MLS-based player who didn’t feature in Peru’s win over Chile Friday.

United States Roster

Peru Roster