Fixtures

Copa America 06/22 00:00 1 Peru vs Chile - View
Copa America 06/25 22:00 2 Peru vs Canada - View
Copa America 06/30 00:00 3 Argentina vs Peru - View

Results

International Match 03/27 01:30 - Peru v Dominican Republic W 4-1
International Match 03/23 01:30 - Peru v Nicaragua W 2-0
South America - World Cup Qualifying 11/22 02:00 6 [10] Peru v Venezuela [4] D 1-1
South America - World Cup Qualifying 11/16 20:00 5 [10] Bolivia v Peru [9] L 2-0
South America - World Cup Qualifying 10/18 02:00 4 [9] Peru v Argentina [1] L 0-2
South America - World Cup Qualifying 10/13 00:00 3 [8] Chile v Peru [7] L 2-0
South America - World Cup Qualifying 09/13 02:00 2 [6] Peru v Brazil [2] L 0-1
South America - World Cup Qualifying 09/07 22:30 1 [6] Paraguay v Peru [7] D 0-0
International Match 06/20 09:55 - Japan v Peru L 4-1
International Match 06/16 11:00 - South Korea v Peru W 0-1
International Match 03/28 19:30 - Morocco v Peru D 0-0
International Match 03/25 19:45 - Germany v Peru L 2-0

Stats

 TotalHomeAway
Matches played 10 5 5
Wins 3 2 1
Draws 2 1 1
Losses 5 2 3
Goals for 9 7 2
Goals against 13 5 8
Clean sheets 3 1 2
Failed to score 5 2 3

The Peru national football team represents Peru in men's international football. The national team has been organised, since 1927, by the Peruvian Football Federation (FPF). The FPF constitutes one of the ten members of FIFA's South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL). Peru has won the Copa América twice, and has qualified for the FIFA World Cup five times (last appearing in 2018); the team also participated in the 1936 Olympic football competition and has reached the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The team plays most of its home matches at the Estadio Nacional in Lima, the country's capital.

The team wears distinctive white shirts adorned with a diagonal red stripe, which combine Peru's national colours. This basic design has been used continuously since 1936, and gives rise to the team's common Spanish nickname, la Blanquirroja ("the white-and-red"). Peruvian football fans are known for their distinctive cheer ¡Arriba Perú! ("Onward Peru!") and large celebrations. Peru has a longstanding rivalry with Chile.

The Peru national team enjoyed its most successful periods thanks to footballing generations from the 1930s and the 1970s. The 1930s generation led Peru at the inaugural FIFA World Cup in 1930 and won the 1938 Bolivarian Games and the 1939 Copa América, with goalkeeper Juan Valdivieso and forwards Teodoro Fernández and Alejandro Villanueva playing important roles. The 1970s generation qualified Peru for three World Cups and won the Copa América in 1975; the team then notably included defender Héctor Chumpitaz and the forward partnership of Hugo Sotil and Teófilo Cubillas. Teófilo Cubillas and Teodoro Fernández are both often regarded as Peru's greatest players.

The national team's all-time top goalscorer is Paolo Guerrero, with 39 goals, and its two most-capped players is Roberto Palacios and Yoshimar Yotún, both with 128 appearances. Since December 2023, Peru is managed by Jorge Fossati.

History

During the 19th century, British immigrants and Peruvians returning from England introduced football to Peru. In 1859, members of the British community in the country's capital founded the Lima Cricket Club, Peru's first organisation dedicated to the practice of cricket, rugby, and football. These new sports became popular among the local upper-class over the following decades, but early developments stopped due to the War of the Pacific that Peru fought against Chile from 1879 to 1883. After the war, Peru's coastal society embraced football as a modern innovation. In Lima's barrios, football became a popular daily activity, encouraged by bosses who wanted it to inspire solidarity and productivity among their workers. In the adjacent port of Callao and other commercial areas, British civilian workers and sailors played the sport among themselves and with locals. Sports rivalries between locals and foreigners arose in Callao, and between elites and workers in Lima—as foreigners departed, this became a rivalry between Callao and Lima. These factors, coupled with the sport's rapid growth among the urban poor of Lima's La Victoria district (where, in 1901, the Alianza Lima club formed), led to Peru developing the Andean region's strongest footballing culture, and, according to historian Andreas Campomar, "some of the most elegant and accomplished football on the continent".

Peru's debut at the 1927 South American Championship in Lima.

The Peruvian Football League, founded in 1912, held annual competitions until it disbanded in 1921 amid disputes amongst its clubs. The Peruvian Football Federation (FPF), formed in 1922, reorganised the annual tournament in 1926. The FPF joined the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) in 1925 and, after restructuring its finances, formed the Peru national football team in 1927. The team debuted in the 1927 South American Championship, hosted by the FPF at Lima's Estadio Nacional. Peru lost 0–4 against Uruguay in its first match, and won 3–2 over Bolivia in its second. Peru did not advance beyond the first stage of the inaugural FIFA World Cup in 1930.

The 1930s were the team's first golden era, when they improved their game through play with more experienced teams. The Combinado del Pacífico (a squad composed of Chilean and Peruvian footballers) toured Europe from 1933 to 1934. Starting with Ciclista Lima in 1926, Peru's football clubs toured Latin America with much success. During one of these tours—Alianza Lima's undefeated journey through Chile in 1935—emerged the Rodillo Negro ("Black Roller"), a skillful group led by forwards Alejandro Villanueva, Teodoro Fernández and goalkeeper Juan Valdivieso. Sports historian Richard Witzig described these three as "a soccer triumvirate unsurpassed in the world at that time", citing their combined innovation and effectiveness at both ends of the field. Peru and the Rodillo Negro impressed at the 1936 Summer Olympics, won the inaugural Bolivarian Games in 1938, and finished the decade as South American champions.

Historian David Goldblatt assessed the decline of its previous success: "despite all the apparent preconditions for footballing growth and success, Peruvian football disappeared". He attributes this sudden decline to Peruvian authorities' repression of "social, sporting and political organisations among the urban and rural poor" during the 1940s and 1950s. Nevertheless, Peru performed creditably at the South American Championships, placing third in Brazil 1949 and Chile 1955, and missed qualification for the Sweden 1958 World Cup finals, over two legs to eventual champions Brazil.

Oswaldo Ramírez scored the goals against Argentina that secured Peru's 1970 World Cup qualification.

Successes during the late 1960s, including qualification for the Mexico 1970 World Cup finals, ushered in a second golden period for Peruvian football. The formidable forward partnership between Teófilo Cubillas and Hugo Sotil was a key factor in Peru's triumphs during the 1970s. Peru reached the quarter-finals in 1970, losing to the tournament winners Brazil, and earned the first FIFA Fair Play Trophy; historian Richard Henshaw describes Peru as "the surprise of the 1970 competition, showing flair and a high level of skill". Five years later, Peru became South American champions for the second time when it won the 1975 Copa América (the then-rechristened South American Championship) despite failing to qualify for West Germany 1974 a year earlier. The team next qualified for two consecutive World Cup finals, reaching the second round in Argentina 1978 and the first group stage in Spain 1982. Peru's early elimination in 1982 marked the end of the side's globally-admired "flowing football". Peru, nonetheless, barely missed the Mexico 1986 World Cup finals after placing second in a qualification group to eventual champions Argentina. In their golden period from 1970 to 1982, Peru was among the best teams in the world.

By the late 1980s, renewed expectations for Peru were centred on a young generation of Alianza Lima players known colloquially as Los Potrillos ("The Colts"). Sociologists Aldo Panfichi and Victor Vich write that Los Potrillos "became the hope of the entire country"—fans expected them to qualify for the Italy 1990 World Cup finals. These hopes were dashed when the national team entered a hiatus after its manager and several of its players died in a plane crash carrying most of Alianza's team and staff in 1987. Peru subsequently only came close to reaching the France 1998 World Cup finals, missing qualification on goal difference, but would go on to win the 1999 Kirin Cup tournament in Japan (sharing the title with Belgium) and reached the semi-finals at the 1997 Copa América and the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup (contested as an invitee).

Qualification for the FIFA World Cup finals continued being an elusive objective for Peru during the early 21st century. According to historian Charles F. Walker, player indiscipline problems marred Peru's national team and football league. Troubles in the FPF, particularly with its then-president Manuel Burga, deepened the crisis in Peruvian football—FIFA temporarily suspended the country from international competition, in late 2008, because the Peruvian government investigated alleged corruption within the FPF. Burga's twelve-year tenure as FPF president, deemed by journalists and the public as disastrous for the national team, despite a third place at the 2011 Copa América, ended in 2014.

Peru v Australia in the 2018 FIFA World Cup

The FPF's new leadership appointed Juan Carlos Oblitas as the federation's new director and Ricardo Gareca as Peru's manager in March 2015. Sports journalists credited Gareca with revitalizing Peru's football prowess by improving the players' training and professional conduct. Under Gareca, Peru achieved third place in the 2015 Copa América, reached the quarter-finals of the Copa América Centenario, historically qualified and participated in the group stage of the Russia 2018 World Cup finals after a 36-year absence, finished runners-up at the 2019 Copa América, and narrowly missed qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup after losing the inter-continental play-off against Australia on penalties.

Gareca's successful management ended in August 2022, after the loss to Australia in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification play-off and left to go the Velez Sarsfield and later to manage the Peruvian rival, Chile. The FPF appointed former team captain Juan Reynoso as the teams new coach, leaving Mexico. Peru's first game with Reynoso was against Mexico which resulted in another loss. At the end of the South American 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers for 2023, Peru was ranked bottom of the table and only scored three goals in that same year. This resulted in the FPF removing Reynoso and soon, Jorge Fossati was chosen to be the teams new coach.


The Peru national soccer team is the representative team of Peru in international soccer competitions. The team is known for its passionate and skillful players who have a strong sense of national pride. The team has a rich history in soccer, having participated in five World Cup tournaments and winning the Copa America twice. The team's style of play is characterized by quick passing, technical ability, and a strong defensive presence. The team's colors are red and white, which represent the national flag of Peru. The team's fans are known for their enthusiastic support, often creating a lively and colorful atmosphere at matches. Overall, the Peru national soccer team is a respected and competitive force in international soccer.