Having both failed to reach the World Cup via South America's labyrinthine qualifying process, Peru and Paraguay look to the future when they meet for a friendly encounter on Wednesday.
The teams convene in Lima, after the hosts missed out Qatar 2022 in an intercontinental playoff and their visitors finished way off the pace - placing eighth in a highly-competitive CONMEBOL section.
Match preview
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Flustered by the antics of Australia goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne in June's playoff decider to reach the World Cup finals, Peru were beaten on penalties; missing out on a return to this winter's global gathering of football nations.
Ricardo Gareca, who helped La Blanquirroja end their 36-year finals drought in 2018, had overseen only one defeat from his side's final six qualifiers to steer them into fifth place - eliminating the more-fancied Colombia and Chile in the process.
After losing the playoff in such heartbreaking fashion, though, Gareca resigned and was replaced by former Cruz Azul coach Juan Reynoso, who took up his position in August.
Peru then returned to the international stage with a 1-0 friendly defeat against Mexico a month later, before turning over El Salvador in Washington D.C. on their most recent outing.
Having played in no fewer than five Copa Americas and captained his nation to the semi-finals of the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Gareca boasts plenty of international experience, but it remains to be seen how Peru respond to his methods as they build towards the 2024 Copa America - which the Andean nation still have aspirations to host.
More immediately, they must tackle Paraguay and this weekend's opponents Bolivia in a pair of preparatory friendlies - the first of which sees them welcome a team they beat in the qualifiers back to Lima in midweek.
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Losing 2-0 to Peru in March was just one of eight defeats suffered by Paraguay as they stumbled along the road to Qatar, and having won only three times from 18 qualifying fixtures they concluded their campaign third-from-bottom of the CONMEBOL table.
With the worst attacking record of all 10 teams in South America, a tally of just 12 goals highlights why they were never really in contention to reach the World Cup finals for the first time since 2010.
However, five subsequent friendlies have brought wins over both Mexico and the United Arab Emirates, while La Albirroja were held to a goalless draw by Morocco at Seville's Estadio Benito Villamarin in their most recent outing.
Guillermo Barros Schelotto's side had previously seen a three-game winless run come to its end in September, when they secured an impressive 1-0 victory over the Mexicans through Derlis Gonzalez's 50th-minute strike, so they aim to build on that momentum this week.
After travelling to the Peruvian capital, Paraguay are bound for Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where they will meet Colombia - another South American nation that must watch on from afar as the action plays out in the Middle East.
Team News
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While vastly-experienced regulars such as goalkeeper-captain Pedro Gallesse and midfield fulcrum Christian Cueva have been included again, Peru manager Juan Reynoso has also called up a number of fresh faces for his side's friendlies this week.
Maritimo striker Percy Liza is among the uncapped players included, but Alex Valera may lead the line up front in the absence of Cagliari forward Gianluca Lapadula and Seattle Sounders star Raul Ruidiaz.
With 108 caps to his name, Luis Advincula is another to miss out, alongside fellow centurion Yoshimar Yotun of Sporting Cristal. Advincula's right-back spot should be covered by Miguel Araujo.
Meanwhile, Paraguay have once again left out Torino's Antonio Sanabria and instead turn to Brighton starlet Julio Enciso to support Derlis Gonzalez in attack.
Newcastle United's Miguel Almiron is at peak form upon his return to international duty, and the 46-cap forward could start on the right flank in midweek.
Fabian Balbuena of Corinthians should marshal the visitors' defence once again, forming a centre-back pairing with captain Gustavo Gomez.
Peru possible starting lineup:
Gallese; Araujo, Callens, Abram, Lopez; Reyna, Cueva, Aquino, Gonzales; Valera, Iberico
Paraguay possible starting lineup:
Silva; Piris, Gomez, Balbuena, Riveros; Villasanti, Galarza, Ortiz; Almiron, Gonzalez, Enciso
We say: Peru 1-0 Paraguay
Neither side have proved particularly potent in recent times, and a tightly-contested match may be decided by a single goal. The hosts can make use of home advantage to take the initiative and break through their visitors' experienced rearguard; posting rare back-to-back wins.
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