Peru 1-0 Uruguay
Goal: Miguel Araujo (88)

A late Miguel Araujo strike has earned Peru an upset 1-0 win over Uruguay – their first FIFA World Cup™ qualifying win in ten matches – and helped breathe new life into their bid to reach the global showpiece.

In front of a boisterous crowd in Lima, first half chances were very hard to come by; a close-range Darwin Nunez header that was easily dealt with by Pedro Gallese and a speculative Manuel Ugarte effort from distance the best of those limited moments as the teams went to the break with the scoreboard untroubled.

Shortly after the restart, Peru’s Edison Flores found himself inside the box but he wasn’t able to direct his effort on target from a tight angle. The hosts though were starting to enjoy a more positive spell, with Sergio Pena rippling the side netting as the hour mark approached.

Just when the match appeared to be finishing all square, the hosts struck. Substitute Piero Quispe sending in a cross from the right that Miguel Araujo met with a thumping header, the shot going in off the hand of keeper Sergio Rochet and the post to spark wild celebrations in the Peruvian capital.

That win was the nation’s first of the campaign and has helped move them off the foot of the standings while Uruguay stay third at the halfway mark of the campaign.

How qualifying works
Each nation will play the nine others home and away. The top six teams after 18 rounds will qualify for the FIFA World Cup 26. The seventh-placed finishers will go into the FIFA Play-Off Tournament.