Peru beats Bielsa’s Uruguay 1-0 in South American World Cup qualifying

Miguel Araujo scored the only goal of the match with a header in the 88th minute to move Peru out of last place in the South American standings.

Peru‘s Miguel Araujo, left, celebrates scoring his side’s opening goal against Uruguay. | Photo Credit: AP

Peru has won its first match in South American World Cup qualifying at the expense of coach Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay. The 1-0 home win on Friday gave the host a boost in the 10-team round-robin competition after a long winless streak.

Miguel Araujo scored the only goal of the match with a header in the 88th minute to move Peru out of last place in the South American standings.

Third-place Uruguay has 15 points after nine matches, four less than leader Argentina and one behind second-place Colombia. The first six teams in the table will secure a berth in the next World Cup in 2026 in North America.

Peru has six points, one more than last-place Chile.

Uruguay wasted several opportunities in the first half, with Federico Valverde, Darwin Núñez and Maximiliano Araújo stopped by Peru goalkeeper Pedro Gallese. The host took control of the match in the second half.

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“I honestly feel responsible, due to the players we had in the midfield and in the offense, for such a small proportion of goal chances we created in the second half,” Bielsa said.

Uruguay will host Ecuador on Tuesday, the same day that Peru faces fourth-place Brazil.