The Inca squad has proved it is one of the fittest soccer teams in the world by defeating Iceland (3-1) at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ —a few days after it beat Croatia (2-0) in Miami.
"We rely on
great players. We are improving the collective [strategy] thanks to them […]," coach
Ricardo Gareca expressed at a press conference.
"It's always important to win. Today's challenger [Iceland] has similar features to the teams we will face later [at the World Cup]," he added on the occasion.
After the first half of the match had ended, both teams experienced different feelings: Iceland thanked the results achieved so far (1-1), whereas Peru was frustrated since it could not manage to strike more goals.
However, the red-white squad played the second half with more aggressiveness and energy.
Thus, Ruidiaz (58') slid the ball into the opponent's net, and —shortly after that— Jefferson Farfan (75') scored the game's victory goal.
Peru has not lost since November 15, 2016, when it was beaten by Brazil (0-2) at the Qualifiers in Lima. After that, the national team has seen eight victories and four draws.