Peru became the last side to clinch their place at next year’s World Cup finals when goals in each half from Jefferson Farfan and Christian Ramos gave them a 2-0 win over New Zealand in the second leg of their inter-confederation playoff on Wednesday.
The teams played out a 0-0 draw in the first leg in Wellington on Saturday but Peru got their noses in front on 27 minutes when Farfan hammered home a fierce rising shot from just inside the penalty area to complete a sweeping counter-attack.
New Zealand brought on Chris Wood at halftime in search of a vital away goal and a series of long balls to the towering Burnley striker managed to put Peru on the back foot in the early stages of the second period.
The South Americans, who last appeared at the World Cup finals in 1982, are 10th in the latest FIFA rankings and will go into the second group of seeds when the draw is made in Moscow on Dec. 1.
Source: Andrew Downie|| Reuters
