Sports Mole previews Saturday’s friendly clash between El Salvador and Peru, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Peru will round off their preparations for the upcoming Copa America with a friendly against El Salvador in the United States on Friday night.
The White and Reds will open their Copa America tournament against Chile on June 21, while El Salvador will be back in competitive action in the CONCACAF Nations League in September.
Match preview
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El Salvador will enter Friday’s friendly off the back of two 2026 World Cup qualification matches, with the national side currently competing in Group F of the second round.
La Selecta occupy third position in the section with four points from two matches, having drawn 0-0 with Puerto Rico before recording a much-needed 3-1 victory over Saint Vincent & the Grenadines last time out.
David Doniga‘s side will now face Peru and Guatemala in friendly fixtures before returning to competitive action in the CONCACAF Nations League against Montserrat at the start of September.
El Salvador will be tackling Peru for the seventh time in their history, and they have previously recorded two victories, including a 2-0 success in a friendly in March 2019, but Peru ran out 4-1 winners when the two national sides locked horns last time out in September 2022.
La Selecata’s success over Saint Vincent & the Grenadines proved to be their first win since June 2022, and they will now be aiming to make it back-to-back victories for the first time since the middle of 2021.
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Peru, meanwhile, will enter this match off the back of a 0-0 draw with Paraguay, which followed friendly wins over Nicaragua and Dominican Republic back in March.
Jorge Fossati‘s side will now complete their preparations for the Copa America against El Salvador, before beginning their 2024 tournament against Chile on June 21, while they will also face Canada and Argentina in the group stage of the competition.
The White and Reds finished fourth at the 2021 Copa America, while they were runners-up in 2019, so it would not be a surprise to see them advance deep into this year’s tournament.
Peru won the South American Championship in 1939, meanwhile, before landing their first Copa America in 1975, and they have since been regulars in the knockout round of the tournament.
The White and Reds have won three of their last five friendly matches and will now be aiming to put another positive result on the board ahead of their Copa America opener against Chile.
El Salvador friendly form:
El Salvador form (all competitions):
Peru friendly form:
Peru form (all competitions):
Team News
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El Salvador have not reported any fitness concerns from their last match, but Adan Climaco was substituted at the interval of the clash with Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, so he could potentially drop out of the side.
Pablo Punyed was the player to replace Climaco at half time, and the 34-year-old is now in line for a start, while there could also be a change in the final third of the field.
Indeed, Nelson Bonilla came off the bench to register in the team’s last game, and the 33-year-old, who has 20 goals for his country, is set to return to the XI on Friday night.
As for Peru, head coach Fossati is again expected to name a strong side for the first whistle, before making changes as the match progresses to keep players fresh for the start of the Copa America.
The White and Reds are again set to line up in a 3-4-3 formation, with Gianluca Lapadula, who plays his club football for Cagliari, bidding to add to his nine goals for the national side.
Captain and all-time leading goalscorer Paolo Guerrero, 40, could also potentially start, while Girona’s Alexander Callens and Celta Vigo’s Renato Tapia should also be in the XI.
El Salvador possible starting lineup:
Gonzalez; Sibrian, Clavel, Punyed; Tamacas, M Cartagena, Martinez, Flores; Castillo-Orellana, Bonilla, Tejada
Peru possible starting lineup:
Gallese; Araujo, Zambrano, Callens; Polo, W Catagena, Tapia, Lopez; Lapadula, Guerrero, Rivera
We say: El Salvador 0-2 Peru
El Salvador are capable of making this a competitive match, which is what Peru will want in their final match before the Copa America, but we are expecting the White and Reds to record a comfortable victory to make it five successes over El Salvador in seven meetings.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.