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#4 Peru
Peru are the biggest surprise packages in the World Cup this year. Edging out bitter-rivals Chile, Peru took the qualifier berth and beat New Zealand to book their plane to Russia. The draw has been kind to them, as they have been given France, Denmark and Australia. Of course these teams all pose a massive threat, but Peru have the ability to at least make it past this group. The return of banned captain Paolo Guerrero is a massive morale booster as well.
Even though they are ageing, Christian Ramos and Alberto Rodriguez are two great bets for central defense for Los Incas. Along with that they also have a great backup in the form of Anderson Santamaria. In the midfield they have players like Yoshimar Yotún, who can play in a multitude of positions, including defensive midfield. Christian Cueva and co. are also present in the midfield. Peru's main strength is going forward, with players like their captain Paolo Guerrero, Jefferson Farfan and Andre Carillo.
The threat of teams like Denmark and France, in particular, will be a challenge for Peru to overcome, but the cohesiveness of this squad may just enable them to get through the group, and possibly progress further. They weren't fancied in 1970, when they made an unexpected run to the quarters, and they aren't fancied now. If the team pull together, they could face one of Argentina, Nigeria, Iceland or Croatia in the next round. This may be daunting, but Peru may just pull it off and go further than anyone ever thought they could.
