Peru will be locking horns wih Paraguay for the third place play-off of the 2015 Copa America at Estadio Municipal Alcaldesa Ester Roa Rebolledo on 3 July.
Both the teams failed to make it to the final of the Copa America 2015 and will now be playing for pride.
Peru lost to host nation Chile in the semi-final while Paraguay were outclassed by Argentina. Both the sides would want to end their Copa America campaign on a high note on Friday.
Paraguay will be missing the services of Roque Santa Cruz and Derlis Gonzalez, as both suffered injuries during their semi-final encounter against Argentina.
Paraguay's journey to semi-final was not that great as they could only manage to secure a victory over Jamaica, that too during the group stages of the tournament. They failed to score a single goal during the regular 90 minutes in the knockout stages.
Head coach Ramon Diaz is happy with the way things have gone so far in the tournament and said they have done well to do away with the memories of the World Cup 2014 Qualification campaign where they had finished at the bottom of the table.
"The objectives for this Copa América were to get the group believing in themselves again, for them to have order and for them to be an organised national team in every sense. So we are very satisfied," Diaz told reporters.
On the other hand, Peru will be missing the services of their defender Carlos Zambrano who was sent off during their semi-final clash against Chile. Paolo Guerrero would be the leading man for Ricardo Gareca as he netted a hat-trick against Bolivia in the quarter-final stages of the tournament.
Gareca said that his side has done really done in the tournament and it might as well inspire them to a good World Cup Qualifying campaign.
Peru could reach till this stage, despite being in a tough group where they had to face the likes of Brazil and Colombia. They played well against host nation Chile in the semi-final until Eduardo Vargas' brace crashed their dream of reaching the finals of the Copa America.
"Every match is special with this shirt because you are representing a country. We have the opportunity of finishing an even better position, third place. We have players of great quality in Peru. It's key that they are motivated and they have shown that that they are.
"It's very important. For us and for Paraguay it was very important to have a strong Copa América because both are new processes, for Ramón Díaz and for me, and the quicker you get to know the players and achieve your objectives, the better. For both teams it is important to have a good Copa and prepare in the best way for the World Cup qualifiers," Gareca said at a press conference ahead of their third place playoff against Paraguay.
Expected Lineups:
Peru: Gallese, Advincula, Ramos, Ascues, Vargas, Ballon, Lobaton, Cueva, Carrillo, Farfan, Guerrero.
Paraguay: Villar; Piris, Aguilar, Da Silva, B Valdez; Gonzalez, Benitez, Caceres, Aranda; Santa Cruz, N Valdez.
Where to Watch Live
The third place play-off between Peru and Paraguay is scheduled to start at 8:30pm local time (5am IST, 12:30am BST, 7:30pm ET) with live coverage in India on Sony Six HD. Live streaming option is available on Livsports.
Viewers in the UK can switch to Premier Sports. Copa America third place play-off can be live-streamed on Premier Player.
People in the US can watch the match live on beIn Sports and stream the same on beIn Sports Connect, Fubo TV and TYC Sports.com.
Viewers in Australia can live stream the match on beIn Sports Connect Australia.
Viewers in West Asia can watch the match live on beIn Sports Arabia 1 HD and beIn Sports Arabia 2 HD.
