Colombia’s poor form in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers continued as they failed to win for the fifth game in a row, drawing 0-0 with Peru at home. The result puts their chances of automatic qualification in danger.
Colombia started the match well and tested Peru’s goalkeeper Pedro Gallese early, but he had no trouble saving Cucho Hernández’s header. Jhon Durán, who had scored in two of his last three home games for Colombia, also went close with a curling shot that just missed the target.
Peru slowly got into the game and nearly scored before halftime, but Paolo Guerrero’s shot from close range was saved by Colombian keeper Kevin Mier.
In the second half, Colombia appealed for a penalty when Carlos Zambrano appeared to handle the ball in the box, but the referee ignored their claims.
Peru continued to look dangerous and almost stole the win when Renato Tapia fired just wide from outside the penalty area late in the match.
Both teams didn’t create many chances after that, as it looked like they were both happy to settle for a draw. The result doesn’t help Colombia much — they are still in sixth place, the last automatic World Cup qualifying spot, but have now only lost once in nine home qualifiers.
The draw is even worse for Peru. They remain in ninth place and can no longer qualify automatically for the World Cup. They’ve also now gone nine away qualifiers in a row without scoring a single goal.
