Peru edged the All Whites 1-0 in front of 32,149 fans at the RCDE Stadium - also known as Cornella - El Prat - in Barcelona on June 5, as both nations continued their preparations for upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifying play-offs. A match which saw few clear-cut openings engineered throughout witnessed the first of them in just the fifth minute of play, as Gianluca Lapadula's perfectly timed run in behind the defence allowed him to latch onto Sergio Pena's slide-rule through ball from halfway. Unfortunately for "Los Blanquillos" and their tremendous support - Kiwis were rare birds in this environment, the striker undid all his good work by playing the ball across the penalty area far too early, as those making supporting runs were still making their way towards the danger zone, such was the surprise Lapadula's opening caused both teams. The All Whites swiftly tightened up that element of their play, but the accuracy of their passing in the first half was disappointing - cross-field balls going straight out of play was not an infrequent occurrence, and at this level, that's simply intolerable, no matter how many times one apologises for the temporary lapse in standards. On the other hand, there were some impressive combinations developing, none more so than that between Matt Garbett and Liberato Cacace on the left, a link through which the All Whites carved out their first chance of the match in the 42nd minute, with the wingback bringing Chris Wood into play before Alex Greive let rip from twenty yards with a shot which forced a parried save from Peruvian captain Pedro Gallese. He had seen his team thrice threaten to open the scoring prior to staving off the All Whites' first shot at goal. Marcos Lopez's cross-shot halfway through the half was pawed away by Oliver Sail, at the expense of a corner. Christian Cueva's delivery picked out Yoshimar Yotun some twenty yards out from goal. His first touch controlled the ball neatly, his second sent a sumptuous volley swerving towards the target, the sphere beating Sail all ends up before crashing down off the underside of the crossbar. Danny Hay's charges survived that scare, and survived another five minutes before the break. A lovely flowing move by the South Americans culminated in Andre Carrillo playing in the overlapping Aldo Corzo on the right, from where the fullback angled his cross in behind all-comers, who were queuing up to open the scoring. Before the interval, the All Whites escaped on a couple more occasions, firstly when Lapadula was unable to capitalise upon catching Winston Reid in possession, then as Sail raced out of his penalty area to head clear from the prowling striker, as Alexander Callens looked to release him early with a probing pass. The All Whites had decent penalty claims rebuffed by Maltese referee Ishmael Barbara in the early stages of the half when Cacace went to ground in the area during a phase in play which saw the Oceania champions enjoy their best spell of the match, the energy provided by the introduction of Clayton Lewis giving their performance a much-needed boost - they had been very much second-

best to the Peruvians to this point in proceedings. And they continued to give as good as they got against their fellow World Cup Finals hopefuls after the usual plethora of substitutions around the hour mark. The last of these changes, Tim Payne, received a welcoming pass from Sail soon after his introduction to the fray, and promptly returned the favour to his goalkeeper. What Sail did next will be something he won't forget easily. A clumsy touch saw him lose control of the ball, and the hovering figure of Lapadula afforded the 'keeper no chance of a reprieve, rounding the recovering custodian before tucking the ball into an empty net to give Peru a 69th minute lead. Within two minutes, they came close to doubling their advantage. Lapadula worked a one-two with Cueva on the touchline in front of the dugouts, with the latter's brilliant back-heeled return pass taking out three opponents. The goalscorer promptly took advantage of the space that created before slipping a pass into the stride of newcomer Christofer Gonzales, whose shot deflected off Payne and past Sail before hitting the near post. The All Whites survived this scare, and responded by giving the Peruvians one of their own, only for Ben Waine to stray marginally offside before latching onto Cacace's delicious angled pass and arrowing the ball into the far corner - 1-0 it remained with fourteen minutes remaining. Peru went close again six minutes from time, again from a corner. Gabriel Costa's delivery to the near post found fellow substitute Wilber Cartagena eager to head the ball across goal to the far post, where Corzo was lurking with intent. His blocked shot sparked a Kiwi counter-attack, but the Garbett-led raid came to nought. There was still time for the All Whites to threaten a late equaliser, however, Cacace cutting in from the left before letting fly with his wrong foot, only for Gallese's save to confirm a 1-0 win for the Peruvians, who play the winner of a play-off between Australia and the United Arab Emirates with a place in Qatar at stake for the winners. The All Whites, of course, face Costa Rica with the same reward on offer, a match which takes place in nine days' time, and which boasts a tidy $US 10 million nest-egg for the victors to enjoy. Before then, a final behind-closed-doors shakedown - also in Doha - against Oman awaits Danny Hay's charges; for some players, their last chance to make a favourable impression on their coach prior to the most important game in NZ men's football since the Peruvian play-offs in 2017. Peru:          Gallese; Corzo, Zambrano (booked, 84), Callens, Lopez (Trauco, 66); Aquino (Cartagena, 81), Yotun (booked, 54), Carrillo (Costa, 66); Pena (Gonzales, 66), Lapadula (Ormeno, 75), Cueva (Garcia, 75) All Whites:     Sail; Tuiloma (booked, 14) (Payne, 67), Reid (booked, 58) (Boxall, 81), Smith (Pijnaker, 46); Kirwan, Bell, Stamenic (Lewis, 46 (booked, 54)), Cacace; Greive (Barbarouses, 70), Wood (Waine, 70), Garbett Referee:     Ishmael Barbara (Malta)