qualification, with the team only lost to Chile away and Brazil at home, and managed to hold Argentina twice, before held Colombia 1–1 at home to reach the playoff with New Zealand, eliminating Chile though not without controversy. In the playoff, Peru overcame New Zealand 2–0 on aggregate, to finally qualify for the first ever FIFA World Cup after 36 years with Gareca accredited for the success, in an ironic way as Peru was eliminated by Gareca's goal back in 1985. In the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Peru played against France, Denmark and Australia. The Peruvian side played well, but lost two first matches to Denmark and France 0–1 and got eliminated. Before departing from World Cup, Peru recorded its first ever goal and first ever win in 36 years, beating Australia 2–0 in fashion. Despite the team's early elimination, Gareca was praised for creating and sensationalizing a new Peruvian team, and he continued to coach Peru for the upcoming 2019 Copa América. The 2019 Copa América became another memorable tournament for Peru, with the team reached its first final after 44 years. Peru, however, had a relatively poor form in the group stage, drawing Venezuela goalless, beating Bolivia 3–1 before got smashed 0–5 by host Brazil and only managed to finish in third place, facing Uruguay in the quarter-finals. The Peruvian side would go on beating Uruguay in shock, after a goalless draw, Peru won in penalty 5–4, facing Chile in the semi-finals. There, Peru managed a convincing 3–0 win over neighbor to enter the final, set up the second encounter against Brazil. Though Peru would go on failing to win the title, falling 1–3 to the host, it became another memorable success of Peruvian football team. References Peru national football team Peru National football team