Peru, with their goalkeeper Diego Romero as their hero, beat Chile 1-0 this Sunday in their debut at the South American Football Pre-Olympic Games, which will share two places for Paris 2024.

Midfielder Francesco Flores scored for José Guillermo’s team Chemotherapy del Solara in the 67th minute, in the match that opened Group B of this tournament for players under the age of 23, in which Argentina plays against Paraguay in the second hour.

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Chile had the best chances in the match at the Misael Delgado Stadium, in the Venezuelan city of Valencia, but the goal was missing; and when he had it, he crashed into goalkeeper Romero.

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Flores, who came on as a substitute, had a composure that his rivals lacked. The Peruvian team finished with ten men due to Mathías Llontop being sent off for a double booking.

Chile started the game with three clear chances in the first ten minutes of the game, with strikes from César Pérez, Lucas Assadi and Lucas Cepeda. In Cepeda’s performance, Romero had the first of the interventions to support Peru when his opponents were besieging him.

Immediately after the break, Romero blocked Pérez’s shot from mid-range. The goalkeeper will again be the protagonist when he came out to clash with Pizarro when he went in search of a center in the heart of the area.

And the goal arrived… Peruvian!

Diego Romero (1) was one of the figures of the match because he remained undefeated in Peru’s goal despite the arrivals of the Chilean team. Photo: AFP

Guillermo Larios, a Peruvian player born in Santiago de Chile, kept the ball with his back to goal and took advantage of Flores’ movement, entering the penalty area on the left. Larios’ pass was flawless, and Flores’ cutback and subsequent definition were not far behind.

Knocking out Llontop, with time running out, was the final test Peru had to overcome. And so he did, hanging on to score his first three points. (D)