Peru coach Gareca says team won't man-mark Messi

Lima, Oct 3: Peru are unlikely to man-mark Argenti forward Lionel Messi in the teams’ crucial World Cup qualifier on Thursday, according to Blanquirroja coach Ricardo Gareca.

Peru are currently fourth in the South American zone’s CONMEBOL standings and will secure a berth in their first World Cup fils since 1982 if they beat Argenti in Buenos Aires and Colombia in Lima five days later, reports Xinhua news agency.

“Messi is a player who is admired all over the world,” Gareca told a news conference.

“We have never man-marked anybody and we’re not likely to do it (on Thursday),” he added.

“We will be totally prepared for whatever comes our way. We are in good shape physically, psychologically and also from a football standpoint and we believe we can achieve our objective.”

Andre Carrillo, Christian Cueva, Paolo Hurtado and Christian Ramos will miss the match at the Bombonera due to suspension while striker Jefferson Farfan remains under an injury cloud. IANS

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