Peru beats Paraguay, qualifies for World Cup playoffs
By MAURICIO SAVARESE
AP Sports Writer
SAO PAULO (AP) — Peru has beaten Paraguay 2-0 in the last round of South American World Cup qualifiers to secure fifth place in the standings and entry to an intercontinental playoff for a spot in Qatar. Gianluca Lapadula opened the scoring in Lima in the 5th minute and Yoshimar Yotún doubled the lead three minutes before halftime. The Peruvians needed a win to qualify regardless of the results of Colombia and Chile. That playoff in June will be against either Australia or United Arab Emirates. Peru was also fifth in the qualifying for the 2018 World Cup and secured a place in the finals by beating New Zealand. Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Ecuador had already secured South America’s four direct entries.