Mexico Peru 1-1: Yotún says Peru can look each other in face
Peru captain Yoshimar Yotún said his side can walk into the dressing room and look each other in the face after a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Mexico in a FIFA Window friendly in Harrison, New Jersey. The Mexico Peru result followed Peru’s 4-1 loss to the United States and marked Rafael Márquez’s second straight draw as Mexico coach.
Key Takeaways
- Mexico and Peru finished 1-1 in a FIFA Date friendly in Harrison, New Jersey.
- Jairo Vélez put Peru ahead; Víctor Guzmán equalized with a header early in the second half.
- Captain Yoshimar Yotún said Peru competed with its own weapons and can face teammates with pride.
- The draw is Márquez’s second 1-1 to open his Mexico tenure after a prior stalemate with Colombia.
- Peru fans and players sang the national anthem together before kickoff.
What did Yotún say after the Mexico Peru draw?
Speaking after the match, Sporting Cristal midfielder and Peru captain Yoshimar Yotún called it a difficult game against a Mexico side that is growing. He told Bicolor+ that Peru had the ball in the first half, then put in a strong second-half effort.
“Today, the group, despite it being 1-1, we leave calm because we have gone back to competing with our weapons, making ourselves strong,” he said, according to ESPN Deportes.
Yotún also pointed to character after the heavy U.S. defeat. Inside the squad, he said, there is a phrase that when you put on the Blanquirroja, there are no friendlies. “Today we can enter the dressing room and look each other in the face, since we gave everything,” he added.
He linked the performance to confidence ahead of Peru’s next FIFA Window games against Canada and Colombia, and said the team should be much better by the start of World Cup qualifying.
How did the Mexico Peru friendly unfold?
Peru took the lead in the 26th minute when Jairo Vélez punished a defensive lapse, finishing one-on-one against goalkeeper Óscar García after a long clearance from Pedro Gallese was not dealt with cleanly.
Mexico raised its intensity after halftime. Víctor Guzmán leveled in the 49th minute, rising to head home a free-kick delivery from Denzell García. Fans and players of the Peruvian side had already set the tone by singing the national anthem together before kickoff.
Mexico fielded a younger lineup than in Márquez’s debut, with several starters aged 23 or under. Defender Everardo López later called the feeling “more or less,” saying the young group still lacked connection but that time would help.
Why does this Mexico Peru result matter now?
For Mexico, the first win of the Rafael Márquez era is still waiting. The Tri opened with a 1-1 against Colombia in Baltimore and now have another draw, with the United States next in Glendale, Arizona, and Chile to close the window in Los Angeles.
For Peru, the point and the attitude mattered after a 4-1 loss to the United States in Orlando. Coach Mano Menezes rotated and, per Yotún’s read, the group competed again on its own terms—useful preparation as the Blanquirroja looks toward tougher tests.
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