Peru striker Guerrero ready for the ‘most important matches’ of career

Lima (Peru), Oct 1 (IANS) Peru football striker Paolo Guerrero has described the team's upcoming World Cup qualifiers as the "most important matches" of his career as the Blanquirroja seek a place in football's showpiece event for the first time since 1982.

Peru are currently fourth in the South American zone's CONMEBOL standings and will secure a berth in Russia next year if they beat Argentina in Buenos Aires on October 5 and Colombia in Lima five days later, reports Xinhua news agency.

"They are decisive matches, and not only for us. There are several teams battling for qualification, but we know that our destiny is in our own hands," Guerrero told reporters on Saturday.

"We have to be united and prepared to get the best possible result against Argentina. They are going to be the two most important matches of my life."

Christian Ramos, Paolo Hurtado, Christian Cueva and Andrew Carrillo will miss the trip to Buenos Aires because of suspension while striker Jefferson Farfan is in doubt due to a muscle injury.

Guerrero added: "We're going to go out with the same mentality and humility, without getting ahead of ourselves. When you play for Peru you're used to the pressure on the team to finally qualify for the World Cup. With luck we can end the drought."

The top four teams in the CONMEBOL group will automatically qualify for the World Cup while the fifth-ranked side will advance to an intercontinental playoff.