Here we go: Peru beat Haiti 2-1 in Miami, a comeback that Ó. Ibáñez will file as validation for his reshaped attack two weeks out from the next CONMEBOL window.
Haiti lined up 4-4-2 under S. Migné, Peru answered with a 4-2-3-1 led by Jairo Vélez as the central connector behind Jhonny Vidales. Early on the pattern suited the hosts: compact banks, direct breaks to Wilson Isidor and Frantzdy Pierrot.
They struck first. Louicius Don Deedson threaded Isidor clear for the opener in the 16th minute, the only shot on target Haiti managed all night. Peru laboured with possession, André Carrillo isolated on the right, and frustration bubbled with Alfonso Barco’s yellow card on 45 minutes.
Ibáñez reacted instantly, swapping Barco for Fabio Gruber and introducing Adrián Ugarriza for Kenji Cabrera at the restart. The captain Carrillo lasted only another 14 minutes before his own booking at 54 minutes and the arrival of Adrián Quiroz and Yoshimar Yotún in a double change at the 59th minute. The staff wanted tempo: Yotún’s left foot finally got Peru playing between the lines.
Migné countered with a sweeping carousel at the 60th minute, six substitutions at once that lifted weary legs but fractured the cohesion Haiti had built. Duckens Nazon replaced Pierrot on 61 minutes yet Haiti still retreated, their midfield now stitched together on the fly.
Peru kept tightening the screw. Erick Noriega collected a yellow card on 65 minutes yet stayed influential until Jesús Pretell relieved him in the wave of changes at the 70th minute that also brought Maxloren Castro for Vidales. Haiti’s Wilguens Paugain, one of the new arrivals, went into the book on 74 minutes as the hosts clung to the lead, and Ugarriza saw yellow on 79 minutes amid rising pressure.
The breakthrough finally came in the 81st minute when Renzo Garcés levelled the score, capitalising on the sustained territorial edge. Three minutes later Vélez, increasingly everywhere, struck the winner in the 84th minute to complete the turnaround. Derrick Etienne entered for Danley Jean Jacques in the 85th minute but the damage was done, and late replacements Rodrigo Vilca and Matías Zegarra merely helped kill the clock.
Peru leave Florida with momentum, a deeper bench highlighted by Gruber and Yotún, and licensed belief that Ibáñez can knit together an attack without the old guard. Haiti, beaten despite 14 fouls and heroic work from Hannes Delcroix and Johny Placide, must rediscover a balance between aggression and control before they resume their summer programme.
Statistics
- Ball possession: Haiti 42 percent, Peru 58 percent
- Shots on goal: Haiti 1, Peru 5
- Total shots: Haiti 8, Peru 10
- Corner kicks: Haiti 3, Peru 3
- Fouls: Haiti 14, Peru 18
- Yellow cards: Haiti 1, Peru 4
Peru now pivot to the rest of their United States camp with a clear blueprint, while Haiti regroup ahead of their next assignment on this international slate; for more from today’s fixtures see Belgium vs Tunisia.
