The draw for the inter-confederation play-offs fixtures was held on 26 November 2021.[4]
The match was the second meeting between Australia and Peru.[5] The sides previously met four years earlier in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Group C, with Peru winning 2–0 when La Blanquirroja was already eliminated.[6] Before the match, most football commentators lauded Peru as the better team and had low expectations of Australia, which struggled in the Asian qualifiers.
The match ended as a scoreless draw. In the 120th minute, Australian goalkeeper Mathew Ryan was subbed off for Andrew Redmayne. During the penalty shoot-out, Redmayne gained notoriety for his dance-like movements, which he used to confuse the Peruvian players.[7][8] This strategy succeeded, as Redmayne stopped the decisive penalty from Alex Valera diving low to his right-hand side.[9]
Maximum of five substitutions, with a sixth allowed in extra time[note 1]
Notes
^Each team was given only three opportunities to make substitutions, with a fourth opportunity in extra time, excluding substitutions made at half-time, before the start of extra time and at half-time in extra time.
