Denmark out to spoil Peru's WC return

Paolo Guerrero will look to prove his drug-ban controversy is behind him on Saturday when Peru face Denmark and their star goal-scoring midfielder Christian Eriksen in both teams' World Cup opener.

 

The presence of Flamengo forward Guerrero is a huge relief to Peru boss Ricardo Gareca after his 14-month ban for taking cocaine was overturned just weeks before the World Cup kicked-off.

 

However, Denmark have their own goal-machine in Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Eriksen, who netted 11 goals in his team's qualifiers, a record bettered only by Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski on the road to Russia.

 

The 26-year-old struck a stunning hat-trick in the 5-1 demolition away to Ireland last November to secure Denmark's play-off victory, then scored and created another in a 2-0 friendly win over Mexico in a pre-World Cup warm-up. With France installed as Group C favourites, neither team will want to drop points at the first hurdle.

 

The spotlight in Saransk will be Guerrero, 34, who is set to lead Peru's ageing strike force alongside Jefferson Farfan, 33, whose goals against Paraguay and New Zealand, in a play-off victory, carried them to their first World Cup finals for 36 years.