For the second straight match, Stefan Marinovic made the highlight-reel.
Only this time, it wasn’t enough to hold off the heavily-favoured Peruvians, who clinched their first World Cup berth since 1982 with a 2-0 win over New Zealand on Wednesday night in Lima.
In the 41st minute, Marinovic produced a remarkable double save, parrying away a swerving strike from Miguel Trauco and using his left palm to deny Jefferson Farfan on the follow-up before grabbing hold of the rebound with another Peru attacker lurking.
Peru would not be denied on this night, however.
Goals from Farfan and Christian Ramos propelled Peru to victory in front of their raucous home fans, capping off an impressive qualifying campaign for the South Americans.
Whitecaps FC attacking midfielder Yordy Reyna was a part of Peru’s squad on Wednesday but he did not feature in the match, while Marinovic and Whitecaps FC 2 left back Deklan Wynne both went 90 minutes for New Zealand.
The draw for the 2018 FIFA World Cup will be held on December 1, while the tournament is set to run from June 14 to July 15 next year.
