With the heat index above 100 in Kansas City, assistant referee Humberto Panjoj needed medical assistance
Assistant referee Humberto Panjoj collapsed during Tuesday’s Copa América match between Canada and Peru.
Panjoj, 36, was seen lying on the pitch near midfield in first-half stoppage time of Canada’s 1-0 win over Peru, with referee Mario Escobar halting play just as Canada served a set piece into the box.
The broadcast cut to Panjoj, who was prostrate on the field as Canada goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau rushed over to check on him.
Crépeau called for assistance from medical staff to aid the Guatemalan referee.
🔴⚽️ Humberto Panjoj, árbitro asistente del partido Canadá vs Perú, recibe atención médica dentro del terreno de juego
The Group A clash took place on a particularly hot day at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan. A heat index between 105-108 degrees was reported by KMBC, leading to a local heat advisory until 8 p.m. CT. The match kicked off just after 5 p.m. CT, as originally scheduled.
Before the tournament, CONMEBOL released medical regulations relating to the intense summer heat. However, the directives largely related to whether or not a hydration break would be required.
After his side’s 3-1 win over Panama on Monday, Uruguay defender Ronald Araújo was quoted by The Athletic as saying he was substituted at halftime due to dehydration.
One of the asst referees for Peru-Canada is down on the field, he's the sunny side and it's in the 90s pic.twitter.com/VQ50WsCcJH
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) June 25, 2024
After receiving some treatment on the field, Panjoj was stretchered off.
On Wednesday, CONMEBOL confirmed to Yahoo Sports that Panjoj was “stable” and had been released from a hospital after suffering from dehydration.
Canada will look for its first win under new head coach Jesse Marsch
Peru and Canada will square off on Tuesday night as both sides play their second Copa América group-stage match.
Argentina defeated Canada 2-0 in the tournament opener, but Les Rouges will take heart from a performance that saw them give the defending champions a real test.
Peru, meanwhile, opened its Copa with a scoreless draw against Chile in a physical affair.
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Peru will enter this game on a six-match unbeaten run, and will take confidence from its recent performances at this tournament: La Blanquirroja has reached the semifinals in four of the last five Copas, including a runner-up finish in 2019.
Under new head coach Jesse Marsch, Canada has put together back-to-back strong performances after a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in its opener under the American manager. LesRouges managed a scoreless draw against France in a friendly before giving Argentina all it could handle on Thursday night in Atlanta.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the match.
Peru vs. Canada (Copa America)
When: Tuesday, June 25
Where: Children’s Mercy Park (Kansas City, Kansas)
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Two CONMEBOL sides feeling the pressure will meet in a Group A clash in Texas
Peru and Chile will meet in a 2024 Copa América match that has significant meaning for the hopes of both sides.
The rivals along South America’s Pacific coast will duke it out in a Group A clash that — despite coming early in the tournament — may prove to be the difference between a place in the knockout rounds and an early trip home.
Peru will be hoping this tournament goes similarly to the last edition, when la Bicolor made a run to the semifinals only to be knocked off by Brazil. That would certainly be a boost given that the nation sits dead last in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying at the moment.
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Chile’s quest to gain a place at the 2026 World Cup has only gone marginally better, but things have started to change since Ricardo Gareca — who was Peru’s head coach from 2015-22 — took over as manager in December 2023.
Since Gareca joined up, la Roja have thumped Paraguay and Albania, while pushing France right to the end in a 3-2 friendly defeat back in March.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the match.
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The two sides meet in a friendly outside Philadelphia
El Salvador and Peru will face off in a friendly at Subaru Park outside Philadelphia on Friday night.
The match will be Peru’s final tune-up ahead of Copa América, which will begin for La Blanquirroja with a game against Chile on June 21. That will be followed by matches against Canada and Argentina in Group A.
Peru’s penultimate warm-up match came on Friday, as Jorge Fossati’s side drew 0-0 with Paraguay at home.
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El Salvador enters this match off the back of a 3-1 World Cup qualifying victory over Saint Vincent & the Grenadines — the first win in two years for Los Cuscatlecos.
Following this match, El Salvador will face Guatemala in a friendly next month before returning to competitive action in the Nations League against Montserrat in September.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the match.
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Two teams in middling form are looking to ramp things up ahead of Copa América
Peru and Paraguay are preparing for the 2024 Copa América, with the two CONMEBOL sides meeting in a friendly on Friday in Lima.
Peru have started life under new coach Jorge Fossati on the right foot, notching wins over Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic back in March. Those victories broke a six-month winless run in which La Blanquirroja were shut out five times in seven matches.
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Friday’s clash at Estadio Monumental will be Paraguay’s first game of any sort in 2024. La Albirroja will be looking to improve on a 2W-2D-4L record in 2023 that saw the squad score just five times.
Peru faces a difficult Copa América after being placed in Group A alongside Argentina, Chile, and Canada. Paraguay, meanwhile, might have it worse, landing in Group D with Brazil, Colombia, and Costa Rica.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the match.
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It will be the first time the two sides have ever met
Peru will face its final test ahead of the summer when it hosts the Dominican Republic in a friendly on Tuesday night.
On Friday, Peru scored twice inside of the opening 13 minutes as it defeated Nicaragua 2-0 to end a run of seven matches without a win.
Now La Bicolor will take on another Concacaf opponent, in what will be the first meeting between the two sides.
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Peru is continuing its preparations ahead of the Copa América this summer. The South Americans have been drawn into Group A, where they will face Argentina, Canada and Chile.
The Dominican Republic, meanwhile, is coming off a 2-0 win over Aruba in a friendly last week. The match in Peru will be the final test for LosQuisqueyanos before the next round of Concacaf World Cup qualifying kicks off this summer.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the match.
Peru vs. Dominican Republic (international friendly)
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Arriving at Machu Picchu on foot is a lot more exciting than getting there by the tourist bus that ferries folks back and forth from nearby Aguas Calientes, Peru. Hikers can sign up for a four-day, three-night guided trip on the Inca Trail. Or, if you’re not quite that energetic, you can do what I did. On a recent trip with Choose Life Sober Adventures, our group of eight hikers (including two guides) got off the train to Aguas Calientes at kilometer 104 and spent the day walking the rest of the way to the ancient archeological site. Here’s the gear I packed that came in handy.
The Incas really, really liked to build steps, and we walked up approximately a zillion of them on our morning hike. The last 50 or so steps to the Sun Gate were so steep we had to crawl. But then, there it was in the distance: Machu Picchu, the famous 15th-century Inca spiritual site.
I was on a group tour with Choose Life Sober Adventures. The victory was doubly sweet since we’d all fought addictions (as well as steep stairways) to get to the Sun Gate. While Machu Picchu was the featured event in our weeklong tour, it was just one of many fabulous outdoorsy and cultural Peruvian experiences we shared.
From Cusco, Peru, to The Sacred Valley
Our group of 11 Americans — including two Choose Life leaders — met in Cusco, a beautiful city full of Catholic churches built over old Inca temples. The historic core is an intriguing place to walk, shop, and people-watch — if you can stand the altitude. At 11,152 feet, the town left many of us short of breath. If you visit, move slowly and drink lots of water.
After an initial day in Cusco, we boarded a private bus along with our guide Jose Soldevila, then headed for the area known as the Sacred Valley. This region in the Andean highlands was once the heart of the Inca empire. At the archeological ruins outside the town of Pisac, we could still see the holes in the hill where mummies were once buried — before their tombs were plundered by grave robbers looking for gold.
We hiked six miles downhill from the village of Chinchero, where we mostly encountered local people out for their Sunday walk. Two nights at the Hotel la Casona de Yucay, a hacienda built in 1810, were quiet and peaceful. We did yoga overlooking the flowery grounds of the hotel.
Peruvian cultural experiences
Peruvians love to celebrate, and several times, we found ourselves in the middle of a fiesta or religious procession. In Pisac, an older woman determinedly pinned a glass broach depicting the Virgin Del Carmen onto my T-shirt as masked men danced in the town square, surrounded by a thousand cheering onlookers. In Cusco, I joined a religious procession where dozens of people shouldered three palanquins bearing icons of Santa Catalina.
Some trip experiences were geared toward tourists, such as a boisterous dinner at Tunupa, a restaurant in Cusco. Musicians played covers of Beatles songs with pan pipes carrying the melody, then stopped to welcome diners table by table and applaud our home countries: Mexico, Argentina, Columbia, Brazil, and the United States.
We had a more intimate cultural experience in the mountain village of Huayllafara. After our bus drove up death-defying dirt switchbacks for about 20 minutes, community members in traditional dress served us a local lunch and explained their farming and harvest cycle.
The lunch was excellent — small baked potatoes we ate with our hands, adding hunks of cheese or avocado and spooning on a chili-herb sauce. There was quinoa soup, chicha morado punch made from purple corn, and a passionfruit dessert. Guide Celinda Humilde, who escorted us to the village, explained that the community travel program helps support locals “without basically changing their life. They just experience a day with travelers.”
Group leader Segundino Mamami talked to me with Humilde translating. “We’re happy to share our food and traditions,” he said. “It also improves our economy.” He was surprised that foreigners were interested enough to want to visit. Some even ask to stay for several days. “It’s good because that helps us improve our houses. Now they are more comfortable.”
I also had two shamanic experiences in Peru, one planned and one unplanned. In a Pisac shop, I mentioned my sore throat to the shaman/shopkeeper. Before I knew what was happening, he was treating me with a ceremony that involved blowing herbs in my face, smearing herbs on my neck, and lighting a match in front of my forehead as I tried to keep my eyes closed and trust he wouldn’t set my hair on fire. My throat stopped hurting.
Our group shamanic ritual happened in Sacsayhuamán, an archeological site on the northern edge of Cusco. As we sat in a circle beside an old moon temple, a young shaman in an orange poncho prepared an offering of food and candies for Pachamama, the earth mother who’s very much still revered in Andean Peru. We each held three coca leaves glued together with llama fat, concentrating on wishes for protection and prosperity. The shaman promised to take our offering up the mountain that night and burn it.
Lake life
While most of our days were busy, with lots of touring, hiking, shopping, and getting from point to point via bus or train, we had one long, relaxed day and night at Piuray Outdoor Center on Lake Piuray. A row of tents (and the friendly camp llama, Pancho) awaited us, facing the lake.
We spent the late morning on the water, on SUPs or in a narrow six-person canoe. The water temperature was on the cool side, probably in the mid-50s. After a group meditation based on Wim Hof’s cold water therapy philosophy, we had a chance to jump off our SUPs or out of the canoe and chill in the lake for a while. Brrr.
After the water outing, our hosts prepared a pachamanca lunch. This meal entails cooking tubers, plantains, vegetables, and meats in the ground with hot stones and fragrant herbs. It’s traditionally done for celebrations. Cooking the lunch started with a ritual offering of soda poured on the ground for Pachamama.
In the evening, we had a bonfire. One of our local guides, Wilfredo Huillca, played the pan pipes for us as the sun set.
Machu Picchu
After hiking for seven hours, we got our first peek at Machu Picchu at four p.m. The crowds had gone home. We had a little time to soak in the beauty of the site and the surrounding mountains, which are narrow and steep.
We stayed the night in nearby Aguas Calientes, then returned the next morning for an archeological tour. Our guides Soldevila and Huillca took turns interpreting what’s known and theorized about Machu Picchu.
After leading the four-day Incan Trail hike to Machu Picchu at least 350 times, Huillca is excited about how much could still be uncovered from the surrounding jungle. “There’s more out there,” he said several times, pointing at terraced mountain slopes overgrown with trees and vines. “There will be more to see.”
The site we know as Machu Picchu was hidden by jungle for 400 years. It’s still shrouded in mystery and conflicting theories. The Incas seem to have abandoned Machu Picchu after the Spaniards conquered them in the 1500s, only about a hundred years after building it. Fast forward to 1911, and Hiram Bingham III, a visiting American, stumbled upon the overgrown ruins.
“It’s not only a beautiful site. It’s much more than that,” Huillca said. “For me, Machu Picchu is a sacred place.” He talked about worshiping Pachamama and how the Incas found a place with mountains aligning north, south, east, and west. Huillca pointed out pragmatic features of the site, like aqueducts, kitchens, and housing. Some of the more esoteric and extreme Incan ideas caught our imagination, such as “ice maidens,” young girls raised to be sacrificed on glaciers. We also saw altars used for llama sacrifices and tables designed for mummifying the dearest departed.
Traveling with like-minded people
Our group coalesced well because we all were excited to learn about another culture while supporting each other. Also, having fabulous guides like Soldevila and Huillca made life so good. An individual tourist could figure out how to navigate Peruvian trains and the tourist buses to Machu Picchu. However, life is about a hundred times easier when a guide hands you a ticket and escorts you to the right line.
As for the sobriety aspect, we had nightly meetings where we’d talk about recovery-related topics, mention a highlight of the day, and ask for any help we needed. Group member Gillian Kreitenberg of Los Angeles has traveled extensively around the world but also acknowledges that travel can induce anxiety. “Being with like-minded people who have a lot of the same struggles makes it a lot easier to feel comfortable and safe,” she said.
Peru is out as U-17 World Cup host, just one week after Indonesia was removed as U-20 host
FIFA has announced that Peru will no longer host the men’s U-17 World Cup this winter.
In a statement, the governing body said that “the move was made given the inability of the host country to fulfill its commitments to completing the infrastructure required to stage the tournament.”
FIFA said the tournament is still scheduled for November 10 to December 2 and that a new host would be appointed “in due course.”
FIFA did not specify why Indonesia was removed as host, but the move was widely believed to be related the country’s unwillingness to host Israel, which qualified for the U-20 men’s World Cup for the first time.
Argentina has made a formal bid to replace Indonesia as host of the tournament, which is still scheduled to kick off next month.
In 2019, FIFA picked both Indonesia and Peru to host the respective tournaments in 2021. Both tournaments were pushed back to 2023 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It’s difficult to imagine a more nerve-racking way to qualify for a World Cup than a penalty shootout in the intercontinental play-off. You have two teams that just traveled across the world to Qatar and one was going to head home on the longest, saddest flight imaginable.
That team happened to be Peru.
Peru and Australia met on Monday in Qatar at Al Rayyan Stadium with the winner advancing to Group D of the World Cup. The match needed to go beyond 120 minutes to decide the winner, but it was a bold strategic move from Australia coach Graham Arnold that had the soccer world buzzing.
Late in extra time, Arnold subbed in backup goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne to take over during penalties. The 33-year-old from the Australian league was in there for one reason and one reason only: Distract Peru with dance moves.
And it worked! Redmayne flailed around the goal, shuffling and kicking out his legs just to throw off the focus of the Peru players. A miss on the Peru’s sixth attempt was enough to clinch Australia’s trip to the World Cup.
THE PK THAT SENDS AUSTRALIA TO THE FIFA WORLD CUP! 🇦🇺
You have to feel so bad for Peru there. It’s the worst way to miss out on a World Cup by far, but the soccer world could not get enough of Redmayne. He stole the show.