Piero Magallanes: Menezes' surprise pick to fill Peru's winger void

Some jobs are won on merit, others open up simply because nobody else is around to take them. The winger spot in the Peruvian national team clearly falls into the second category. Peru has been dragging around this unresolved gap since the last South American World Cup Qualifiers, and now it's up to Mano Menezes to try to fill it as the team begins its road to the 2030 World Cup.

No previous coach managed to find a worthy replacement for Christian Cueva and André Carrillo. Names were tried, minutes were handed out, but nobody ever locked down the position for good. The list of candidates for the future seemed clear enough: Joao Grimaldo and Kenji Cabrera were supposed to be the starting wingers. The problem is that neither is available for this FIFA date. Grimaldo, of Sparta Prague, wasn't called up because he hasn't logged a single official minute for his club, and Cabrera, of the Vancouver Whitecaps, dropped off the list due to injury, though he hadn't fully convinced in his previous chances either.

With that landscape, the door is open for whoever wants to walk through it. That's where Piero Magallanes comes in, a 25-year-old midfielder having a standout run with Sport Huancayo who just received his first call-up to the senior national team. The timing couldn't be better: with Grimaldo and Cabrera out, Magallanes has a real shot at starting against the United States.

A different profile for a years-old problem

In Liga 1, his game doesn't go unnoticed: skill, boldness, power and a shot from distance that almost nobody else brings to the national team. He's a different kind of ingredient for a squad that needs more options up front. The question is unavoidable: will that repertoire be enough against World Cup-caliber opponents? For now, what he has managed to do is get inside Menezes' head during training, and that trust is exactly what he'll be looking to turn into playing time during this FIFA date.

While Grimaldo and Cabrera work out whether they're truly the future everyone expects, Magallanes has a chance to fill, even if just for a few days, that void Peru has carried on the wing for years. And he isn't hiding his ambitions: as soon as he got his first call-up, he made his goal clear.

I never want to let go of the national team jerseyPiero Magallanes

The test comes soon. Peru faces the United States this Saturday, September 26, at 3:30 p.m. (Peru time), in a FIFA international friendly that could determine whether Magallanes walks away with more than just a call-up.