"I don't want to criticize our forwards or midfielders, but I want to note that France are playing perfectly in defense. As for Paolo Guerrero, he did everything possible. He was sidelined for several months due to suspension, and this break, for sure, hurt him. He was in a situation that turned out to be an unfortunate accident. Hopefully everything will be resolved as quickly as possible," Gareca told journalists.

In December 2017, FIFA banned Guerrero for one year for failing a doping test with the FIFA Appeal Committee later reducing the sanction to six months.

Peru's forward and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) both later appealed to Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) with Guerrero hoping for the ban to be fully lifted and WADA asking for the penalty to be extended. CAS agreed to extend the ban to 14 months, meaning Guerrero could only be able to return to the pitch in 2019.

Guerrero then made an appeal to the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland asking to halt his suspension so that he would be able to play at this summer's World Cup. On May 31, two weeks ahead of the World Cup, CAS said that it would not protest against Guerrero's latest appeal.

Peru lost 1-0 to France in their second Group C match on Thursday, while also suffering defeat in their first encounter against Denmark by the same scoreline.