Peru participated in the World Cup during the first World Cup in 1930 and has participated in qualifiers since 1958.
Peru were invited to the first FIFA World Cup in Uruguay in 1930. They lost both of their games and finished 10th out of 13 teams. The team either withdrew or did not enter the next four tournaments, in 1934, 1938, 1950, and 1954. Peru participated but did not qualify in 1958, 1962, or 1966.
Peru had its best result in Mexico 1970, finishing in seventh place. Peru again finished in the top eight at the World Cup in Argentina 1978. They finished first in their group during the first round of the tournament, but were eliminated after losing all their games in the second round. Peru reached the next World Cup finals in Spain 1982, although the team was eliminated in the first round after 2 draws and 1 loss. From 1986 to 2014, Peru did not advance past the CONMEBOL qualifying round.
After finishing fifth in CONMEBOL qualifying, Peru reached the 2018 finals by defeating New Zealand in an intercontinental play-off. Peru did not make it past the group stage in 2018, winning one match and losing two.
Peru finished fifth again in 2022 qualification and returned to the intercontinental play-off, this time as a one-off match against Australia. However, Peru would lose the match on penalties, 5–4, thus failing to qualify for Group D of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.