Peru's captain banned from 2018 World Cup for cocaine use

The Socceroos' World Cup opponents Peru have suffered a major blow when FIFA banned their captain Paolo Guerrero for one year after he failed a doping test.

The striker tested positive for cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine, a banned stimulant, following Peru's World Cup qualifier against Argentina in Buenos Aires in October.

He had been provisionally suspended since then.

World soccer's governing body said in a statement its Disciplinary Committee had found that Guerrero had violated article six of the organisation's Anti-Doping Regulations.

Cocaine is categorised as a stimulant and is included on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) list of performance-enhancing substances.

Peru qualified for the World Cup finals for the first time since 1982 by beating New Zealand in a two-legged playoff. Guerrero missed both of those matches.

They were then drawn in Group C at the tournament in Russia, alongside Australia, France and Denmark.

His ban will be back-dated to November 3.