Peru captain Paolo Guerrero wants to give his Australian counterpart Mile Jedinak a "huge hug" to thank him for support during his drugs ban.
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Guerrero will seek out Jedinak before Tuesday's World Cup fixture to express his gratitude for the Socceroos leader's public support.
Jedinak signed a letter of support for Guerrero when he was banned after testing positive for cocaine at a World Cup qualifier last October.
Peru's all-time record goalscorer maintains he unknowingly ingested cocaine in a contaminated tea drink.
The Peruvian hero was initially suspended for 12 months. The ban was then halved but the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed and Guerrero was suspended for 14 months.
Jedinak and captains of France and Denmark - the other teams in Peru's group at the World Cup in Russia - then signed a joint letter to soccer's world governing body, FIFA.
The letter was influential in the FIFA Council putting a stay on the ban, allowing Guerrero to play at the World Cup. His fate beyond the tournament remains unknown.
Guerrero has previously publicly thanked Jedinak but plans to do so in person just before the nations meet in Sochi.
"I haven't had the chance to thank him personally, I hope to be able to do that before the match tomorrow," Guerrero told reporters in Sochi on Monday.
"I hope that we will cross paths so that we can have a quick chat.
"I am so so terribly grateful to him for his support back then.
"As any footballer, I think it has to be like that among us footballers, we have to support each other.
"And I hope to give him a very huge hug tomorrow and thank him personally."
Guerrero didn't play for eight months while suspended but said the possibility of his ban being upheld after the World Cup wasn't yet on his mind.
"For me, as to my suspension, that has nothing to do with anything," he said.
"I can continue to play football after this World Cup.
"I don't have an approximate date of how long that suspension will last but I am firm and I will keep fighting for my career."
Australia must beat the Peruvians, and France must defeat Denmark in a simultaneous match, for the Socceroos to have a chance of advancing into the knockout stages of soccer's showpiece tournament.
Australian Associated Press
