El Salvador national football team

El Salvador

Nickname(s)	La Selecta Selección Cuscatleca Cuscatlecos La Azul
Association	Federación Salvadoreña de Fútbol
Confederation	CONCACAF (North America)
Head coach	Carlos de los Cobos
Captain	Ramón Sánchez
Most caps	Luis Guevara Mora (89)
Top scorer	Jorge "Mágico" González (41)
Home stadium	Estadio Cuscatlán
FIFA code	SLV
FIFA ranking	82
Highest FIFA ranking	50 (December 1992)
Lowest FIFA ranking	169 (November 2006)
Elo ranking	85
Home colours Away colours
First international
El Salvador 0–3 Costa Rica (Guatemala City, Guatemala; Sept 14, 1921)
Biggest win
El Salvador 12 - 0 Anguilla (San Salvador, El Salvador; February 6, 2008)
Biggest defeat
Hungary 10 - 1 El Salvador (Elche, Spain; June 15, 1982)
World Cup
Appearances	2 (First in 1970)
Best result	Round 1, 1970 and 1982
CONCACAF Gold Cup
Appearances	6 (First in 1996)
Best result	Quarterfinals, 2002 and 2003

The El Salvador national football team is the national team of El Salvador and is controlled by the Federación Salvadoreña de Fútbol. ^[1] The team have qualified twice to the FIFA World Cup; firstly in 1970 and then in 1982. ^{[2] [3]}

History

The beginning of the national team

Although El Salvador played a few games in the early part of the 20th Century, it did not become a fully committed national team until 1921. This year is seen by many as being the starting point, to what we now know as "La Selecta". It was this year that many fans began to pay attention to the national football team, and many stars began to shine through the side, players such as Pablo Huezo, Carlos Escobar Leiva and Santiago Barrachina.

El Salvador's first tournament

In September 1921, Guatemala organised a football tournament comprising of itself, Honduras, Costa Rica and El Salvador. The tournament was organized in order to celebrate 100 years of Central American independence, and was played in a round-robin format, with Guatemala playing Honduras and El Salvador playing Costa Rica.

Sadly, El Salvador lost their game 3-0 to Costa Rica who would then go on to defeat Guatemala in the final. Despite the loss, this tournament is seen as the starting point for the El Salvador national team.

First win ever

Since the tournament in Guatemala in 1921, El Salvador had only played 2 other international matches, both against Honduras. El Salvador had lost the first encounter 1-0 and drawn the second 0–0.

Three games without a win came to an end on December 7, 1928, when El Salvador recorded its first ever win. A 5-0 thumping of what would later become their traditional rivals, Honduras. The game was played on on a field called Marte de San Salvador. Not only was this El Salvador's first ever win, but also the first time they had scored in an international friendly. It was also a day that few will forget, as it saw Gustavo "Taviche" Marroquin become the first ever player to score 5 goals in one game for the national team.

1970 FIFA World Cup

In the 1970 tournament, El Salvador lost their first game 3-0 to Belgium in Mexico City on June 3. ^[4] On June 7, the team played its second match against the host nation. It proved to be a controversial affair: with the score still at 0–0, the Egyptian referee Hussain Kandil awarded a free-kick to the Salvadorans in their own half. It was immediately taken by Mexico, who scored a couple of seconds later. The Salvadoran players protested vigorously, to the extent of physically jostling Bermudan linesman Keith Dunstan, but the goal was allowed to stand. ^[5] El Salvador were demoralised as a result, and Mexico subsequently won the game 4-0 with ease in Mexico City. ^[6] On June 10, El Salvador lost their final match in the tournament 2-0 to the USSR in Mexico City, to finish bottom of Group A. ^[7]

1982 FIFA World Cup

In 1982, El Salvador took a 20-man squad (two players short of the normal 22, for reasons that remain unclear), coached by Mauricio "Pipo" Rodríguez, to Spain. However, the team's experience was an unhappy one. In their first match on June 15, in Elche, they were defeated 10-1 by Hungary, a scoreline that stands as a World Cup record to this day. ^[8] One crumb of comfort was that Luis Baltazar Ramírez Zapata did score the country's first ever World Cup goal during the game, albeit at a point when the Salvadorans were already down 5-0. ^[9]

El Salvador managed to regain some pride in their subsequent games: displaying much-improved levels of organisation and commitment, they lost 1-0 to Belgium on June 19 in Elche and 2-0 to the then reigning world champions Argentina in Alicante on June 23. ^{[10] [11]}

Competitive record

World Cup record Year Round GP W D L GF GA 1930 Did Not Enter - - - - - - 1934 Did Not Enter - - - - - - 1938 Withdrew - - - - - - 1950 Did Not Enter - - - - - - 1954 Did Not Enter - - - - - - 1958 Did Not Enter - - - - - - 1962 Did Not Enter - - - - - - 1966 Did Not Enter - - - - - - 1970 Round 1 3 0 0 3 0 9 1974 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - 1978 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - 1982 Round 1 3 0 0 3 1 13 1986 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - 1990 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - 1994 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - 1998 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - 2002 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - 2006 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - 2010 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - 2014 - - - - - - Total 2/19 6 0 0 6 1 22 Confederations Cup record Year Round GP W D* L GS GA 1992 Did not qualify - - - - - - 1995 Did not qualify - - - - - - 1997 Did not qualify - - - - - - 1999 Did not qualify - - - - - - 2001 Did not qualify - - - - - - 2003 Did not qualify - - - - - - 2005 Did not qualify - - - - - - 2009 Did not qualify - - - - - - 2013 - - - - - - Total 0/8 - - - - - -

CONCACAF Championships record Year Round GP W D L GS GA 1963 Second Place 7 3 3 1 17 7 1965 Fourth Place 5 2 1 2 7 9 1967 Did Not Enter - - - - - - 1969 Did Not Enter - - - - - - 1971 Withdrew** - - - - - - 1973 First Round* 2 0 0 2 0 2 1977 Third Place* 11 4 4 3 18 16 1981 Second Place* 13 7 4 2 14 5 1985 Second Round* 6 4 1 1 15 2 1989 Fifth Place* 8 2 2 4 8 9 1991 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - 1993 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - 1996 First Round 2 1 0 1 3 4 1998 First Round 3 0 1 2 0 6 2000 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - 2002 Quarter-Finals 3 1 0 2 1 5 2003 Quarter-Finals 3 1 0 2 7 3 2005 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - 2007 First Round 3 1 0 2 2 6 2009 First Round 3 1 0 2 2 3 Total 13/20 69 27 16 26 94 77 UNCAF Nations Cup record Year Round GP W D L GS GA 1991 Fourth Place 3 0 1 2 2 9 1993 Fourth Place 3 0 1 2 1 5 1995 Third Place 4 2 0 2 5 5 1997 Third Place 5 3 1 1 5 5 1999 Fourth Place 5 1 1 3 3 9 2001 Third Place 6 2 4 0 8 4 2003 Third Place 5 3 0 2 6 4 2005 Group Stage 2 0 0 2 1 3 2007 Fourth Place 5 2 1 2 4 5 2009 Fourth Place 5 1 1 3 5 6 2011 - - - - - - Total 10/10 43 14 10 19 40 55

Note: *Results include games played in qualifiers.

**El Salvador withdrew from the tournament, as a result of the infamous Football War with Honduras.

CCCF Championship record

• 1941 - Second Place
• 1943 - Champions'
• 1946 - Fourth Place
• 1948 - Fifth Place
• 1951 - Did not enter
• 1953 - Fifth Place
• 1955 - Fourth Place
• 1957 - Did not enter
• 1960 - Withdrew
• 1961 - Second place

Pan American Games record

• 1951 - Did not enter
• 1955 - Did not enter
• 1959 - Did not enter
• 1963 - Did not enter
• 1967 - Did not enter
• 1971 - Did not enter
• 1975 - Round 1
• 1979 - Did not enter
• 1983 - Did not enter
• 1987 - Round 1
• 1991 - Did not enter
• 1995 - Did not enter
• 1999 - Did not enter
• 2003 - Did not enter
• 2007 - Did not enter

Olympic Games record

• 1896 to 1964 - Did not enter
• 1968 - Round 1
• 1927 to 1996 - Did not qualify

Central American and Caribbean Games

• 1954 - Gold Medal
• 2002 - Gold Medal
• Central American Games
• 1977 - Gold Medal ^{[citation needed]}

Player Statistics

Current squad

The following 18–man squad was selected for the World Cup Qualifying match against Honduras on October 14, 2009 at the Estadio Cuscatlan.

No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club 1 GK Miguel Montes February 12, 1980 (1980-02-12) (age 29) 34 0 Águila 2 DF Alexander Escobar April 4, 1984 (1984-04-04) (age 25) 32 0 Isidro Metapán 3 DF Marvin González April 17, 1982 (1982-04-17) (age 27) 67 1 FAS 4 DF Ramón Flores August 21, 1982 (1982-08-21) (age 27) 13 0 FAS 5 DF Luis Hernández February 9, 1985 (1985-02-09) (age 24) 20 0 Águila 6 MF Juan Moscoso May 6, 1982 (1982-05-06) (age 27) 5 1 FAS 7 MF Ramón Sánchez May 25, 1982 (1982-05-25) (age 27) 57 2 San Jose Earthquakes 8 MF Osael Romero April 18, 1986 (1986-04-18) (age 23) 37 8 Vista Hermosa 9 FW Rudis Corrales November 6, 1979 (1979-11-06) (age 30) 67 15 Águila 10 MF Eliseo Quintanilla February 5, 1983 (1983-02-05) (age 26) 44 12 Ermis Aradippou 11 FW Williams Reyes October 30, 1976 (1976-10-30) (age 33) 18 0 FAS 12 DF Manuel Salazar January 23, 1986 (1986-01-23) (age 23) 44 0 Luis Ángel Firpo 13 DF Deris Umanzor January 7, 1980 (1980-01-07) (age 29) 31 1 Águila 14 MF Dennis Alas January 10, 1985 (1985-01-10) (age 24) 45 2 Luis Ángel Firpo 15 DF Alfredo Pacheco December 1, 1982 (1982-12-01) (age 26) 72 6 FAS 16 MF Arturo Alvarez June 28, 1985 (1985-06-28) (age 24) 5 0 San Jose Earthquakes 17 MF Cristian Castillo July 27, 1984 (1984-07-27) (age 25) 32 3 León 18 GK Dagoberto Portillo November 16, 1979 (1979-11-16) (age 30) 2 0 FAS

Recent Callups

The following players have been called up to the El Salvador squad in the past 12 months.

Name	DOB (Age)	Club	Caps	Goals	Most Recent Call up
Goalkeepers
Juan José Gómez	November 8, 1980 (1980-11-08) (age 29)	Luis Ángel Firpo	61	0	v.  Costa Rica; April 4, 2009
Luís Castro	May 19, 1981 (1981-05-19) (age 28)	FAS	1	0	v.  Honduras; June 10, 2009
Benji Villalobos	July 15, 1988 (1988-07-15) (age 21)	Águila	0	0	v.  Trinidad and Tobago; August 12, 2009
Defenders
Ricardo Alvarado	May 23, 1980 (1980-05-23) (age 29)	Isidro Metapán	1	0	v.  Honduras; February 1, 2009
Víctor Turcios	April 13, 1988 (1988-04-13) (age 21)	Luis Ángel Firpo	6	0	v.  Colombia; August 7, 2009
Reynaldo Hernández	September 11, 1984 (1984-09-11) (age 25)	Vista Hermosa	1	0	v.  Colombia; August 7, 2009
Mardoqueo Henríquez	May 24, 1987 (1987-05-24) (age 22)	FAS	20	0	v.  Mexico; October 10, 2009
Midfielders
Edwin Miranda	January 28, 1981 (1981-01-28) (age 28)	Miami FC	3	0	v.  Honduras; February 1, 2009
Shawn Martin	February 15, 1987 (1987-02-15) (age 22)	Águila	24	4	v.  Trinidad and Tobago; February 11, 2009
William Torres	October 27, 1976 (1976-10-27) (age 33)	Águila	30	2	v.  Canada; July 7, 2009
Óscar Jiménez	April 18, 1979 (1979-04-18) (age 30)	Isidro Metapán	24	0	v.  Colombia; August 7, 2009
Carlos Monteagudo	April 29, 1985 (1985-04-29) (age 24)	Luis Ángel Firpo	9	1	v.  Colombia; August 7, 2009
Salvador Coreas	September 29, 1984 (1984-09-29) (age 25)	Municipal Limeño	35	0	v.  Mexico; October 10, 2009
Julio Martínez	July 8, 1985 (1985-07-08) (age 24)	León	10	2	v.  Mexico; October 10, 2009
Forwards
César Larios	April 21, 1988 (1988-04-21) (age 21)	FAS	9	1	v.  Peru; February 6, 2009
Carlos Ayala	December 23, 1982 (1982-12-23) (age 26)	Alianza	5	1	v.  United States; March 28, 2009
Herber Barrera	April 28, 1987 (1987-04-28) (age 22)	Luis Ángel Firpo	1	0	v.  Canada; July 7, 2009
Léster Blanco	January 17, 1989 (1989-01-17) (age 20)	Atlético Marte	2	0	v.  Colombia; August 7, 2009
Rodolfo Zelaya	July 7, 1988 (1988-07-07) (age 21)	León	22	4	v.  Costa Rica; September 9, 2009

Personnel

Current staff

Head Coach	Carlos de los Cobos
Assistant Coach	Jaime Rodríguez
2nd Assistant Coach	José Luis Rugamas
GK Coach	Romeo Ulises Lozano
Physical Coordinator	Alvaro Briones
Medical Trainer	Francisco Amaya Cruz
Massage Therapist	José Luis Rodríguez
Trainer	Rodrigo Antonio

Squads for World Cup finals tournaments

• 1982 FIFA World Cup - Spain
• 1970 FIFA World Cup - Mexico

Manager history

Name Years Marck Scott Thompson 1930–1935 Pablo Ferre Elías 1935–1938 Maximo Garay 1940–1941 Slade 1941–1943 Amaricano Gonzalez 1943–1948 Rodolfo Orlandini 1949–1951 Marcelo Estrada 1953 Carbilio Tomasino 1954–1959 Milo Guardado 1959–1960 Conrado Miranda 1961 Luis Comitante 1962–1963 Hernán Vivanco 1965–1967 Rigoberto Guzmán 1968 Gregorio Bundio 1968–1970 Hernán Vivanco 1970 Conrado Miranda 1971 Hector D'Angelo 1972 Jorge Tupinambá 1973

Name Years Pipo Rodríguez 1973–1974 Conrado Miranda 1975 Marcelo Estrada 1975–1976 Raúl Magaña 1976 Aurelio Pinto Beltrao 1976 Porta 1977 Julio Contreras Cardona 1977 Ricardo Tomasino 1978 Raúl Magaña 1979 Pipo Rodríguez 1979–1982 Armando Contreras 1983 Raúl Magaña 1984 Juan Quarterone 1984–1985 Paulo Roberto Cabrera 1986 Raúl Magaña 1987 Milovan Đorić 1988 Miroslav Vukašinović 1988–1989 Conrado Miranda 1989

Name Years Kiril Dojcinovski 1989 Oscar Emigdio Benítez 1991 Jorge Aude 1991–1992 Aníbal Ruiz 1992 Jorge Vieira 1993–1994 José Omar Pastoriza 1995–1996 Armando Contreras 1996–1997 Milovan Đorić 1997–1998 Kiril Dojcinovski 1998 Marinho Peres 1998 Oscar Emigdio Benítez 1999–2000 Carlos Recinos 2000–2002 Juan Ramon Paredes 2002–2004 Armando Contreras 2004 Carlos Cavagnaro 2005 Miguel Aguilar 2005–2006 Carlos de los Cobos 2006–

Schedule and recent results

Last five match results

Category	Home Team	Result	Away Team	Date	Venue	Scorers
WCQ	Trinidad and Tobago	1–0	El Salvador	August 12, 2009	Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain	Trinidad and Tobago: Glen 7'
WCQ	United States	2–1	El Salvador	September 5, 2009	Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy	El Salvador: Castillo 31' United States: Dempsey 40' Altidore 45+2'
WCQ	El Salvador	1–0	Costa Rica	September 9, 2009	Estadio Cuscatlan, San Salvador	El Salvador: Corrales 90+1'
WCQ	Mexico	4–1	El Salvador	October 10, 2009	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City	El Salvador: Martínez 88' Mexico: González 26(og)' Blanco 71' Palencia 85' Vela 90'
WCQ	El Salvador	0–1	Honduras	October 14, 2009	Estadio Cuscatlan, San Salvador	Honduras: Pavón 64'

Upcoming games

None at this moment

Round 4: Hexagonal

Team v • d • e Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  United States 10 6 2 2 19 13 +6 20  Mexico 10 6 1 3 18 12 +6 19  Honduras 10 5 1 4 17 11 +6 16  Costa Rica 10 5 1 4 15 15 0 16  El Salvador 10 2 2 6 9 15 −6 8  Trinidad and Tobago 10 1 3 6 10 22 −12 6

Costa Rica  – 1–0 2–0 0–3 4–0 3–1 El Salvador  1–0 – 0–1 2–1 2–2 2–2 Honduras  4–0 1–0 – 3–1 4–1 2–3 Mexico  2 –0 4–1 1–0 – 2–1 2–1 Trinidad and Tobago  2–3 1–0 1–1 2–2 – 0–1 United States  2–2 2–1 2–1 2–0 3–0 –

• The United States, Mexico and Honduras qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
• Costa Rica advanced to the CONMEBOL/CONCACAF play-off.

Trivia

• First Central American team to qualify for a FIFA World Cup (1970) and first Central American team to qualify twice (1982).
• First Central American team to beat Mexico^{[citation needed]}

Notes and references

See also

• El Salvador national beach soccer team
• El Salvador national under-20 football team
• El Salvador national under-23 football team
• Federación Salvadoreña de Fútbol
• List of football clubs in El Salvador
• List of Salvadoran football players playing abroad
• Primera División de Fútbol Profesional

External links

• A Picture of the Team
• Federación Salvadoreña de Fútbol Official Site (Spanish)
• El Salvador national football team (Non-Official Site) (Spanish)
• El Salvador - Details of World Cup Qualifiers

Preceded by 1941 Costa Rica	CCCF Champions 1943 (First title)	Succeeded by 1946 Costa Rica
Preceded by 1950 Curaçao	Central American and Caribbean Games Champions 1954 (Second title)	Succeeded by 1959 Mexico
Preceded by 1998 Venezuela	Central American and Caribbean Games Champions 2002 (Third title)	Succeeded by 2006 Colombia

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