El Salvador national football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see El Salvador women's national football team.

El Salvador
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)La Selecta (The National Team)
Los Cuscatlecos (The Cuscatlecos)
La Azul y Blanco (The Blue and White)
La ES (The ES)
AssociationFederación Salvadoreña de Fútbol (FESFUT)
ConfederationCONCACAF (North America)
Sub-confederationUNCAF (Central America)
Head coachDavid Dóniga
CaptainNelson Bonilla
Most caps
Top scorerRaúl Díaz Arce (39)[1]
Home stadiumEstadio Jorge "El Mágico" González
FIFA codeSLV
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current 83 Decrease 3 (24 October 2024)[2]
Highest49 (April 2012)
Lowest169 (November 2006[3])
First international
 Costa Rica 7–0 El Salvador 
(Guatemala City, Guatemala; 14 September 1921)
Biggest win
 El Salvador 12–0 Anguilla 
(San Salvador, El Salvador; 6 February 2008)
Biggest defeat
 Hungary 10–1 El Salvador 
(Elche, Spain; 15 June 1982)
World Cup
Appearances2 (first in 1970)
Best resultGroup stage (1970, 1982)
CONCACAF Championship / Gold Cup
Appearances19 (first in 1963)
Best resultRunners-up (1963, 1981)
Medal record
CONCACAF Gold Cup
Silver medal – second place 1963 El Salvador Team
Silver medal – second place 1981 Honduras Team
Bronze medal – third place 1977 Mexico Team
Copa Centroamericana
Bronze medal – third place 1995 El Salvador Team
Bronze medal – third place 1997 Guatemala Team
Bronze medal – third place 2001 Honduras Team
Bronze medal – third place 2003 Panama Team
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Costa Rica Team
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Panama Team
CCCF Championship
Gold medal – first place 1943 San Salvador Team
Silver medal – second place 1941 San José Team
Silver medal – second place 1961 San José Team
Central American and Caribbean Games
Gold medal – first place 1954 Mexico City Team
Gold medal – first place 2002 San Salvador Team
Bronze medal – third place 1935 San Salvador Team

The El Salvador national football team (Spanish: Selección de fútbol de El Salvador), known as La Selecta ("the National Team"), represents El Salvador in international football, and is governed by the Salvadoran Football Federation (FESFUT).[5]

The national team's first match was played in September 1921, when they were invited to participate in a tournament to celebrate 100 years of Central American Independence.

El Salvador has made two FIFA World Cup appearances: first in 1970 and again in 1982, but have never progressed beyond the first stage of a finals tournament. They were the 1943 CCCF champions, and finished in second place in the 1941 and 1961 championships. They have competed in the CONCACAF regional tournaments fourteen times, finishing as runners-up in 1963 and 1981. La Selecta also competes in the biennial UNCAF Nations Cup, the Pan American Games, the Olympics, and have won two gold medals in the Central American and Caribbean Games.[6]

The Estadio Cuscatlán, also known as "El Coloso de Montserrat" and "La Catedral del Espectáculo", is the official home stadium of the El Salvador national football team. Since 2017, the national team has had a kit sponsorship contract with England-based supplier Umbro. Raúl Díaz Arce is the all-time top-scorer for the national team, with 39 goals, while Darwin Cerén has the most caps, with 97 appearances.

  1. ^ "El Salvador – Record International Players". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 10 July 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  2. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  3. ^ "EL SALVADOR MEN'S RANKING". fifa.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  4. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 21 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  5. ^ "La actividad de la selección en 2018". Archived from the original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  6. ^ "El Gráfico". Archived from the original on 8 December 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2017.