El Salvador national football team records and statistics

The following are the El Salvador national football team statistical records.

Player records

As of 26 March 2024^[1]

Players in bold are still active with El Salvador.

Most appearances

Darwin Cerén is El Salvador's most capped player with 90 appearances.

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Darwin Cerén	93	5	2012–present
2	Alfredo Pacheco	85	7	2002–2013
3	Dennis Alas	83	3	2001–2012
4	Leonel Cárcamo	82	0	1988–2000
5	Marvin González	81	1	2002–2011
6	Rudis Corrales	78	17	1999–2011
	Alexander Larín	78	7	2012–present
	Ramón Sánchez	78	2	2003–2012
9	Osael Romero	77	16	2007–2013
10	Guillermo Rivera	76	15	1988–2000
10	Jorge Rodríguez	76	9	1995–2004

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Raúl Díaz Arce	39	72	0.54	1991–2000
2	Rodolfo Zelaya	23	52	0.44	2008–2019
3	Jorge "Mágico" González	21	62	0.34	1976–1998
4	Juan Francisco Barraza	19	40	0.48	1953–1969
	José María Rivas	19	47	0.4	1979–1989
	Nelson Bonilla	19	60	0.32	2012–present
7	Rudis Corrales	17	78	0.22	2001–2011
8	Luis Ramírez Zapata	16	58	0.28	1971–1989
8	Osael Romero	16	77	0.21	2007–2013
10	Miguel Cruz	15	14	1.07	1935–1950
	Eliseo Quintanilla	15	68	0.22	2006–2012
	Guillermo Rivera	15	76	0.2	1988–2000

Competition records

FIFA World Cup

El Salvador has never advanced beyond the first round of the finals competition. El Salvador declined to participate at the 1950 FIFA World Cup.^{[note 1]}

FIFA World Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Not a FIFA member									Not a FIFA member
1934	Not a FIFA member									Not a FIFA member
1938	Did not enter									Did not enter
1950	Withdrew^{[note 1]}									Withdrew
1954	Did not enter									Did not enter
1958
1962
1966
1970	Group stage	16th	3	0	0	3	0	9	Squad	10	7	0	3	19	12
1974	Did not qualify									2	0	0	2	0	2
1978	Did not qualify									11	4	4	3	18	16
1982	Group stage	24th	3	0	0	3	1	13	Squad	13	7	4	2	14	6
1986	Did not qualify									6	4	1	1	15	2
1990										8	2	2	4	8	8
1994										14	8	1	5	28	11
1998										16	5	5	6	23	22
2002										10	6	1	3	23	15
2006										8	2	2	4	6	14
2010										20	8	3	9	39	21
2014										12	7	2	3	28	16
2018										10	3	3	4	12	16
2022										20	7	5	8	27	19
2026	Qualification in progress									2	1	1	0	3	1
2030	To be determined									To be determined
2034	To be determined									To be determined
Total	Group stage	2/20	6	0	0	6	1	22	—	162	71	34	57	263	181

CONCACAF Gold Cup

CONCACAF Championship & Gold Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1963	Runners-up	2nd	7	3	3	1	17	11	Squad	Qualified as hosts
1965	Fourth place	4th	5	2	1	2	7	9	Squad	2	2	0	0	7	1
1967	Did not enter									Did not enter
1969	Banned									Banned
1971	Withdrew									Withdrew
1973	Did not qualify									2	0	0	2	0	2
1977	Third place	3rd	5	2	1	2	8	9	Squad	6	2	3	1	10	7
1981	Runners-up	2nd	5	2	2	1	2	1	Squad	8	5	2	1	12	5
1985	Fourth place	4th	4	2	1	1	7	2	Squad	2	2	0	0	8	0
1989	Fifth place	5th	6	0	2	4	2	8	Squad	2	2	0	0	6	0
1991	Did not qualify									5	2	1	2	7	11
1993	Did not qualify									3	0	1	2	1	5
1996	Group stage	6th	2	1	0	1	3	4	Squad	4	3	0	1	7	3
1998	Group stage	8th	3	0	1	2	0	6	Squad	5	1	1	3	2	5
2000	Did not qualify									8	1	2	5	6	15
2002	Quarter-finals	8th	3	1	0	2	1	5	Squad	6	2	4	0	8	4
2003	Quarter-finals	6th	3	1	0	2	3	7	Squad	5	3	0	2	6	4
2005	Did not qualify									2	0	0	2	1	3
2007	Group stage	9th	3	1	0	2	2	6	Squad	5	2	1	2	4	5
2009	Group stage	9th	3	1	0	2	2	3	Squad	5	1	1	3	5	8
2011	Quarter-finals	7th	4	1	2	1	8	8	Squad	5	2	1	2	7	6
2013	Quarter-finals	7th	4	1	1	2	4	8	Squad	4	1	2	1	2	2
2015	Group stage	9th	3	0	2	1	1	2	Squad	4	2	0	2	4	3
2017	Quarter-finals	8th	4	1	1	2	4	6	Squad	5	2	1	2	5	4
2019	Group stage	9th	3	1	1	1	1	4	Squad	4	3	0	1	7	2
2021	Quarter-finals	6th	4	2	0	2	6	4	Squad	6	5	0	1	10	1
2023	Group stage	14th	3	0	2	1	3	4	Squad	4	1	2	1	6	5
Total	Runners-up	19/27	74	22	20	32	81	107	—	102	44	22	36	131	101

CONCACAF Championship & Gold Cup history
First Match	El Salvador 1–1 Panama (23 March 1963; San Salvador, El Salvador)
Biggest Win	El Salvador 6–1 Nicaragua (25 March 1963; San Salvador, El Salvador) El Salvador 6–1 Cuba (12 June 2011; Chicago, United States
Biggest Defeat	Mexico 5–0 El Salvador (5 June 2011; Arlington, United States)
Best Result	Runners-up (1963, 1981)
Worst Result	Group stage (1996, 1998, 2007, 2009, 2015, 2019, 2023)

CONCACAF Nations League

CONCACAF Nations League record
League										Finals
Season	Division	Group	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	P/R	Year	Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
2019–20	B	B	6	5	0	1	10	1		2021	Ineligible
2022–23	A	D	4	1	2	1	6	5		2023	Did not qualify
2023–24	A	A	4	0	1	3	2	6		2024	Did not qualify
2024–25	B	A	To be determined							2025	Ineligible
Total	—	—	14	6	3	5	18	12	—	Total	0 Titles	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

CONCACAF Nations League history
First Match	El Salvador 3–0 Saint Lucia (7 September 2019; San Salvador, El Salvador)
Biggest Win	El Salvador 3–0 Saint Lucia (7 September 2019; San Salvador, El Salvador)
Biggest Defeat	Guatemala 2–0 El Salvador (7 September 2023; Guatemala City, Guatemala)
Best Result	—
Worst Result	—

Copa Centroamericana

Copa Centroamericana record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1991	Fourth place	4th	3	0	1	2	2	9
1993	Fourth place	4th	3	0	1	2	1	5
1995	Third place	3rd	4	2	0	2	5	5
1997	Third place	3rd	5	3	1	1	5	5
1999	Fourth place	4th	5	1	1	3	3	9
2001	Third place	3rd	6	2	4	0	8	4
2003	Third place	3rd	5	3	0	2	6	4
2005	Group stage	6th	2	0	0	2	1	3
2007	Fourth place	4th	5	2	1	2	4	5
2009	Fourth place	4th	5	1	1	3	5	6
2011	Fourth place	4th	5	2	1	2	7	6
2013	Third place	3rd	4	1	2	1	2	2
2014	Fourth place	4th	4	2	0	2	4	3
2017	Third place	3rd	5	2	1	2	5	4
Total	Third place	14/14	57	19	14	24	54	67

CCCF Championship

CCCF Championship record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1941	Runners-up	2nd	4	2	1	1	15	8
1943	Champions	1st	6	4	1	1	28	11
1946	Third place	3rd	5	3	0	2	15	11
1948	Fifth place	5th	8	2	1	5	6	17
1951	Did not enter
1953	Fifth place	5th	6	2	1	3	10	14
1955	Fourth place	4th	6	3	0	3	8	13
1957	Did not enter
1960	Withdrew
1961	Runners-up	2nd	6	4	1	1	18	7
Total	1 Title	7/10	41	20	5	16	100	81

Olympic Games

Olympic Games record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
1900	Did not participate
1904
1908
1912
1920
1924
1928
1936
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968	Group stage	15th	3	0	1	2	2	8	Squad
1972	Did not qualify
1976
1980
1984
1988
Since 1992	See El Salvador national under-23 football team
Total	Group stage	1/19	3	0	1	2	2	8	—

Pan American Games

Pan American Games record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1951	Did not qualify
1955
1959
1963
1967
1971
1975	Preliminary round	10th	3	1	1	1	4	3
1979	Did not qualify
1983	Did not qualify
1987	Preliminary round	7th	3	1	1	1	1	1
1991	Did not qualify
1995	Did not qualify
Since 1999	See El Salvador national under-23 football team
Total	Preliminary round	2/12	6	2	2	2	5	4

Central American and Caribbean Games

Central American and Caribbean Games record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Fourth place	4th	5	1	0	4	13	25
1935	Third place	3rd	5	2	0	3	15	20
1938	Fourth place	4th	5	2	0	3	7	19
1946	Did not qualify
1950	Fourth place	4th	3	1	0	2	4	5
1954	Champions	1st	4	3	1	0	9	5
1959	Did not qualify
1962	Did not qualify
1966	Fourth place	4th	5	1	2	2	5	9
1970	Did not qualify
1974	Did not qualify
1978	Group stage	9th	5	1	0	4	2	21
1982	Did not qualify
1986
1990
1993
1998
2002	Champions	1st	5	5	0	0	10	1
2006	Quarter-finals	5th	3	1	0	2	9	7
2010	Quarter-finals	5th	2	1	1	0	1	0
2014	Group stage	5th	3	1	0	2	3	5
2018	Group stage	6th	3	1	0	2	1	4
Total	2 Titles	12/22	48	20	4	24	79	121

Central American Games

Central American Games record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1973	Third place	3rd	4	1	2	1	2	4
1977	Champions	1st	6	4	1	1	17	2
1986	Fourth place	4th	3	0	1	2	0	4
1990	Did not participate
1994	Runners-up	2nd	3	3	0	0	12	2
1997	Fourth place	4th	4	2	0	2	5	2
2001	Group stage	6th	2	0	0	2	0	5
2006	Not held
2010	Not held
2013	Third place	3rd	6	2	0	4	6	23
2017	Fourth place	4th	4	1	2	1	2	1
Total	1 Title	9/11	32	13	6	13	44	43

Head-to-head record

The list shown below shows the El Salvador national football team all-time international record against opposing nations. The stats are composed of FIFA World Cup and qualifiers, the CONCACAF Gold Cup, as well as numerous other international friendly tournaments and matches.

Updated to 14 June 2024 after the match against Peru.^[2]

Positive Record Neutral Record Negative Record

Opponent	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Anguilla	2	2	0	0	16	0	+16
Antigua and Barbuda	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3
Argentina	3	0	0	3	0	7	−7
Armenia	1	0	0	1	0	4	−4
Aruba	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2
Barbados	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3
Belgium	2	0	0	2	0	4	-4
Belize	9	9	0	0	26	6	+20
Bermuda	5	2	1	2	8	6	+2
Bolivia	5	1	2	2	6	9	−3
Bonaire	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Brazil	3	0	0	3	0	13	−13
Canada	17	4	4	9	13	22	−9
Cayman Islands	2	2	0	0	8	1	+7
Chile	3	0	0	3	0	3	−3
China	1	0	1	0	2	2	0
Colombia	8	1	2	5	9	18	-9
Costa Rica	60	9	13	38	50	130	-80
Cuba	9	7	2	0	24	4	+20
Curaçao^[a]	22	12	8	2	31	17	+14
Denmark	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1
Dominican Republic	4	3	0	1	7	4	+3
Ecuador	10	1	2	7	8	31	-23
Estonia	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2
Ghana	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Greece	2	0	0	2	1	6	-5
Grenada	3	2	1	0	7	3	+4
Guatemala	85	21	26	38	72	102	-30
Guyana	2	1	1	0	5	4	+1
Haiti	27	15	6	6	36	18	+18
Honduras	77	18	21	38	76	124	-48
Hungary	4	0	1	3	3	17	−14
Iceland	1	0	0	1	0	1	-1
Israel	1	0	0	1	1	3	−2
Ivory Coast	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1
Jamaica	26	6	10	10	18	27	−9
Japan	2	0	0	2	0	8	−8
Martinique	4	1	1	2	2	3	−1
Mexico	37	4	1	32	20	106	−86
Moldova	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2
Montserrat	4	3	1	0	6	2	+4
New Zealand	1	0	1	0	2	2	0
Nicaragua	31	27	3	1	120	21	+99
Panama	43	14	11	18	58	60	−2
Paraguay	6	0	0	6	1	11	−10
Peru	7	2	0	5	6	15	−9
Puerto Rico	4	2	2	0	10	2	+8
Qatar	2	0	0	2	2	4	−2
Republic of Ireland	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1
Russia^[b]	5	0	0	5	1	10	-9
Saint Kitts and Nevis	4	3	1	0	12	3	+9
Saint Lucia	2	2	0	0	5	0	+5
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	3	3	0	0	12	3	+9
Serbia^[c]	1	0	0	1	1	4	−3
South Korea	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Spain	1	0	0	1	0	2	-2
Suriname	9	8	0	1	28	7	+21
Trinidad and Tobago	13	4	4	5	16	17	-1
United States	28	1	7	20	16	63	−47
U.S. Virgin Islands	1	1	0	0	7	0	+7
Venezuela	5	2	0	3	6	7	-1
Zimbabwe	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
Total	619	199	137	283	774	941	-167