Ahead of their final group fixtures in the CONCACAF Nations League next week, El Salvador and Honduras will square off in a friendly on Wednesday at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
It will be the first match between these two nations since January last year when the Salvadorans won 2-0 in a World Cup qualifier played in San Pedro.
Match preview
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Nearly two years into his tenure as manager of the senior squad, El Salvador have grown by leaps and bounds in a concise time frame under Hugo Perez.
The ex-United States Hall of Fame midfielder guided this team to the final round of World Cup qualifying for Qatar for the first time since the 2010 cycle and, in 2021, they made the quarter-finals of the Gold Cup for the first time since 2017.
Those achievements have enabled El Salvador to feature in League A at the Nations League for the first time, and they have taken full advantage, currently positioned to make the Finals of that competition, leading a group which features the USA and Grenada.
Perez has a reputation for developing youngsters, previously coaching US regulars Christian Pulisic and Tyler Adams among others, before they featured with the senior squad, and the 59-year-old coach selected a relatively inexperienced side for this encounter, with only one member of the 22-man squad being above the age of 30.
El Salvador are not a fluid side that plays a very wide-open style, however, they are one of the most challenging teams in the region to break down and are happy to sit back with a slew of players behind the ball.
Since their World Cup qualification journey ended last March, La Selecta have gone unbeaten in three successive encounters, while they did not concede a goal against the Hondurans in their two previous meetings.
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Following a disappointing final round of World Cup qualifying for Qatar, the Hondurans are rebuilding, with the torch now being passed to a new generation of footballers.
It will be up to Diego Vasquez to develop the new crop of youngsters on this squad, and he has just under three years to try to get this team back to the World Cup for the first time since 2014.
La H have begun the Vasquez-era positively, winning two of their three group matches in the Nations League, including a 2-1 victory over Canada, a team which finished first in the final CONCACAF qualification stage for Qatar 2022.
In his three matches in charge of Honduras, Vasquez has employed a very direct attacking system, with his squad thriving in transition, catching the Canadians on the break on a couple of instances last June.
A win or draw in their final Nations League fixture versus Canada at the end of March would ensure their place in the Finals of that competition for the second successive time after capturing third place in the inaugural tournament two years ago.
Honduras have failed to find the back of the net in three successive matches played on American soil, having been outscored 8-0 over that stretch.
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Team News
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El Salvador will have a trio of siblings available for this encounter, with the most experienced being Cristian Gil, who has nine caps for the senior side, while his younger brothers Mayer Gil and Bryan Gil, club teammates at Alianza Petrolera in Colombia, are seeking their first appearance with the national team.
Much of their game filters through captain Alex Roldan from the Seattle Sounders in Major League Soccer, who has 15 caps with the senior squad, Bryan Tamacas is their most experienced player chosen, featuring in 62 encounters, while Los Angeles Galaxy defender Eriq Zavaleta was the only player selected over the age of 30.
Mario Gonzalez has posted back-to-back clean sheets for La Selecta against Honduras, while Darwin Ceren and Nelson Bonilla, two players who were not chosen for this encounter, both scored in their previous game against them last January.
Vasquez chose a squad made up primarily of players featuring domestically in Honduras, four of which he used to coach during his tenure at Motagua, Walter Martinez, Hector Castellanos, Wesly Decas and Marcelo Pereira.
Their main attacking threat Romell Quioto had a brace over the weekend, helping CF Montreal claim their first victory of the MLS campaign, beating the Philadelphia Union 3-2, while Alberth Elis is still seeking his first of the campaign for Ligue 1 side Brest, as is Anthony Lozano, who plays his club football with Cadiz in La Liga.
Kevin Lopez and Kervin Arriaga found the back of the net for the Hondurans in their previous Nations League encounter against Canada, putting them in a position to make the Finals.
El Salvador possible starting lineup:
Gonzalez; Tamacas, Zavaleta, Dominguez, Villalobos; Roldan, Orellana, Duenas; C. Gil, Reyes, Henriquez
Honduras possible starting lineup:
L. Lopez; Pereira, Maldonado, Decas, Garcia; K. Lopez, D. Flores, Arriaga, Palma; Quioto, Elis
We say: El Salvador 0-0 Honduras
With both teams on the cusp of a potential trip to the semi-finals of the Nations League next week, we expect this encounter to be more of a training session to get back into game shape, as neither have played an international fixture in over nine months.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
