El Salvador’s World Cup qualification
World Cup participants in 1982, El Salvador were certainly not without an international pedigree, but it remained to be seen whether the current crop of players could replicate what their predecessors from early in the decade had achieved. That group of players which had taken part in Spain, where they had arrived only the day prior to their humiliating 10-1 loss against Hungary in their opening tie, had perhaps not left Europe on the best of notes, even if they had improved against the Belgians (0-1) and the Argentinians (0-2) subsequently.
El Salvador were one of the countries given a bye in the first preliminary round of the World Cup qualification, and so they entered the competition in the second preliminary round, where the Netherlands Antilles were their opponents. The first leg was played in Willemstad, the capital of the Antilles, situated on its main island Curaçao, on October 1 1988:
Netherlands Antilles 0-1 El Salvador
Goal: Ricardo García (53′)
Attendance: 3311
Line-up: Luis Guevara Mora – Giovanni Martínez Trigueros, Leonel Cárcamo, Mauricio Cienfuegos, Nelson Rivera (Juan Ramón Pacheco 60), Fernando Lazo, Jorge Ábrego, Ricardo García, Luis Ramírez Zapata (López Medrano 70), Salvador Coreas Privado, Osmel Zapata
The El Salvadorian coach at this point was a 40 year old Yugoslav by the name of Miroslav Vukašinović from the Zlatibor district of today’s Serbia. He had succeeded his fellow countryman Milovan Đorić only the previous month, and so this was just Vukašinović’ second game in charge. His first had been a 0-0 friendly against neighbours Honduras on neutral ground in Los Angeles, USA. Đorić, by the way, had led El Salvador’s failed attempt at reaching the 1988 Olympic Games football tournament.
Nothing less than progress into the group stage of the World Cup qualification, which at the same time doubled as the 1989 CONCACAF championships, was expected following that 1-0 away win on the island just off the north shore of the Venezuelan coast. The return leg took place in San Salvador on October 16:
El Salvador 5-0 Netherlands Antilles
Goals: Coreas Privado (5′), García (35′), Zapata (48′), Ramírez Zapata 2 (58′, 68′)
Attendance: 40,000
Line-up: Luis Guevara Mora – Giovanni Martínez Trigueros, Leonel Cárcamo, Mauricio Cienfuegos, Nelson Rivera (William Chachagua 73), Fernando Lazo, Jorge Ábrego, Ricardo García, Luis Ramírez Zapata, Salvador Coreas Privado (López Medrano 69), Osmel Zapata
So it was an identical starting eleven to the one which had taken to the field on the island of Curaçao 15 days earlier. Of the 14 players who had featured over the two legs were two men who had played in all three of their games during the 1982 World Cup: goalkeeper Guevara Mora and 34 year old forward Ramírez Zapata, nicknamed Pelé, who had indeed scored their goal coming on as an early substitute during that awful 10-1 drubbing at the hands of the Hungarians. With a handsome 6-0 aggregate win, El Salvador had safely negotiated their passage through to the qualification group stage, which would only commence next year.
Friendlies
09.11.1988: El Salvador 0-0 Guatemala (in USA)
Line-up: Guevara Mora – Ábrego, Trigueros, Cárcamo, Chachagua (G Rivera 71), Coreas, Cienfuegos, Lazo, García, Osmel Zapata (Canales 59), Ramírez Zapata
01.02.1989: El Salvador 0-2 Hamburger SV (in San Salvador)
Line-up: Guevara Mora – Ábrego, Trigueros, Cárcamo, Chachagua (N Rivera),Coreas, Cienfuegos (G Rivera), Lazo (López Medrano), García, Osmel Zapata (Ulloa), Ramírez Zapata (Ramón Pacheco)
21.02.1989: El Salvador 1-1 Costa Rica (4-3 on penalties) (in USA)
Goal: Coreas
23.02.1989: El Salvador 0-2 Mexico (in USA)
Line-up: Guevara Mora – Trigueros, Rodríguez, Cárcamo (Chachagua h-t), N Rivera, Coreas, Cienfuegos, Pacheco (G Rivera 30), García, Ramírez Zapata, Rivas (Osmel Zapata 59) (López Medrano 77)
03.03.1989: Guatemala 3-0 El Salvador
Line-up: Santillana – Lucero, Arévalo, Turcios (Peña), N Rivera, Menjívar (Chachagua), Lazo, G Rivera, García, Pacheco, Rivas
31.04.1989: El Salvador 2-0 Real España de Honduras
Goals: Ulloa (2)
Line-up: Guevara Mora – Ábrego, Trigueros, Cárcamo (Pacheco), N Rivera, Coreas (Osmel Zapata), Cienfuegos (Jesús Vásquez), G Rivera, García (Salomon Campos), Rivas (Ulloa), Ramírez Zapata (Lazo)
05.05.1989: El Salvador 1-2 Paraguay (in USA)
Goal: Rivas
Line-up: Guevara Mora – Ábrego, Rodríguez, Trigueros, N Rivera, Coreas, Cienfuegos, G Rivera (Pacheco)(Campos), García, Ulloa, Ramírez Zapata
07.05.1989: El Salvador 0-1 Chile (in USA)
Line-up: Guevara Mora – Ábrego, Arévalo, Cárcamo, N Rivera, Juan García, Vásquez Flores, Cienfuegos, Carlos Coreas, Rivas, Ramírez Zapata
21.05.1989: El Salvador 1-0 Herediano de Costa Rica (in San Salvador)
Goal: Rivas
Line-up: Santillana – Ábrego, Arévalo (Trigueros), Jesús Vásquez (Lazo), N Rivera (G Rivera), Salvador Coreas, Cienfuegos (Pacheco), Osmel Zapata, Ricardo García, Rivas (López Medrano), Ramírez Zapata (Turcios)
27.05.1989: El Salvador 0-1 Olimpia de Honduras (in San Salvador)
Line-up: Raúl García – Ábrego, Trigueros, Cárcamo, N Rivera (Ramírez Zapata), Turcios (G Rivera), Lazo, Cienfuegos (Pacheco), Ricardo García, López Medrano (Rivas), S Coreas
06.06.1989: El Salvador 2-3 Cruz Azul de Mexico (in California, USA)
Goals: Ramírez Zapata, S Coreas
Line-up: Santillana – Ábrego, Rodríguez, Cárcamo, N Rivera, Jesús Vásquez, Cienfuegos, Mágico Gonzáles, R García, S Coreas, Ramírez Zapata
08.06.1989: El Salvador 0-1 Puebla de Mexico (in California, USA)
Line-up: Guevara Mora – Ábrego, Rodríguez, Cárcamo, N Rivera, Jesús Vásquez, Cienfuegos, Mágico Gonzáles, R García, S Coreas, Ramírez Zapata
Qualification group stage
Match 1
25.06.1989: El Salvador 2-4 Costa Rica
Goals: Rodríguez (24), Rivas (65)
Line-up (4-3-1-2): Mora – Ábrego, Rodríguez, Trigueros (Cárcamo 53), Rivera – Cienfugos, Vásquez Flores (Lazo around 35), García – Coreas (c) – Rivas, Ramírez Zapata
The game was abandoned five minutes from full time due to crowd trouble. Upset home fans, who had strongly disagreed when the referee had disallowed what they saw as a perfectly headed equalizer for 3-3 through Ramírez Zapata (Coreas’ handball from García’s cross before the ball found its way to Ramírez Zapata had been very difficult to spot by anyone, but replays showed how the officials got the decision right), would start throwing objects on to the pitch after a fourth Costa Rican goal minutes later. The safety of players and officials alike had to be addressed, and the decision to abandon the game was the correct one. FIFA would later let the result stand, while El Salvador were told to play their remaining home qualifiers abroad.
Managerial change
Already prior to the opening qualifier against Costa Rica, after the final training session, El Salvador’s Yugoslav manager Miroslav Vukašinović had informed the press that he would step down from his position after the match. He was subsequently replaced by a fellow Yugoslav, a 45 year old with little or no coaching pedigree behind him whose name was Kiril Dojčinovski. He would lead the team for the first time in the tricky away fixture at Costa Rica. The new coach, from the Macedonian republic, was El Salvador’s third successive Yugoslav national team manager, as Milovan Đorić had preceded Vukašinović.
Match 2
16.07.1989: Costa Rica 1-0 El Salvador
Line-up (4-1-3-2): C Rivera – Ábrego (Murillo h-t), Rodríguez, Cárcamo, N Rivera – Huezo – Cienfuegos, Gonzáles, G Rivera (García 82) – Coreas (c), Ulloa
El Salvador’s new manager brought into the side a holding midfielder, and they had a much more solid defensive this time around, preventing the favoured Costa Ricans from playing for the majority of a tepid first half. Despite the presence of ‘Mágico’ Gonzáles, El Salvador had very little on offer as an attacking capacity, and once going behind on 56 minutes, the game was in reality settled. Goalkeeper Carlos Rivera gave a ‘man of the match’ performance as he kept the score at 1-0 in the El Salvadorians’ second straight loss.
Match 3
30.07.1989: Trinidad&Tobago 2-0 El Salvador
Line-up: C Rivera – Cárcamo, Rodríguez, Ragazzone, García – Cienfuegos (Palacios Lozano 63), Rugamas, Ramírez Zapata, Canales (Ulloa h-t) – Coreas, Rivas
Match 4
13.08.1989: El Salvador 0-0 Trinidad&Tobago
Line-up: C Rivera – Ábrego, Rodríguez, Cárcamo, N Rivera – Palacios Lozano (Vásquez Flores 86), Rugamas, Ramírez Zapata, Coreas (Canales 20) – Rivas, Ulloa
Managerial change
A second change at the helm during the course of the qualification group stage took place in the wake of the double header with Trinidad&Tobago, which ensured El Salvador would need nothing short of a miracle to qualify for Italia ’90. Kiril Dojčinovski was replaced by 60 year old El Salvadorian coaching legend Conrado Miranda, who took charge of the national team for the fourth time.
Match 5
17.09.1989: El Salvador 0-1 USA
Line-up (4-4-2): C Rivera – Girón, Orellana, Ragazzone, N Rivera – Palacios Lozano, Rugamas (c), M Alfaro, Canales (R Álfaro 62) – Rivas, Ventura
Despite further heroics by goalkeeper Rivera, El Salvador fail to claim anything in this their second match in their enforced makeshift home in Honduras. USA are bigger and stronger, and eventually score the only goal of the game through El Salvador born Pérez in the second half. 36 year old Rugamas came close with a 30 yard free-kick which drew a fine save from Meola, while Palacios Lozano struck the outside of the post after the break.
Match 6
05.11.1989: USA 0-0 El Salvador
Line-up (4-4-2): C Rivera – V Coreas, Rodríguez, Cárcamo, Estrada – Arbizú, Cienfuegos, Gómez, Menjívar – Rivas, O Zapata
El Salvador pick up a second, albeit futile, point from their difficult qualification campaign as they hold an uninspired US team to a scoreless draw in very windy conditions. They sit deep and defend well, attempting to hit the hosts on the break, although they themselves do not manage to create any dangerous openings in a pretty dull match. Gómez sees red by the end of regulation time for a disgusting chest kick on USA’s substitute Klopas.
Note
El Salvador’s final two matches were cancelled. This was both due to the serious political situation in which the country was at this point, as well as the lack of importance for both El Salvador and Guatemala football wise. Neither was in contention for a place in next year’s World Cup.
Match 7
19.11.1989: El Salvador-Guatemala
Cancelled
Match 8
26.11.1989: Guatemala-El Salvador
Cancelled
Qualification verdict
1989 wasn’t an easy year in already conflict torn El Salvador, as tensions kept rising between the government and various militant groups, and one could perhaps say that this was mirrored in the behaviour of the crowd during their first group stage qualifier, played against Costa Rica, who at the time had already concluded more than half of their fixtures, and who ultimately won 4-2 in San Salvador. The home support thought their heroes had equalized some ten minutes from time, when they had what the fans felt was a perfectly good goal disallowed. Replays would show how there was a handball against Salvador Coreas before the ball ended up with Luis Ramírez Zapata, who converted at the back stick. This handball had gone unseen by the fans, who vented their frustration by throwing a huge number of objects out on to the pitch once Costa Rica had scored a fourth. The game was called off before full time, FIFA let the result stand, and El Salvador were told to play their remaining three home qualifiers outside of the country.
They had come into the qualification under the tenureship of Yugoslav coach Miroslav Vukašinović, who resigned in the wake of the game, leaving to his fellow countryman Kiril Dojčinovski to guide them onwards in the qualification. He would in fact only last at the helm for three further matches, with Conrado Miranda succeeding him for their fifth fixture, before, oddly, Dojčinovski again resumed charge for what turned out to be El Salvador’s final qualifier for Italia ’90. And with complete turmoil in the management area came a big influx of players and zero consistency. El Salvador only scored twice during the course of the qualification group stage, firing blanks for their final five fixtures.
It was highly unfortunate how they failed to show any consistency anywhere, as there were a number of very useful players among this generation of El Salvadorian footballers. Easily their best player was goalkeeper Carlos Rivera, who featured in their final five qualifiers. He made a number of astonishing saves along the way. Among the outfield players, it was probably the highly experienced Jaime Rodríguez (four matches), who had featured at España ’82, and who scored with a fantastic long distance shot in the scandalous match against Costa Rica, who had led the way. Aerially strong and combative, the spare man in defence gave a sound impression. The same could probably be said about the diminutive Mauricio Cienfuegos in midfield, while their easily most famous contemporary player and big star, midfield man ‘Mágico’ Gonzáles, based in Spain with topflight club Cádiz, only featured once (and without leaving a very favourable impression).
Having lost their first two qualifiers, both home and away against Costa Rica, it quickly became clear how El Salvador were little more than also-rans this time around. They would gain creditable scoreless draws at “home” (in Tegucigalpa, the capital of neighbouring Honduras) against Trinidad&Tobago and not least away to a USA in need of both points, but altogether it was way too little. During the course of their six group stage qualifiers, no less than 34 (!) players had been in action. That said it all, really.
The final pair of matches against neighbouring Guatemala were agreed to not be played, both due to the safety situation in El Salvador, and also because neither team could influence on the teams above them in the standings.