The El Salvador men’s national team will participate in its 13th Concacaf Gold Cup, and ninth consecutive, as it hopes to raise the trophy when all is said and done.

El Salvador will participate in Group C with Costa Rica, Panama, and the winner of the Prelims 8 match. The Cuscatlecos are looking for back-to-back appearances in the knockout round and improve on its best finish of getting to at least the quarterfinals on six editions.

This year’s journey begins on Monday, June 26, against a preliminaries winner as the group kicks off in a doubleheader at DRV PNK Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, FL. Their second match is on Friday, June 30, against Costa Rica at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ, and end the group stage against Panama at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, TX, on Tuesday, July 4.

Overall, the Central Americans have a record of 11W-8D-20L in the tournament, with 35 goals scored and 63 conceded.

There have been some marvelous goal-scorers in Salvadoran football history, with Rodolfo Zelaya one of the most accomplished, especially in Gold Cup play.

Zelaya is the country’s all-time scorer in Gold Cup action with nine goals, while active players Nelson Bonilla and Joaquin Rivas are among a quartet of players tied for second place with three goals each.

Rivas was one of El Salvador’s revelations in the 2021 tournament in scoring three goals, as El Salvador won two group stage matches for the first time in their history before narrowly falling 3-2 to Qatar in the quarterfinals.

If El Salvador finish among the top two, a quarterfinals participation will start on Saturday, July 8, at AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX, against either the first or second-placed team from Group B. A win there would send the Central Americans to the semifinals for the first time.

La Selecta will bring a mix of veterans and new faces to the Gold Cup. Goalkeeper Mario Gonzalez is one of the rising stars, while veterans Alex Roldan and Narciso Orellana will be voices of leadership.

Zelaya will not take part in this tournament, but Cristian Gil, Kevin Reyes and Mayer Gil are some of the names that will look to have a good goalscoring outing to remember.

Head Coach Hugo Perez has changed the perception of this El Salvador team, taking them to the final stages of FIFA World Cup qualifying. He took the helm in the 2021 edition and hopes to take another step with his birth country at this edition.