El Salvador–Honduras football rivalry explained

Sport:Association football
City Or Region:Central America
Teams:
Firstmeeting:7 November 1927

Mostrecent:26 March 2024

Alltimerecord: 18–22–39
Largestvictory:7 December 1928

----2 September 2000

Longeststreak:Honduras 5
Longestunbeatenstreak:Honduras 12
Currentunbeatenstreak:Honduras 2
El Salvador 1
Map Location:Central America
Map Width:275px
Map Label1:El Salvador
Map Label1 Position:bottom
Coordinates1:13.6989°N -89.1914°W
Map Label2:Honduras
Map Label2 Position:top
Coordinates2:14.1°N -100°W

The El Salvador–Honduras football rivalry is a sports rivalry between the El Salvador and Honduras national football teams. The rivalry between the two nations peaked in 1969 when both teams played each other in the 1970 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, and the matches they played between each other, which ultimately saw El Salvador advance to the 1970 FIFA World Cup, were a contributing factor which led to the outbreak of the Football War in July 1969.

History

The national teams of El Salvador and Honduras were both established in 1921 and played their first matches in the Independence Centenary Games hosted in Guatemala City, however, El Salvador was defeated 0–7 by Costa Rica and Honduras was defeated 0–9 by Guatemala, and as a result, neither team faced each other during the tournament.[1]

El Salvador and Honduras first played each other on 7 November 1928 in Tegucigalpa, in which Honduras won 1–0.[2] The teams rematched the following day, which ended in a 0–0 draw. El Salvador's first victory came in their next match in San Salvador, where the Salvadorans defeated the Hondurans by a score of 5–0. The 5-score margin of victory remains the largest margin of victory ever between the two teams, and the feat was repeated in 2000 when Honduras defeated El Salvador 5–0 during the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[3] El Salvador had never beaten Honduras in Honduran soil until 2022, when El Salvador gained their first ever win to Honduras away in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.[4]

Football War

See also: Football War.

The two teams met during the 1970 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the first time the two teams ever met in a tournament organized by FIFA.[5] The teams played the first match in Tegucigalpa on 8 June 1969, in which Honduras won 1–0, which led to riots instigated by Salvadoran fans.[6] In the second match in San Salvador on 15 June 1969, El Salvador won by a score of 3–0, and before the match, a rag was flown instead of the flag of Honduras. Honduran player Enrique Cardona stated that the Hondurans were "lucky that we lost" because otherwise "we wouldn't be alive today." The loss led to Hondurans attacking Salvadorans and burning down their homes, forcing many Salvadorans to flee back to El Salvador.

As both teams ended on equal points, a third match was played in neutral territory in Mexico City. El Salvador eventually won the match 3–2 after extra time. Before the match and because of the attacks against Salvadorans by Hondurans, the Salvadoran government severed diplomatic relations with Honduras on 26 June 1969, and on 14 July 1969, the Armed Forces of El Salvador invaded Honduras, beginning the Football War. After four days of fighting, the Organization of American States (OAS) negotiated a cease fire, ending the war after around 3,000 people, mostly civilians, had died. El Salvador withdrew its soldiers on 2 August 1969.

El Salvador qualified for the 1970 FIFA World Cup after defeating Haiti, however, the team would lose all three of its matches against Mexico, the Soviet Union, and Belgium in the group stage, failing to score a single goal.[7]

Major tournament matches

1961 CCCF Championship

----

1963 CONCACAF Championship

----

1970 FIFA World Cup qualifiers

--------

1985 CONCACAF Championship

----

2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup

List of matches

The following is a list of matches played between El Salvador and Honduras since their first meeting in November 1927.

DateLocationCompetitionResultSeries
17 November 1927 TegucigalpaFriendly1–0 0–0–1
28 November 19270–0 0–1–1
37 December 1928 San Salvador5–0 1–1–1
429 March 1930 Havana1930 Central American and Caribbean Games1–4 1–1–2
528 March 1935 San Salvador1935 Central American and Caribbean Games3–4 1–1–3
69 March 1946 San José1946 CCCF Championship1–3 2–1–3
711 March 1950 Guatemala City1950 Central American and Caribbean Games1–2 2–1–4
815 March 1953 San José1953 CCCF Championship0–3 2–1–5
917 August 1955 Tegucigalpa1955 CCCF Championship3–1 2–1–6
1012 March 1961 San José1961 CCCF Championship1–0 3–1–6
1119 March 19615–1 4–1–6
1227 March 1963 San Salvador1963 CONCACAF Championship2–2 4–2–6
135 April 19633–0 5–2–6
1414 March 19651965 CONCACAF Championship qualification3–1 6–2–6
1521 May 19671968 CONCACAF Pre-Olympic qualification1–0 7–2–6
1617 July 1968 TegucigalpaFriendly0–0 7–3–6
1731 July 1968 San Salvador2–1 8–3–6
188 June 1969 Tegucigalpa1970 FIFA World Cup qualification1–0 8–3–7
1915 June 1969 San Salvador3–0 9–3–7
2027 June 1969 Mexico City3–2
 10–3–7
2123 November 1980 San Salvador1981 CONCACAF Championship qualification2–1 11–3–7
2230 November 1980 Tegucigalpa2–0 11–3–8
2316 November 19811981 CONCACAF Championship0–0 11–4–8
2418 April 1982 San SalvadorFriendly3–2 12–4–8
2522 April 1982 San Pedro Sula1–1 12–5–8
2610 March 1985 San Salvador1985 CONCACAF Championship1–2 12–5–9
2714 March 1985 Tegucigalpa0–0 12–6–9
284 January 1986 Guatemala City1986 Central American Games0–2 12–6–10
2929 April 1987 TegucigalpaFriendly1–0 12–6–11
3018 March 1988 Los Angeles0–0 12–7–11
3125 September 19880–0 12–8–11
322 June 1991 San José1991 UNCAF Nations Cup1–2 12–8–12
3317 March 1992 Los AngelesFriendly1–1 12–9–12
3412 August 19920–3 12–9–13
3513 September 1992 San Salvador3–1 13–9–13
3618 September 1992 San Pedro Sula1–1 13–10–13
379 March 1993 Tegucigalpa1993 UNCAF Nations Cup3–0 13–10–14
3825 April 19931994 FIFA World Cup qualification3–0 13–10–15
399 May 1993 San Salvador2–1 14–10–15
4014 August 1996 San Pedro SulaFriendly2–1 14–10–16
4121 August 1996 San Salvador1–2 14–10–17
4221 October 1996 Tegucigalpa1–1 14–11–17
4318 April 1997 Guatemala City1997 UNCAF Nations Cup0–3 14–11–18
4427 April 19970–0 14–12–18
4529 January 1998 San SalvadorFriendly1–1 14–13–18
4618 November 1998 Los Angeles1–2 14–13–19
4724 March 1999 San José1999 UNCAF Nations Cup1–3 14–13–20
489 February 2000 San Pedro SulaFriendly5–1 14–13–21
4916 July 2000 San Salvador2002 FIFA World Cup qualification2–5 14–13–22
502 September 2000 San Pedro Sula5–0 14–13–23
5127 May 20012001 UNCAF Nations Cup1–1 14–14–23
5215 February 2003 Colón2003 UNCAF Nations Cup1–0 15–14–23
5329 June 2003 San Pedro SulaFriendly1–1 15–15–23
543 August 2004 San Salvador0–4 15–15–24
556 September 2006 Tegucigalpa2–0 15–15–25
5624 March 2007 Fort Lauderdale0–2 15–15–26
5727 March 2007 Cary0–2 15–15–27
5822 August 2007 San Salvador2–0 16–15–27
5926 January 2009 Tegucigalpa2009 UNCAF Nations Cup2–0 16–15–28
601 February 20091–0 16–15–29
6110 June 2009 San Pedro Sula2010 FIFA World Cup qualification1–0 16–15–30
6214 October 2009 San Salvador0–1 16–15–31
634 September 2010 Los AngelesFriendly2–2
 16–16–31
6421 January 2011 Panama City2011 Copa Centroamericana0–2 16–16–32
6529 May 2011 HoustonFriendly2–2 16–17–32
662 June 2012 Washington, D.C.0–3 16–17–33
6718 January 2013 San José2013 Copa Centroamericana1–1 16–18–33
6812 July 2013 Miami Gardens2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup0–1 16–18–34
697 September 2014 Dallas2014 Copa Centroamericana0–1 17–18–34
7031 May 2015 Washington, D.C.Friendly0–2 17–18–35
7125 March 2016 San Salvador2018 FIFA World Cup qualification2–2 17–19–35
7229 March 2016 San Pedro Sula2–0 17–19–36
7315 January 2017 Panama City2017 Copa Centroamericana1–2 17–19–37
7427 May 2017 Washington, D.C.Friendly2–2 17–20–37
7525 June 2019 Los Angeles2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup4–0 17–20–38
765 September 2021 San Salvador2022 FIFA World Cup qualification0–0 17–21–38
7730 January 2022 San Pedro Sula0–2 18–21–38
7822 March 2023 Los AngelesFriendly1–0 18–21–39
7926 March 2024 Houston1–1 18–22–39

Head-to-head

Team
17939221812478+46
27918223978124–46

Statistics

Overall

MatchesWinsGoals
El SalvadorDrawsHondurasEl SalvadorHonduras
FIFA World Cup qualification134271123
CONCACAF Gold Cup200205
CONCACAF Championshipa8332118
CCCF Championship5302108
UNCAF Nations Cup/Copa Centroamericana13238621
Central American and Caribbean Games3003510
Central American Games100102
CONCACAF Pre-Olympic Tournament110010
All competitions46138254477
Friendly32513123346
All matches7818213977123

a – includes qualification from 1965 and 1981

Individual results at the FIFA World Cup

El SalvadorFIFA World CupHonduras
2
(1970, 1982)		Appearances3
(1982, 2010, 2014)
Group stage
(1970, 1982)		Best resultGroup stage
(1982, 2010, 2014)
0Wins0
0Draws3
6Losses6
1Goals for3
22Goals against14
–21Goal differential–11

See also

References

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Rodrigo. Calvo. Samuel. Martell. Ismael. Ramos. Juegos del Centenario de la Independencia de Centroamérica (Guatemala) 1921. Independence Centenary Games (Guatemala) 1921. RSSSF. 15 October 2020. 30 January 2022. en.
  2. Web site: El Salvador – List of International Matches. 30 January 2022. en. RSSSF. 30 June 2016. Barrie. Courtney.
  3. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20071116185520/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition=4395/preliminaries/preliminary=3881/matches/match=20312/report.html. Honduras – El Salvador 5:0 (2:0). FIFA. 2 September 2000. 30 January 2022. 16 November 2007.
  4. https://futbolcentroamerica.com/elsalvador/Eliminatorias-Concacaf-Historico-triunfo-de-El-Salvador-en-Honduras-VIDEO-20220130-0014.html
  5. Web site: Honduras – List of International Matches. 30 January 2022. en. RSSSF. 30 June 2016. Barrie. Courtney.
  6. Web site: The Soccer War. Soccer Politics. Duke University. Veytskin. Yuriy. Lockerby. Claire. McMullen. Steven. Schorr. Matthew. Barrett. Lindsey. Leachman. Colby. 2009–2013. 31 January 2022.
  7. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20150224145302/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/mexico1970/groups/index.html. 1970 FIFA World Cup Mexico – Groups. 31 January 2022. 24 February 2015. en. FIFA.

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