SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador.- Neither El Salvador or Honduras could find a breakthrough at the Estadio Cuscatlán in San Salvador, with the Central American rivals battling to a scoreless draw on Sunday night.
The teams took different approaches after their opening-match draws, with El Salvador Head Coach Hugo Perez opting for the exact same starting XI as he utilized in a 0-0 result with the United States, last Thursday, while Honduras manager Fabian Coito made nine modifications to the squad that earned a 1-1 draw with Canada.
In the 35th minute, Honduras goalkeeper Luis Lopez, who kept his place, passed one of his first tests, being alert to stopping a long-range, left-footed rocket from El Salvador forward Joaquin Rivas.
Rivas’ Honduran counterpart, Antony Lozano, made his qualification debut after missing Honduras’ 1-1 draw with Canada. Lozano had a big opportunity in the 64th minute, with the ball coming in from the right wing, but Lozano couldn’t get his feet right and didn’t put a shot on goal.
After a long stoppage, action resumed, and in the 100th minute, Salvadoran substitute Walmer Martinez made a half-turn and fired off a shot from the top of the box, but his effort went just wide of Lopez’s net.
And the scoreless draw was locked in during the 107th minute, as El Salvador goalkeeper Mario Gonzalez denied Brayan Moya. The Honduras attacker was the first man on the corner kick and leapt to hit a surprising header, but the goalkeeper was ready to stop the well-placed shot and protected his second-consecutive clean sheet.
El Salvador now embarks upon the first road trip of the Final Round of qualification, traveling to face Canada, while Honduras has its first game at home, against the United States.
