PHOENIX, Arizona – In their Concacaf Gold Cup history, El Salvador’s best finish came in the quarterfinal stage, something they have achieved five times [2002, 2003, 2011, 2013, 2017].
Yet there is reason to believe that things could go differently for the current El Salvador team that has qualified for the knockout stage, and that a deep run to a first ever semifinal could be in the works.
El Salvador are appearing in their 12th Gold Cup and in 2021 they have achieved a best ever group stage, which could provide a boost in their upcoming quarterfinal on Saturday.
It is worth looking back on El Salvador’s previous five group stage campaigns that preceded a quarterfinal and how those performances contrast with this year’s edition.
In both 2002 and 2003, El Salvador finished in second place in their three-team group with a 1W-0D-1L record. In 2002, the Central Americans scored a goal and conceded a goal in the group stage, while in 2003 it was one goal in favor and two against. Those tournaments concluded for El Salvador with quarterfinal defeats to the United States and Costa Rica, respectively.
The 2011 El Salvador team featured in a four-team group and earned a third-place group finish with a 1W-1D-1L record, with seven goals scored and seven conceded. It was a similar story in 2013, as a 1W-1D-1L record with three goals scored and three against resulted in a third-place group finish.
El Salvador’s 2011 Gold Cup quarterfinal ended with a narrow 5-3 penalty shootout loss to Panama in which Panama scored in the 90’ to earn a 1-1 draw, while two years later the Cuscatlecos fell to the U.S. in the final eight.
In 2017, El Salvador once again accumulated a 1W-1D-1L record with four goals scored and four against, only to bow out to the U.S. in the quarterfinal stage.
It has been a different story thus far in 2021. Not only did El Salvador win two matches in a Gold Cup group stage for the first time ever, but they finished in second-place in a four-team group and amassed a positive goal difference, with four goals scored and just one conceded.
Taking into account those numbers, El Salvador will rightly feel like this Gold Cup can be their time to reach a first ever semifinal and potentially go even further.
