El Salvador is preparing their ‘golden generation’ for the 2026 World Cup

The El Salvador youth national team has been dominant in the 2022 CONCACAF U20 Championship and after two games they stand in first place in Group C with six points, nine goals scored and two against. Los Cuscatlecos made their debut against Guatemala and won 5-1 over the weekend and on Tuesday they defeated Aruba 4-1.

The Under-20′s El Salvador youth national team is managed by Gerson Pérez, son of the coach of the senior team, and the first step is to qualify to the World Cup next year in Indonesia. The majority of the players participating in the CONCACAF U20 Championship play in different teams across the United States and one of them plays in Argentine side Godoy Cruz.

El Salvador’s ‘golden generation’

The goal of the coach of El Salvador’s senior team, Hugo Pérez, is to mentally and physically prepare this young generation and call up players for the next World Cup qualifiers in CONCACAF. Pérez is convinced that this is El Salvador’s ‘golden generation’ and they will make a run to qualify to the 2026 World Cup for the first time since 1982.

Who are the leaders of the youth national team?

Harold Osorio is the captain of the El Salvador Under-20 national team and plays for Alianza FC. Andrés Rivas plays as an offensive midfielder and plays in the academy of Godoy Cruz in Argentina. Ronald Arévalo is a winger and he plays for HB Koge in the Danish second division. Another key player in the team is Mayer Gil who plays for CD Atlético Marte in El Salvador.

There are also players that are in the academies of different clubs in Major League Soccer like Alexander Romero (LAFC), Damián Alguera (Philadelphia Union) and Alejandro Cano (San Jose Earthquakes). The El Salvador youth national team will return to action on Thursday to play against Panama in the last game of the group stage.

Los Cuscatlecos have secured their spot to the next round regarding the result and they will fight for one of the four spots that will represent CONCACAF in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in 2023. Also, the two teams that reach the final in this tournament will secure their spot in the 2024 Summer Olympics.