CONCACAF NATIONS LEAGUE
El Salvador: “We can have a good game and defeat the United States”
Mauricio Cienfuegos, assistant coach of El Salvador, believes that this generation has what it takes to defeat the USMNT.
It’s all or nothing for El Salvador as they look to inflict defeat the United States men’s national team at Exploria stadium and advance to the Final Four of the CONCACAF Nations League. Los Cuscatlecos are the underdogs in the tie, given the comparative strength of the USMNT and their strong record against them going into Monday’s game.
El Salvador has not been able to win against the United States in their last 21 matches across all competitions dating back to 1993. The last time Los Cuscatlecos defeated the USMNT was in a friendly in February 1992: the final score was 2-0. That is the result El Salvador need in order to advance to the next round and eliminate Christian Pulisic and Co.
History awaits for El Salvador
This generation of the El Salvador national team under head coach Hugo Pérez has faced the United States on three occasions. The last time they met in the Nations League was back on 14 June 2022: Los Cuscatlecos took the early lead when Alexander Larín rifled a shot from distance, but Jordan Morris scored for the United States in stoppage time to salvage the point.
With the experience gained from their last games, the assistant coach of the El Salvador national team, Mauricio Cienfuegos, believes that they could make history on Monday night and grab what would be a famous win. He believes that this generation has what it takes to obtain the much needed three points and secure first place in Group D.
‘Hugo Pérez and the players are convinced that they can have a good game and advance’
“What’s important is that this group is complete and the majority of them have experience playing against the United States in the last three match-ups, said Mauricio Cienfuegos, “this group has played against them three times already and they have done a good job each time. Hugo Pérez and the players are convinced that they can have a good game and advance to the semifinal.”
“Hugo [Perez] has given me the confidence and the liberty that I was looking for. The United States has beaten us in the last 15 games I believe but tomorrow it can be a historic game for El Salvador by defeating the United States and advancing to the next round,” concluded the former LA Galaxy legend in Sunday’s press conference.