In search of their first triumph this year, El Salvador will host Trinidad and Tobago in CONCACAF Nations League group play on Sunday at Estadio Jorge "El Magico" Gonzalez.
La Selecta were beaten 2-0 by Guatemala in their opening encounter at this tournament, while TNT found a late winner to defeat Curacao 1-0.
Match preview
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The agonising wait for a victory continued for El Salvador on Thursday as they started slowly, conceding after 15 minutes and failed to find their footing, extending their winless run to 10 matches in all competitions.
As a result, they have lost their last two matches at this tournament, failing to score on both of those occasions, while the Salvadorans have only ever captured one Nations League encounter away from home (2-0 at Montserrat in 2019).
They have conceded the opening goal in three of their last four Nations League affairs, failing to respond with one of their own on consecutive occasions.
El Salvador have never lost a match in this competition on home soil, however, winning four out of five times while posting three clean sheets.
Their organised, versatile tactical structure, which earned Hugo Perez and his side high praise at the 2021 Gold Cup, has been non-existent throughout the year, as this group have conceded in all but one of their last 14 matches in all competitions (0-0 draw versus Costa Rica).
It has been over 14 years since La Azul y Blanco suffered a defeat to Trinidad and Tobago, giving up an early goal and losing 1-0 in a World Cup qualifying fixture in August 2009.
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At long last, TNT have won a League A match at this tournament, their first since the Nations League debuted in 2019.
It took them 87 minutes to find a breakthrough against Curacao, as they remain unbeaten at home in this competition, conceding only once in their last three Nations League encounters played at Hasely Crawford Stadium.
On Sunday, Trinidad can do something they have never done in League A before, win away from home, as they were beaten handily by Honduras in their final group encounter in 2019 (4-0), and played Martinique to a 1-1 draw in their inaugural Nations League A fixture.
They have, however, won their last two Nations League encounters on the road, as they shut out Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2-0) and blanked the Bahamas (3-0) in League B action during the 2022-23 edition of this competition.
Angus Eve's men have won all of their matches played this year when scoring first and have not gone on to lose when that has happened since a 2-0 loss to Tajikistan in September 2022.
The Soca Warriors have never beaten a Central American side in this competition, losing their only two Nations League road matches against that region, while they have not won an away contest on Central American soil since defeating Nicaragua 3-1 in 2016.
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Team News
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Perez made five changes to his El Salvador opening lineup on Thursday from the one he chose to begin their last Gold Cup encounter with Panama, inserting Tomas Romero, Eriq Zavaleta, Joaquin Rivas, Christian Martinez and Amando Moreno into the starting 11 in place of Mario Gonzalez, Roberto Dominguez, Jairo Henriquez, Bryan Landaverde and Joshua Perez.
Romero did his best to keep the score respectable for his side on matchday one of this competition, stopping five of the seven shots that he faced and denying Rubio Rubin from the penalty spot, but he still suffered his first defeat between the sticks in Nations League play.
Henriquez and Walmer Martinez each had a goal the last time they faced the Soca Warriors, beating them 2-0 at the 2021 Gold Cup.
Eve had almost an entirely different starting 11 for Trinidad and Tobabgo against Curacao when compared to the side that began their final Gold Cup encounter versus the United States this past summer, as Neveal Hackshaw and Malcolm Shaw were the only ones to keep their place in the opening lineup for both games.
Nathaniel James came on for Kaile Auvray in the 82nd minute on Thursday, and that substitution proved decisive as the striker who features for Club Sando scored his first international goal, while Denzil Smith made three stops to collect a clean sheet.
Aubrey David can pick up his 75th international cap for the Soca Warriors this weekend, Duane Muckette is one shy of 20, while Christopher Biggette and Jabari St. Hillaire are searching for their first appearances with the senior team.
El Salvador possible starting lineup:
Romero; Roldan, Zavaleta, Cabalceta, Tamacas; Menjivar, Orellana, Calvillo, Rivas; M. Gil, B. Gil
Trinidad and Tobago possible starting lineup:
Smith; Gomez, David, Moses, Russell; Hackshaw; Telfer, Goddard, Rampersad, Auvray; Shaw
We say: El Salvador 1-0 Trinidad and Tobago
The Soca Warriors have had difficulty dealing with the hostile environments that come when playing in Central America, and facing a more experienced side, who play with a lot more poise at home, will be a massive challenge that we do not believe Trinidad will overcome.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
