El Salvador–Honduras football rivalry
The El Salvador–Honduras football rivalry is a sports rivalry between the El Salvador and Honduras national football teams. The rivalry between the two nations peaked in 1969 when both teams played each other in the 1970 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, and the matches they played between each other, which ultimately saw El Salvador advance to the 1970 FIFA World Cup, were a contributing factor which led to the outbreak of the Football War in July 1969.
Sport | Association football |
---|---|
Location | Central America |
Teams | El Salvador Honduras |
First meeting | 7 November 1927 Friendly Honduras 1–0 El Salvador |
Latest meeting | 22 March 2023 Friendly El Salvador 0–1 Honduras |
Statistics | |
All-time record | 18–21–39 |
Largest victory | 7 December 1928 Friendly El Salvador 5–0 Honduras 2 September 2000 2002 World Cup qualification Honduras 5–0 El Salvador |
Longest win streak | Honduras 5 (1998–2000) |
Longest unbeaten streak | Honduras 12 (1996–2001) |
Current win streak | Honduras 1 |
El Salvador Honduras |
History
The national teams of El Salvador and Honduras were both established in 1921 and played their first matches in the Independence Centenary Games hosted in Guatemala City, however, El Salvador was defeated 0–7 by Costa Rica and Honduras was defeated 0–9 by Guatemala, and as a result, neither team faced each other during the tournament.[1]
El Salvador and Honduras first played each other on 7 November 1928 in Tegucigalpa, in which Honduras won 1–0.[2] The teams rematched the following day, which ended in a 0–0 draw.[2] El Salvador's first victory came in their next match in San Salvador, where the Salvadorans defeated the Hondurans by a score of 5–0.[2] The 5-score margin of victory remains the largest margin of victory ever between the two teams, and the feat was repeated in 2000 when Honduras defeated El Salvador 5–0 during the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[3] El Salvador had never beaten Honduras in Honduran soil until 2022, when El Salvador gained their first ever win to Honduras away in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.[4]
Football War
The two teams met during the 1970 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the first time the two teams ever met in a tournament organized by FIFA.[2][5] The teams played the first match in Tegucigalpa on 8 June 1969, in which Honduras won 1–0, which led to riots instigated by Salvadoran fans.[6] In the second match in San Salvador on 15 June 1969, El Salvador won by a score of 3–0, and before the match, a rag was flown instead of the flag of Honduras.[6] Honduran player Enrique Cardona stated that the Hondurans were "lucky that we lost" because otherwise "we wouldn't be alive today."[6] The loss led to Hondurans attacking Salvadorans and burning down their homes, forcing many Salvadorans to flee back to El Salvador.[6]
As both teams ended on equal points, a third match was played in neutral territory in Mexico City.[6] El Salvador eventually won the match 3–2 after extra time.[6] Before the match and because of the attacks against Salvadorans by Hondurans, the Salvadoran government severed diplomatic relations with Honduras on 26 June 1969, and on 14 July 1969, the Armed Forces of El Salvador invaded Honduras, beginning the Football War.[7][8] After four days of fighting, the Organization of American States (OAS) negotiated a cease fire, ending the war after around 3,000 people, mostly civilians, had died.[9] El Salvador withdrew its soldiers on 2 August 1969.[9]
El Salvador qualified for the 1970 FIFA World Cup after defeating Haiti, however, the team would lose all three of its matches against Mexico, the Soviet Union, and Belgium in the group stage, failing to score a single goal.[10]
Major tournament matches
1946 CCCF Championship
Honduras | 1–3 | El Salvador |
---|---|---|
? ?' | Gutiérrez ?', ?', ?' |
1953 CCCF Championship
El Salvador | 0–3 | Honduras |
---|---|---|
Ramírez 7', 40' Padilla ?' |
1955 CCCF Championship
Honduras | 3–1 | El Salvador |
---|---|---|
Enamorado 39', 89' Ramírez Godoy 69' |
Ruano 33' |
1961 CCCF Championship
1963 CONCACAF Championship
El Salvador | 2–2 | Honduras |
---|---|---|
Reynosa 30' Hernández 65' |
Guerra 16' Suazo 27' |
1970 FIFA World Cup qualifiers
Honduras | 1–0 | El Salvador |
---|---|---|
Wells 89' |
El Salvador | 3–0 | Honduras |
---|---|---|
Martínez 27' (pen.), 41' Acevedo 29' |
El Salvador | 3–2 (a.e.t.) | Honduras |
---|---|---|
Martínez 8', 28' Quintanilla 101' |
Cardona 19' Gómez 50' |
1981 CONCACAF Championship
1985 CONCACAF Championship
El Salvador | 1–2 | Honduras |
---|---|---|
Rivas 63' | Bailey 1' Laing 77' |
2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup
Honduras | 1–0 | El Salvador |
---|---|---|
Claros 90+2' | Report |
List of matches
The following is a list of matches played between El Salvador and Honduras since their first meeting in November 1927.[2][5]
Head-to-head
- As of 22 March 2023
Pos. | Team | Pld. | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Honduras | 78 | 39 | 21 | 18 | 123 | 77 | +46 |
2 | El Salvador | 78 | 18 | 21 | 39 | 77 | 123 | –46 |
Statistics
Overall
Matches | Wins | Goals | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
El Salvador | Draws | Honduras | El Salvador | Honduras | ||
FIFA World Cup qualification | 13 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 23 |
CONCACAF Gold Cup | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
CONCACAF Championshipa | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 8 |
CCCF Championship | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 8 |
UNCAF Nations Cup/Copa Centroamericana | 13 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 21 |
Central American and Caribbean Games | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 10 |
Central American Games | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
CONCACAF Pre-Olympic Tournament | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
All competitions | 46 | 13 | 8 | 25 | 44 | 77 |
Friendly | 32 | 5 | 13 | 12 | 33 | 46 |
All matches | 78 | 18 | 21 | 39 | 77 | 123 |
References
Citations
- Calvo, Rodrigo; Martell, Samuel; Ramos, Ismael (15 October 2020). "Juegos del Centenario de la Independencia de Centroamérica (Guatemala) 1921" [Independence Centenary Games (Guatemala) 1921]. RSSSF. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
- Courtney, Barrie (30 June 2016). "El Salvador – List of International Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
- "Honduras – El Salvador 5:0 (2:0)". FIFA. 2 September 2000. Archived from the original on 16 November 2007. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
- https://futbolcentroamerica.com/elsalvador/Eliminatorias-Concacaf-Historico-triunfo-de-El-Salvador-en-Honduras-VIDEO-20220130-0014.html
- Courtney, Barrie (30 June 2016). "Honduras – List of International Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
- Veytskin, Yuriy; Lockerby, Claire; McMullen, Steven (2009–2013). Schorr, Matthew; Barrett, Lindsey; Leachman, Colby (eds.). "The Soccer War". Soccer Politics. Duke University. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- Haggerty 1990, p. 25.
- Armstrong & Shenk 1982, p. 57.
- Haggerty 1990, p. 26.
- "1970 FIFA World Cup Mexico – Groups". FIFA. Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
Bibliography
- Armstrong, Robert; Shenk, Janet (1982). El Salvador: The Face of Revolution. Boston: South End Press. ISBN 0896081389.
- Haggerty, Richard A., ed. (1990). El Salvador: A Country Study (PDF). Federal Research Division Library of Congress. Washington, D.C.: The Library of Congress. Retrieved 31 January 2022.