El Salvador Under 20

Nickname	La Azulita
Association	Federación Salvadoreña de Fútbol
Confederation	CONCACAF (North America)
Head coach	Erick Prado
FIFA code	SLV
Firstcolours Secondcolours
First international
Curaçao 1–19 El Salvador (Panama City,Panama; March 6, 1962)
Biggest win
El Salvador 16–0Nicaragua  (Guatemala City,Guatemala; August 17, 1982)
Biggest defeat
Mexico 12–0 El Salvador (Havana,Cuba; September 29, 1970) Records for competitive matches only.

TheEl Salvador Under 20s football team, is commonly known as La Azulita. La Azulita is controlled byFederación Salvadoreña de Fútbol(FESFUT) and representsEl Salvador in all international Under 20 competitions.

Their first U-20 World Cup was at the2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup, where they saw their first victory at a major FIFA tournament (outside of beach soccer) toAustralia by 2–1, scored respectively by Diego Coca andJosé Peña.

On April 11, 2024, CONCACAF had their official draw. El Salvador was placed inGroup B alongside, Honduras, Dominican Republic, and Canada. All games will be played inEstadio Sergio León Chávez in Irapuato, Mexico starting July 20, 2024.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Honduras	3	2	1	0	11	5	+6	7	Advance toknockout stage
2	Canada	3	2	1	0	5	3	+2	7
3	El Salvador	3	1	0	2	3	6	−3	3
4	Dominican Republic	3	0	0	3	2	7	−5	0

El Salvador's U-20 national team participated in the 2024 Concacaf U-20 Championship, held in Irapuato, Mexico. They were drawn into Group B alongside Honduras, Canada, and the Dominican Republic. The team began their campaign with a 1-0 victory over the Dominican Republic, with Christopher Argueta scoring the lone goal in the 62nd minute. Goalkeeper Daniel Franco played a crucial role, making several important saves including a penalty stop.

However, El Salvador's fortunes turned in their subsequent matches. They suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat against Honduras, despite initially taking the lead through Nelson Díaz. In their final group match, they lost 2-1 to Canada in a closely contested game. Francis Castillo scored El Salvador's goal, but a late bicycle kick by Bunbury secured Canada's win. El Salvador thought they had equalized in the final moments through Walter Menjívar, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR review. With one win and two losses, El Salvador finished third in Group B with three points and a goal difference, which was insufficient to advance to the knockout stages as one of the best third-placed teams.

July 20, 2024 (2024-07-20)

Dominican Republic	0-1	El Salvador
	Report	Christopher Argueta 62'

Estadio Sergio León Chávez,Irapuato

July 23, 2024 (2024-07-23)

El Salvador	1-4	Honduras
Nelson Díaz 40'	Report	Diego Guardado 45'+1 (OG) Dereck Moncada 53' Anfronit Tatúm 66', 84'

Estadio Sergio León Chávez,Irapuato

July 26, 2024 (2024-07-26)

El Salvador	1-2	Canada
Francis Castillo 77'	Report	Santiago López 21'Mataeo Bunbury 90'+3

Estadio Sergio León Chávez,Irapuato

La Azulita qualified for theCONCACAF Under-20 Championship which is slated for the Summer of 2024. El Salvador U20 started theCONCACAF Qualifying on Friday, February 23, 2024, till Saturday, March 2, 2024, at ABFA Technical Center inAntigua and Barbuda. The Azulita finished first with 10 points. Suriname came in second with 9, Antigua and Barbuda with 6, Guyana with 4 and Turks and Caicos 0.

El Salvador belongs to Group B. Group B consist of the following Nations:

• Turks and Caicos Islands
• Guyana
• Suriname
• Antigua and Barbuda

After round-robin play between February 23 and March 2, 2024, the first-place team from each group will advance to the 2024CONCACAF Men's U-20 Championship, joining the six pre-seeded top-ranked nations.^[1] Which include in order, United States, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.

El Salvador  v Turks and Caicos Islands

February 23, 2024 (2024-02-23)	El Salvador	7-0	Turks and Caicos Islands	Stadium in Piggotts, Antigua and Barbuda
09:30	Christopher Argueta 26' Daniel Espana 37' Walter Menjívar 41' Wilber Diaz 67' Wilber Diaz 80' Darwin Lopez 90+1' Nelson Díaz 90+3'	Report		Stadium:ABFA Technical Center,Antigua and Barbuda

Guyana  v El Salvador

February 25, 2024 (2024-02-25)	Guyana	2-2	El Salvador	Stadium in Piggotts, Antigua and Barbuda
09:30	Nathaniel Pydana 10' Nathaniel Pydana 83'	Report	22'Kiano Falcao 62'Wilber Diaz	Stadium:ABFA Technical Center,Antigua and Barbuda

El Salvador  v Suriname

February 29, 2024 (2024-02-29)	El Salvador	3-0	Suriname	Stadium in Piggotts, Antigua and Barbuda
14:00	Christopher Argueta 10' Nestor Delgado 24' Kiano Falcao 66'	Report		Stadium:ABFA Technical Center,Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda  v El Salvador

March 2, 2024 (2024-03-02)	Antigua and Barbuda	0-1	El Salvador	Stadium in Piggotts, Antigua and Barbuda
14:00		Report	Christopher Guardado 57'	Stadium:ABFA Technical Center,Antigua and Barbuda

La Azulita, along with seven other selections, gathered in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, to participate in an international competition through the tournament UNCAF FIFA FORWARD.^[2] La Azulita was grouped in Group A withHonduras,Panamá, andNicaragua.

Panama  v El Salvador

January 19, 2024 (2024-01-19)	Panama	3-0	El Salvador	Tegucigalpa, Honduras
11:10				Stadium:Sede C.D. Olimpia,Honduras

Honduras  v El Salvador

January 21, 2024 (2024-01-21)	Honduras	4-2	El Salvador	Tegucigalpa, Honduras
15:10				Stadium:Sede C.D. Olimpia,Honduras

El Salvador  v Nicaragua

January 23, 2024 (2024-01-23)	El Salvador	0-5	Nicaragua	Tegucigalpa, Honduras
15:10				Stadium:Sede C.D. Olimpia,Honduras

Cuba  v El Salvador

January 25, 2024 (2024-01-25)	Cuba	3-3	El Salvador	Tegucigalpa, Honduras
10:30				Stadium:Sede C.D. Olimpia,Honduras
	Penalties
	3		4

On February 19, 2024, the Head Coach Juan Cortes named the following players to the CONCACAF Under-20 Qualifiers. The Qualifiers run from February 23, 2024, to March 2, 2024, in Antigua and Barbuda.

Year	Round	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1977	Did not qualify
1979
1981
1983
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013	Group stage	3	1	0	2	2	7
2015	Did not qualify
2017
2019
2021	Cancelled
2023	Did not qualify
2025
2027	To be determined
Total	1/25	3	1	0	2	2	7

UNCAF preliminary round [edit] Year Position GP W D* L GS GA 1995 1/2 2 2 0 0 8 1 qualified 1998 2/2 2 1 0 1 4 5 did not qualify 2001 3/3 2 0 1 1 1 2 did not qualify 2003 2/5 4 2 1 1 7 4 qualified 2005 3/5 4 2 0 2 9 6 did not qualify 2007 2/3 2 1 0 1 6 7 did not qualify /2009 1/4 3 2 0 1 6 3 qualified /2011 2/3 Play-off 4 2 1 1 8 6 Disqualified¹ /2013 1/3 2 1 0 1 4 4 qualified 2015 2/6 6 3 2 1 18 6 qualified 2017 2/6 4 2 1 1 9 4 qualified 9/9 25 13 3 9 53 38 1The games were forbidden by Concacaf due to El Salvador using an ineligible player

CONCACAF Under-20 Championship [edit] Year Round GP W D* L GS GA 1962 Round 1 3 0 2 1 2 3 1964 Champions 7 5 1 1 12 6 1970 Fourth place 4 1 1 2 3 8 1973 did not participate 1974 1976 Round 1 3 0 1 2 2 9 1978 Second round 6 3 1 2 11 7 1980 Round 1 4 2 0 2 9 4 1982 Second round 5 2 0 3 13 7 1984 Third place 8 4 3 1 10 3 1986 did not participate 1988 1990 Round 1 2 0 0 2 1 4 1992 did not participate 1994 Fourth place 8 5 1 2 22 10 1996 Round 1 3 0 1 2 3 6 1998 did not qualify 2001 2003 Round 1 3 0 0 3 1 5 2005 did not qualify 2007 2009 Round 1 3 0 1 2 3 6 2011 Disqualified 2013 Third place 5 3 0 2 6 6 2015 Playoff Stage 6 2 2 2 9 10 2017 Classification stage 5 2 0 3 7 11 2018 Qualification stage 6 3 0 3 7 7 2022 Round 16 4 2 1 1 13 7 Total 1 Champions 79 30 13 33 110 103

Date:	Location:	Opponent:	Score*	Competition:	El Salvador scorers:
October 22, 2025	Estadio Cementos Progreso,Guatemala City,Guatemala	Guatemala	0-2[1]	2025 Central American Games	Nil
October 24, 2025	Estadio Cementos Progreso,Guatemala City,Guatemala	Nicaragua	0-1	2025 Central American Games	Carlos Garay 25'
October 26, 2025	Estadio Cementos Progreso,Guatemala City,Guatemala	Panama	1-3[2]	2025 Central American Games	Nelson Diaz 46'
October 28, 2025	Estadio Cementos Progreso,Guatemala City,Guatemala	Nicaragua	2-4[3]	2025 Central American Games	Christopher Guardado 19' Nelson Diaz 83'

The following 24 players were called up for training camp in January 2026.^[3]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Marvin Diaz	(2007-05-11)May 11, 2007 (age 18)			Alianza
	1GK	Maximo Sandoval	(2007-07-08)July 8, 2007 (age 18)			Hércules
	1GK	Alexander Aguilar				Old Dominion University
	2DF	Matias Alas	(2003-10-17)October 17, 2003 (age 22)			Alianza
	2DF	Hugo Aguilar	(2003-10-17)October 17, 2003 (age 22)			Isidro Metapan
	2DF	Emerson Guardado	(2008-09-09)September 9, 2008 (age 17)			Alianza
	2DF	Jonathan Lopez	(2006-11-29)November 29, 2006 (age 19)			Isidro Metapan
	2DF	Oscar Delgado	(2003-10-17)October 17, 2003 (age 22)			FAS
	2DF	Javier Villatoro				Bakersfield College
	2DF	Taeil Lozano				Beach FC
	2DF	Dennis Granados				Westchester SC
	2DF	Eric Velasquez				New York Red Bull
	2DF	Ean Morales				San Fernando Valley FC
	2DF	Gabriel Vasquez				Alexandria Soccer Academy
	2DF	Jonathan Polio				Oakland Roots SC
	2DF	Jonathan Aguirre				North Carolina FC Academy
	2DF	Eric Melgar				Solar Soccer Club
	3MF	William Cabrera				North Carolina FC
	3MF	Jerson Ganuza				LA Surf SC
	3MF	Bradley Pleitez				Ventura County Fusion
	3MF	German Argueta				DC United
	3MF	Daniel Twumasi				Kalonji Soccer Academy
	3MF	Rene Fuentes				Instituto Atlético Central Córdoba
	3MF	Diego Pena				Alianza
	3MF	Gerson Robles	(2006-11-29)November 29, 2006 (age 19)			Municipal Limeno
	3MF	Kerin Torres				LA Firpo
	3MF	Uriel Miranda	(2006-11-29)November 29, 2006 (age 19)			Isidro Metapan
	4FW	Luis Tobar	(2008-04-21)April 21, 2008 (age 17)			Alianza
	4FW	Wilber Diaz	(2003-12-30)December 30, 2003 (age 22)			Isidro Metapan
	4FW	Eduardo Cruz				Aguila
	4FW	Zander Tidwell	(2007-10-01)October 1, 2007 (age 18)	0	0	Zacatecoluca
	4FW	Armando Cabrera				Soka University

The following players have been called up within the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Cristian Bonilla	(2004-02-11)February 11, 2004 (age 22)	4	0	Cacahuatique	2025 Central American GamesPRE
GK	Daniel Franco	(2004-02-11)February 11, 2004 (age 22)	4	0	Alianza	2025 Central American Games
GK	Hamilton Lemus	(2004-07-08)July 8, 2004 (age 21)	0	0	Isidro Metapan	2025 Central American Games
GK	Edwin Polanco	(2007-07-31)July 31, 2007 (age 18)			FAS	November 2025 Training Camp
DF	William Molina	(2004-05-21)May 21, 2004 (age 21)	6	0	Municipal Limeno	2025 Central American Games
DF	David Montejo	(2003-10-17)October 17, 2003 (age 22)	0	0	FAS	2025 Central American Games
DF	Néstor Somoza	(2003-10-17)October 17, 2003 (age 22)	0	0	Hércules	2025 Central American Games
DF	Kiano Falcao	(2006-04-10)April 10, 2006 (age 19)	0	0	Atlético Huila	2025 Central American Games
DF	Emir Ponciano	(2007-02-22)February 22, 2007 (age 18)	0	0	Los Angeles FC	2025 Central American Games
DF	Bryan Lovo	(2004-11-23)November 23, 2004 (age 21)	7	0	Aguila	2025 Central American Games
DF	Kevin García	(2007-09-05)September 5, 2007 (age 18)			Alianza	November 2025 Training Camp
DF	Anderson Martinez	(2003-10-17)October 17, 2003 (age 22)			FAS	November 2025 Training Camp
DF	Elmer Rodriguez	(2007-09-02)September 2, 2007 (age 18)			LA Firpo	November 2025 Training Camp
DF	Jose Guatemala	(2003-10-17)October 17, 2003 (age 22)			Aguila	November 2025 Training Camp
MF	Johann Ortiz	(2007-01-01)January 1, 2007 (age 19)	0	0	Sporting Kansas City II	2025 Central American Games
MF	Gabriel Pereira	(2005-05-07)May 7, 2005 (age 20)	0	0	Azuriz FC	2025 Central American Games
MF	Christopher Guardado	(2004-11-23)November 23, 2004 (age 21)	7	0	Alianza	2025 Central American Games
MF	Gabriel Arnold	(2007-02-01)February 1, 2007 (age 19)	0	0	LA Galaxy	2025 Central American Games
MF	Jefferson Martinez	(2006-11-29)November 29, 2006 (age 19)	0	0	Municipal Limeno	2025 Central American Games
MF	Narciso Ramírez	(2005-02-09)February 9, 2005 (age 21)	0	0	Houston FC	2025 Central American GamesPRE
MF	Michael Umaña	(2004-11-23)November 23, 2004 (age 21)	7	0	Club Necaxa Reserves and Academy	2025 Central American GamesPRE
MF	Mauricio Zabala	(2006-11-29)November 29, 2006 (age 19)			Isidro Metapan	November 2025 Training Camp
MF	Edwin Velasquez	(2006-11-29)November 29, 2006 (age 19)			Hércules	November 2025 Training Camp
MF	Jefferson Roque	(2006-11-29)November 29, 2006 (age 19)			Platense	November 2025 Training Camp
MF	Luis Ramirez	(2007-02-06)February 6, 2007 (age 19)			Alianza	November 2025 Training Camp
MF	Jason Ayala	(2006-11-29)November 29, 2006 (age 19)			Municipal Limeno	November 2025 Training Camp
FW	Rene Garay	(2003-12-30)December 30, 2003 (age 22)	0	0	Aguila	2025 Central American Games
FW	Melvin Urbina	(2003-12-30)December 30, 2003 (age 22)	0	0	Hércules	2025 Central American Games
FW	Nelson Díaz	(2003-12-30)December 30, 2003 (age 22)	0	0	LA Firpo	2025 Central American Games
FW	Inner Guevara	(2005-03-16)March 16, 2005 (age 20)	0	0	Inter FA	2025 Central American Games
FW	Francis Castillo	(2005-11-07)November 7, 2005 (age 20)	0	0	CA Antoniano	2025 Central American Games
FW	Christopher Argueta	(2007-01-14)January 14, 2007 (age 19)	0	0	MFK Dukla U-19	2025 Central American Games
FW	Marvin Benítez	(2003-12-30)December 30, 2003 (age 22)	0	0	Aguila	2025 Central American GamesPRE
FW	Ricardo Villatoro	(2003-12-30)December 30, 2003 (age 22)	0	0	Aguila	2025 Central American GamesPRE
FW	Steven Guerra	(2003-12-30)December 30, 2003 (age 22)	0	0	Isidro Metapan	2025 Central American GamesPRE
FW	Paolo Herrera	(2003-12-30)December 30, 2003 (age 22)			Hércules	November 2025 Training Camp
FW	Brandon Ramírez	(2008-09-05)September 5, 2008 (age 17)			Juventud Independiente	November 2025 Training Camp
INJ Player withdrew from thecurrent squad due to injury. COV Player withdrew due to testing positively forCOVID-19 or having to self-isolate because of it. PRE Preliminary squad. RET Player had announced retirement from international football. SUS Player is serving a suspension. WD Withdrawn.

Head coach:Mauricio Alfaro^[4]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Rolando Morales	(1994-03-01)March 1, 1994 (aged 19)			Turín-FESA
2	2DF	Oliver Ayala	(1994-01-04)January 4, 1994 (aged 19)			León
3	3MF	Tomás Granitto	(1993-06-12)June 12, 1993 (aged 20)			Florida Gulf Coast University
4	2DF	Giovanni Zavaleta	(1994-09-27)September 27, 1994 (aged 18)			Turín-FESA
5	3MF	Romilio Hernández	(1995-06-06)June 6, 1995 (aged 18)			Baltimore Bays
6	2DF	Marvin Baumgartner	(1993-01-13)January 13, 1993 (aged 20)			Zürich
7	3MF	Jairo Henríquez	(1993-08-31)August 31, 1993 (aged 19)			Turín-FESA
8	3MF	José Villavicencio	(1995-01-24)January 24, 1995 (aged 18)			Turín-FESA
9	4FW	José Peña	(1994-12-10)December 10, 1994 (aged 18)			Turín-FESA
10	3MF	Diego Coca	(1994-08-26)August 26, 1994 (aged 18)			Turín-FESA
11	4FW	Maikon Orellana	(1993-11-12)November 12, 1993 (aged 19)			Brøndby
12	2DF	Kevin Barahona	(1994-10-01)October 1, 1994 (aged 18)			Turín-FESA
13	2DF	Miguel Lemus	(1993-10-26)October 26, 1993 (aged 19)			Turín-FESA
14	3MF	Óscar Rodríguez	(1995-04-16)April 16, 1995 (aged 18)			Atlético San José
15	3MF	René Gómez	(1993-01-08)January 8, 1993 (aged 20)			Turín-FESA
16	3MF	Benjamín Díaz	(1993-05-08)May 8, 1993 (aged 20)			University of the District of Columbia
17	2DF	Kevin Ayala	(1994-07-15)July 15, 1994 (aged 18)			Turín-FESA
18	1GK	Adolfo Menéndez, Jr.	(1993-07-03)July 3, 1993 (aged 19)			FAS
19	3MF	Bernardo Majano	(1995-12-09)December 9, 1995 (aged 17)			D.C. United
20	4FW	Roberto González	(1993-03-25)March 25, 1993 (aged 20)			Santa Tecla
21	1GK	Carlos Cañas	(1994-09-09)September 9, 1994 (aged 18)			Longwood University

As of November 2025

Head coach	Erick Dowson Prado
Assistant coach	Francisco Hernández
Assistant coach	Ernesto de la Ocomo
Goalkeeper Coach	Adolfo Menéndez
Physical Trainer	Emerson Leal
Medical Trainer
Kinesiologist
Equipment Manager	Abraham Beltrán

• Conrado Miranda (1964, 1979)
• Raul Magana (1985,1994)
• Carlos Recinos (2000–2001)
• Ricardo Herrera (2002–2003)
• Cesar Acevedo (2004–2005)
• José Luis Rugamas (2006–2007)
• Norberto Huezo (2008–2009)
• Mauricio Alfaro (2009–2015)
• Eduardo Lara (2016–2017)
• Alexsander Rodriguez (2017–2018)
• Ernesto Gochez (2018–2020)
• Gerson Perez (2021–2022)
• Manuel Torres Núñez (2023)
• Juan Cortez (2024)
• Erick Dowson Prado[4] (2025-Present)

• CONCACAF U-20 Championship
  • Winners (1):1964
  • Third place (2):1984,2013

• El Salvador national football team
• El Salvador national under-17 football team
• El Salvador national under-21 football team
• El Salvador national under-23 football team
• CONCACAF Under-20 Championship

• Federación Salvadoreña de Fútbol Official Site (Spanish)
• El Salvador national football team (Non-Official Site) (Spanish)

• El Salvador national football team
• Central American national under-20 association football teams

• CS1 Spanish-language sources (es)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from February 2024
• Pages using football kit with incorrect pattern parameters