Nicaragua national football team

Nicaragua
Nickname(s)	La Azul y Blanco (The Blue and White); Los Pinoleros; Albiazules;
Association	Nicaraguan Football Federation
Confederation	CONCACAF (North America)
Sub-confederation	UNCAF (Central America)
Head coach	Henry Duarte
Captain	Juan Barrera
Most caps	Josué Quijano (61)
Top scorer	Juan Barrera (18)
Home stadium	Nicaragua National Football Stadium
FIFA code	NCA
First colours	Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	151 (11 June 2020)[1]
Highest	92 (December 2015)
Lowest	193 (May 2001)
Elo ranking
Current	159 21 (2 April 2020)[2]
Highest	126 (3 July 2017)
Lowest	204 (May–November 2001)
First international
	El Salvador 9–0 Nicaragua ; (San Salvador, El Salvador; 1 May 1929)
Biggest win
	Nicaragua 6–0 Anguilla ; (Heredia, Costa Rica; 14 October 2018)
Biggest defeat
	Netherlands Antilles 11–1 Nicaragua ; (Guatemala City, Guatemala; 2 March 1950)[3] ; Honduras 10–0 Nicaragua ; (Costa Rica; 13 March 1946)
CONCACAF Championship & Gold Cup
Appearances	5 (first in 1963)
Best result	Sixth place (1967)

The Nicaragua national football team (Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Nicaragua) represents Nicaragua in men's international football, and is controlled by the Nicaraguan Football Federation. Nicaragua achieved its first qualification to a major international competition in 2009, as they qualified for the 2009 Gold Cup as the last entrant from Central America, after a 2–0 win over Guatemala of the fifth place match in the 2009 Nations Cup.[4] However, the team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup.

Due to American influence throughout the country's history, baseball has more of a following as both a pursuit and spectator event in Nicaragua than football.

History

Nicaragua travelled to El Salvador for their first ever international, losing 9–0 to the hosts on 1 May 1929. They did not play another match for over twelve years, until the qualifying group for the 1941 CCCF Championship in Costa Rica. They lost all 4 games: 7–2 to the hosts Costa Rica on 10 May, 8–0 to El Salvador on 13 May, 9–1 to the Netherlands Antilles on 15 May and 5–2 to Panama on 18 May. Therefore, Nicaragua finished bottom of the group and did not make the final group.[5]

Recent times

After qualifying for the 2019 Gold Cup on the back of finishing ninth in Nations League qualifying, they would go on to finish bottom of the group with losses to Costa Rica, Haiti and Bermuda.[6]

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

The Nicaraguan national football team has never qualified for the World Cup. Their last attempt was for the 2018 World Cup, when they lost 3–4 on aggregate in the third round to Jamaica, despite winning the away leg 2–3.

FIFA World Cup record									FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Did not enter								Declined participation
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994	Did not qualify								2	0	0	2	1	10
1998									2	0	0	2	1	3
2002									4	0	0	4	0	10
2006									2	0	1	1	3	6
2010									2	0	0	2	0	3
2014									4	2	0	2	5	7
2018									6	5	0	1	15	5
2022	To be determined								To be determined
2026	To be determined								To be determined
Total		0/21							22	7	1	14	25	44

CONCACAF Gold Cup

CONCACAF Championship / CONCACAF Gold Cup record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1963	Round 1	8th	4	0	0	4	2	15
1965	Did not qualify
1967	Sixth place	6th	5	0	1	4	3	12
1969	Did not enter
1971	Did not qualify
1973	Did not qualify
1977	Did not enter
1981
1985
1989
1991	Did not qualify
1993
1996
1998
2000
2002
2003
2005
2007
2009	Group stage	11th	3	0	0	3	0	8
2011	Did not qualify
2013
2015
2017	Group stage	10th	3	0	0	3	1	7
2019	Group stage	15th	3	0	0	3	0	8
Total	Sixth place	5/25	18	0	1	17	6	50

Copa Centroamericana

Copa Centroamericana record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1991	Preliminary round	5th	2	0	0	2	2	5
1993	Preliminary round	5th	2	0	0	2	0	8
1995	Preliminary round	7th	2	0	0	2	0	7
1997	First round	6th	2	0	0	2	2	11
1999	First round	5th	2	0	0	2	0	2
2001	First round	7th	3	0	0	3	2	19
2003	Sixth place	6th	5	1	0	4	1	11
2005	Fifth place	5th	3	1	0	2	2	9
2007	Sixth place	6th	4	1	0	3	6	14
2009	Fifth place	5th	4	1	2	1	5	6
2011	Sixth place	6th	4	0	1	3	2	7
2013	Seventh place	7th	3	0	1	2	2	5
2014	Sixth place	6th	3	0	0	3	0	6
2017	Fifth place	5th	5	1	1	3	5	6
Total	Fifth place	14/14	44	5	5	34	29	116

CCCF Championship

CCCF Championship record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1941	Fifth place	5th	4	0	0	4	5	29
1943	Fourth place	4th	6	0	0	6	7	39
1946	Sixth place	6th	5	1	0	4	5	31
1948	Did not enter
1951	Third place	3rd	4	0	0	4	4	22
1953	Sixth place	6th	6	1	0	5	4	18
1955	Did not enter
1957
1960
1961	Ninth place	9th	3	0	0	3	3	18
Total	Third place	6/10	28	2	0	26	28	157

Pan American Games

Pan American Games record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1951	Did not enter
1955
1959
1963
1967
1971
1975	Round 1	13th	3	0	0	3	2	23
1979	Did not enter
1983
1987
1991	Round 1	8th	3	0	0	3	1	20
1995	Did not qualify
1999
2003
2007
2011
2015
2019
Total	Round 1	2/18	6	0	0	6	3	43

Central American and Caribbean Games

Central American and Caribbean Games record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Did not qualify
1993
1938
1946
1950	Group stage	8th	3	0	0	3	4	19
1954	Did not qualify
1959
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982	Group stage	7th	3	0	1	2	2	6
1986	Did not qualify
1990
1993
1998	Quarter-finals	8th	4	1	0	3	3	13
2002	Quarter-finals	8th	3	1	0	2	2	7
2006	Did not qualify
2010
2014
2018
Total	Quarter-finals	4/22	13	2	1	10	11	45

Central American Games

Central American Games record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1973	Runners-up	2nd	4	2	1	1	4	3
1977	Third place	3rd	6	2	0	4	6	23
1986	Third place	3rd	3	0	2	1	1	5
1990	Third place	3rd	4	0	0	4	1	11
1994	Group stage	6th	2	0	0	2	0	17
1997	Group stage	6th	2	0	0	2	3	8
2001	Group stage	5th	3	1	0	2	5	8
2006	Not held
2010	Not held
2013	Third place	3rd	6	2	0	4	6	23
2017	Fourth place	4th	3	0	2	1	1	2
Total	Runners-up	9/11	33	7	5	21	27	100

All-time head-to-head record

As of 25 February 2020 after the match against Panama[7]

Positive Record Neutral Record Negative Record

Opponents	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Anguilla	3	3	0	0	14	0	+14
Argentina	1	0	0	1	1	5	−4
Barbados	2	1	0	1	1	1	0
Belize	9	3	2	4	13	18	−5
Bermuda	5	2	0	3	5	7	−2
Bolivia	3	0	1	2	4	6	−2
Cayman Islands	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1
Canada	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2
Costa Rica	19	0	1	18	10	75	−65
Cuba	11	3	3	5	14	21	−7
Curaçao	8	0	1	7	3	34	−31
El Salvador	28	0	2	26	19	115	−96
Dominica	4	4	0	0	10	1	+9
Dominican Republic	2	0	0	2	0	4	−4
Guadeloupe	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2
Guatemala	21	1	1	19	12	66	−54
Haiti	8	1	2	5	9	15	−6
Honduras	19	1	1	17	11	64	−53
Jamaica	2	1	0	1	3	4	−1
Martinique	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2
Mexico	2	0	0	2	0	6	−6
Panama	26	5	1	20	21	70	−49
Puerto Rico	5	3	1	1	9	6	+3
Suriname	4	2	0	2	5	9	−4
Saint Kitts and Nevis	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	5	1	2	2	6	8	−2
Trinidad and Tobago	5	1	1	3	4	10	−6
United States	1	0	0	1	0	3	−3
Total (28)	198	34	20	144	173	552	−379

Schedule and results

Win Draw Loss

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

2019

5 September 2019 Nations League B	Nicaragua	1–1	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Managua, Nicaragua
20:00	Yorke 87' (o.g.)	Report	Anderson 45+2'	Stadium: Nicaragua National Football Stadium Referee: Walter López (Guatemala)

8 September 2019 Nations League B	Suriname	6–0	Nicaragua	Paramaribo, Suriname
18:00	G. Vlijter 9', 11', 30', 65' Fer 13' Comvalius 85'	Report		Stadium: André Kamperveen Stadion Referee: Bryan López (Guatemala)

11 October 2019 Nations League B	Nicaragua	3–1	Dominica	Managua, Nicaragua
22:00	Chavarría 7', 41' Rayo 90+1'	Report	Wade 90+3'	Stadium: Nicaragua National Football Stadium Referee: Nelson Salgado (Honduras)

14 October 2019 Nations League B	Dominica	0–4	Nicaragua	Roseau, Dominica
15:00		Report	Chavarría 42' Bonilla 71', 84' (pen.) Mendieta 90+2'	Stadium: Windsor Park Referee: Kimbell Ward (Saint Kitts and Nevis)

7 November 2019 Friendly	Nicaragua	0–0	Cuba	Managua, Nicaragua
19:00 (UTC-6)		Report		Stadium: Nicaragua National Football Stadium

10 November 2019 Friendly	Nicaragua	0–1	Cuba	Managua, Nicaragua
19:00 (UTC-6)		Report		Stadium: Nicaragua National Football Stadium

15 November 2019 Nations League B	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	1–0	Nicaragua	Arnos Vale, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
19:00 (UTC−4)	Sutherland 60'	Report		Stadium: Arnos Vale Stadium Referee: Reon Radix (Grenada)

18 November 2019 Nations League B	Nicaragua	1–2	Suriname	Managua, Nicaragua
19:00 (UTC-6)	Fuentes 60'	Report	Comvalius 21' Hasselbaink 53'	Stadium: Nicaragua National Football Stadium Referee: Patrick Senecharles (Haiti)

2020

25 February 2020 Friendly	Nicaragua	0–0	Panama	Managua, Nicaragua
		Report		Stadium: Nicaragua National Football Stadium

Players

Current squad

The following 24 players were called up for the Friendlies on 7 and 10 November against Cuba.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1GK	Denilson Gutiérrez	(1999-05-14) 14 May 1999	0	0	Juventus Managua
1GK	Deymarck Hansack	(2000-03-13) 13 March 2000	0	0	Managua

2DF	Manuel Rosas (captain)	(1983-10-14) 14 October 1983	49	2	Real Estelí
2DF	Francisco Flores	(1988-04-02) 2 April 1988	9	0	Santos de Guápiles
2DF	Camphers Pérez	(1998-05-13) 13 May 1998	8	0	Managua
2DF	Jorge Ellis	(1992-12-07) 7 December 1992	1	0	Deportivo Ocotal
2DF	Rigoberto Fuentes	(1992-02-11) 11 February 1992	1	0	Managua
2DF	Luis López	(1998-09-11) 11 September 1998	1	0	Real Estelí
2DF	Bryan Mendoza	(1992-12-12) 12 December 1992	1	0	Deportivo Ocotal
2DF	Wilder Wilson	(2000-07-01) 1 July 2000	1	0	Diriangén
2DF	Jason Castellón	(1992-01-24) 24 January 1992	0	0	Walter Ferretti
2DF	Waldner Vásquez	(2002-03-20) 20 March 2002	0	0	Real Madriz

3MF	Jorge Betancur	(1991-08-19) 19 August 1991	11	0	Real Estelí
3MF	Bismarck Montiel	(1995-03-05) 5 March 1995	9	0	Diriangén
3MF	Kevin Serapio	(1996-04-09) 9 April 1996	8	0	Managua
3MF	Jonathan Moncada	(1998-01-03) 3 January 1998	6	0	Deportivo Ocotal
3MF	Henry García	(1991-05-03) 3 May 1991	5	0	Managua
3MF	Ulises Pozo	(1992-02-22) 22 February 1992	3	0	Managua

4FW	Jaime Moreno	(1995-03-30) 30 March 1995	11	4	Estudiantes de Mérida
4FW	Armanto Gkoufas	(1995-02-02) 2 February 1995	6	1	Ionikos
4FW	Brandon Ayerdis	(1999-07-11) 11 July 1999	4	0	Real Estelí
4FW	Ulises Rayo	(1994-01-12) 12 January 1994	2	1	Real Madriz
4FW	Ricardo Mendieta	(1995-01-18) 18 January 1995	1	1	Deportivo Las Sabanas
4FW	Anderson Treminio	(1997-04-17) 17 April 1997	0	0	Juventus Managua

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team in the last twelve months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Bryan Rodríguez	(1996-09-23) 23 September 1996	3	0	Carmelita	v. Dominica, 14 October 2019
GK	Denvorn Fox	(1997-11-22) 22 November 1997	0	0	Real Estelí	v. Dominica, 14 October 2019
GK	Henry Maradiaga	(1990-02-05) 5 February 1990	5	0	Real Estelí	v. Suriname, 8 September 2019

DF	Josué Quijano	(1991-03-10) 10 March 1991	61	1	Real Estelí	v. Cuba, 7 November 2019 ^INJ
DF	Jason Ingram	(1997-08-20) 20 August 1997	0	0	Santos de Guápiles	v. Dominica, October 11, 2019
DF	Carlos Montenegro	(1991-01-07) 7 January 1991	2	0	UCR	v. Suriname, 8 September 2019
DF	Marvi Fletes	(1997-12-11) 11 December 1997	1	0	Diriangén	v. Suriname, 8 September 2019
DF	René Huete	(1995-06-05) 5 June 1995	0	0	Walter Ferretti	v. Suriname, 8 September 2019

MF	Renato Punyed	(1995-08-22) 22 August 1995	7	0	Nybergsund	v. Dominica, October 14, 2019
MF	Richard Rodríguez	(1992-07-13) 13 July 1992	4	0	Deportivo Santaní	v. Dominica, October 14, 2019
MF	Abner Acuña	(1997-03-05) 5 March 1997	2	0	Diriangén	v. Dominica, October 14, 2019
MF	Juan Barrera	(1989-05-02) 2 May 1989	55	18	Real Estelí	v. Dominica, October 11, 2019 ^INJ

FW	Byron Bonilla	(1993-08-30) 30 August 1993	9	2	Saprissa	v. Cuba, 7 November 2019 ^REC
FW	Carlos Chavarría	(1994-05-02) 2 May 1994	35	10	Club Africain	v. Dominica, October 14, 2019
^INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury. ^PRE Preliminary squad. ^RET Player retired from the national team. ^SUS Player is serving suspension. ^WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.

Records

Most Caps
#	Player	Career	Appearances
1	Josué Quijano	2011—	61 (1)
2	Juan Barrera	2009—	56 (18)
3	David Solórzano	1999–2014	49 (0)
3	Manuel Rosas	2013—	49 (2)
5	Marlon López	2014—	39 (0)
6	Carlos Alonso	1999–2011	37 (0)
7	Carlos Chavarría	2013–	35 (10)
8	Luis Copete	2014–	34 (3)
9	Daniel Cadena	2014–	33 (3)
10	Denis Espinoza	2004–2013	33 (1)

Top Goalscorers
#	Player	Goals	Career
1	Juan Barrera	18	2009–
2	Emilio Palacios	11	2001–2009
3	Carlos Chavarría	10	2013–
4	Raúl Leguías	7	2011–2016
5	Samuel Wilson	4	2001–2013
	Rudel Calero	4	2001–2011
	Luis Galeano	4	2015–
	Jaime Moreno	4	2016–
9	Luis Copete	3	2014–
9	Daniel Cadena	3	2014–

Note: Players in bold text are still active with Nicaragua. Last updated: October 14, 2019

Previous squads

CONCACAF Gold Cup

Coaching staff

Position	Name
Head coach	Henry Duarte
Technical Director	Roger Rodriguez
Assistant coach	Mario Alfaro Mercado
Goalkeeping coach	Carlos Mendieta
Physical Coordinator	Jaime Ruiz
Doctor	Dr. Cupertino Borrell
Physiotherapist	Zamir Cerna
Team Coordinator	Cesar Castro Trinidad
Team Coordinator	Nestor Diaz

Manager history

Name	Nation	From	To
Octavio Edmundo Salas Urbina	Nicaragua	1941	1943
Eduardo Kosovic 'Edy'	Hungary	1943	N/A
Santiago Bonilla	Costa Rica	1952	1953
Ferenc Mészáros	Hungary	1961	1961
Carlos Ruiz	Nicaragua	1961	1962
Santiago Berrini	Argentina	1965	1967
Livio Bendaña Espinoza	Nicaragua	1967	1969
Omar Muraco	Argentina	1969	1970
Salvador Dubois Leiva	Nicaragua	1977	1977
Orlando Casares	Argentina	1980	1981
Jan Fulop	Czechoslovakia	1985	1986
Salvador Dubois Leiva	Nicaragua	1991	1992
Mauricio Cruz Jiron	Nicaragua	1993	June 2001
Florencio Levia	Nicaragua	June 2001	December 2002
Maurizio Battistini	Italy	February 2003	June 2004
Marcelo Javier Zuleta	Argentina	January 2005	September 2005
Carlos De Toro	Argentina	September 2007	October 2008
Mauricio Cruz Jiron	Nicaragua	October 2008	November 2008
Ramón Otoniel Olivas	Nicaragua	November 2008	December 2009
Enrique Llena	Spain	January 2010	November 2014
Javier Londono	Colombia	November 2014	December 2014
Henry Duarte	Costa Rica	December 2014	Present

Others

José "Chingolo" Rodríguez
Omar Zambrana

References

"The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 2 April 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
"Brazil matches, ratings and points exchanged". Eloratings.net. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
"Nicaragua shocks Guatemala 2–0 to claim last berth in CONCACAF Gold Cup". CONCACAF. 29 January 2009. Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 29 January 2009.
"Nicaragua - List of International Matches". rsssf.com. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
"Bermuda downs Nicaragua to earn first ever Gold Cup victory". New Jersey: Gold Cup. 24 June 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
"World Football Elo Ratings: Nicaragua". Elo Ratings. Retrieved 24 June 2017.

External links

Official website (in Spanish)
Nicaragua FIFA profile
Nicaragua – List of International Matches at RSSSF.com

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[FIFA_World_Rankings-1] "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.

[World_Football_Elo_Ratings-2] Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 2 April 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.

[3] "Brazil matches, ratings and points exchanged". Eloratings.net. Retrieved 3 August 2014.

[4] "Nicaragua shocks Guatemala 2–0 to claim last berth in CONCACAF Gold Cup". CONCACAF. 29 January 2009. Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 29 January 2009.

[5] "Nicaragua - List of International Matches". rsssf.com. Retrieved 4 January 2017.

[6] "Bermuda downs Nicaragua to earn first ever Gold Cup victory". New Jersey: Gold Cup. 24 June 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.

[7] "World Football Elo Ratings: Nicaragua". Elo Ratings. Retrieved 24 June 2017.

National football teams of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean (CONCACAF)
North America	Canada Mexico United States
Central America	Belize Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Panama
Caribbean	Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Aruba Bahamas Barbados Bermuda¹ Bonaire³ British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Cuba Curaçao Dominica Dominican Republic French Guiana^{2 3} Grenada Guadeloupe³ Guyana² Haiti Jamaica Martinique³ Montserrat Puerto Rico Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Martin³ Sint Maarten³ Suriname² Trinidad and Tobago Turks and Caicos Islands U.S. Virgin Islands
Defunct	Netherlands Antilles
1: Inside the North American zone, but CFU member. 2: South American country, but affiliated to CONCACAF and CFU. 3: Full or associate CONCACAF member, but non-FIFA member.