Nicaragua national football team

Nicaragua

Nickname(s)	La Azul y Blanco (The Blue and White) Los Pinoleros Albiazules
Association	Nicaraguan Football Federation
Sub-confederation	UNCAF (Central America)
Confederation	CONCACAF (North America)
Head coach	Henry Duarte
Asst coach	Ivan Rodriguez
Captain	Juan Barrera
Most caps	David Solórzano (49)
Top scorer	Emilio Palacios (11)
Home stadium	Nicaragua National Football Stadium
FIFA code	NCA
FIFA ranking	154 31 (09 April 2015)
Highest FIFA ranking	132 (February 2009)
Lowest FIFA ranking	193 (May 2001)
Elo ranking	174 1 (23 March 2015)
Highest Elo ranking	83 (May 1941)
Lowest Elo ranking	197 (April 2002)
First colours Second colours
First international
El Salvador 9–0 Nicaragua  (El Salvador; 1 May 1929)
Biggest win
Nicaragua 5–0 Anguilla  (Managua, Nicaragua; 23 March 2015)
Biggest defeat
Brazil 14–0 Nicaragua  (Mexico; 17 October 1975)
CONCACAF Championship & Gold Cup
Appearances	3 (First in 1963)
Best result	6th, 1967

The Nicaragua national football team is the national team of Nicaragua and is controlled by the Nicaraguan Football Federation. It is one of, if not the weakest teams in Central America and it achieved its first qualification to a major international competition in 2009, when it qualified for the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup after a 2–0 win over Guatemala in the 2009 UNCAF Nations Cup.^[1]

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.^[2]

FIFA World Cup record

The Nicaraguan national football team has never qualified for the World Cup. Their last attempt was for the 2014 World Cup, which they failed to qualify from a group with Panama and Dominica. The pinoleros ended in second place defeating Dominica twice and losing to Panama, first only by one.

• 1930 to 1990 – Did not enter
• 1994 to 2014 – Did not qualify

CONCACAF Championship record

In 1963 Nicaragua participated in the first CONCACAF Championship which included all countries of the region, North America, Central America and the Caribbean. During 1963 to 1971 only 5 championships were played. Nicaragua achieving only a sixth place finish in 1967. From 1973 to 1989 no championship was played. The CONCACAF proclaimed champion of the region for the country that achieved the first place in qualifying to the FIFA World Cup. In 1990, CONCACAF again created a tournament as its showpiece event to crown the regional champion of the CONCACAF. The event was named the CONCACAF Gold Cup, with the USA hosting the first competition in 1991. However Nicaragua have only qualified once since the gold cup format started with a group stage finish in 2009.

Year	Round	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1963	Round 1	4	0	0	4	2	15
1965	Did not qualify
1967	Sixth Place	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	Round 1	3	0	0	3	0	8
2011	Did not qualify
2013
Total	3/21	12	0	1	11	5	35

Other tournament records

Copa Centroamericana The tournament has been held since 1991 as the UNCAF Nations Cup and serves as a qualifying event for the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The competition was re-branded as the Copa Centroamericana from the 2011 edition. Nicaragua has participated in all of the tournaments and has managed to get up to Fifth place in 2009. Year Round Pld W D* L GF GA 1991 Preliminary round 2 0 0 2 2 5 1993 Preliminary round 2 0 0 2 0 8 1995 Preliminary round 2 0 0 2 0 7 1997 First round 2 0 0 2 2 11 1999 First round 2 0 0 2 0 2 2001 First round 3 0 0 3 2 19 2003 Sixth Place 5 1 0 4 1 11 2005 Group Stage 3 1 0 2 2 9 2007 Sixth Place 4 1 0 3 6 14 2009 Fifth Place 4 1 2 1 5 6 2011 Sixth Place 4 0 1 3 2 7 2013 Group Stage 3 0 1 2 2 5 Total Fifth Place 36 4 4 28 24 104 Central American and Caribbean Games 1930 - Did not qualify 1935 – Did not qualify 1938 - Did not qualify 1946 - Did not qualify 1950 - Group Stage 1954 – Did not qualify 1959 - Did not qualify 1962 - Did not qualify 1966 - Did not qualify 1970 - Group Stage 1974 - Quarter Final 1978 - Group Stage 1982 - Group Stage 1986 - Did not qualify 1990 – Did not qualify 1993 - Did not qualify 1998 - Quarter Final 2002 –Quarter Final 2006 - Did not qualify 2010 - Did not qualify 2014- Did not qualify

CCCF Championship record The Nicaragua national football team have competed in the CCCF Championship in six occasions. Nicaragua won third place at the 1951 CCCF Championship. Year Round Pld W D* L GF GA 1941 Fifth place 4 0 0 4 5 29 1943 Fourth Place 6 0 0 6 7 39 1946 Sixth Place 5 1 0 4 5 31 1948 Did not enter 1951 Third Place 4 0 0 4 4 22 1953 Sixth Place 6 1 0 5 4 18 1955 Did not enter 1957 Did not enter 1960 Did not enter 1961 Ninth Place 3 0 0 3 3 18 Total 6/10 28 2 0 26 28 157 Pan American Games record 1951 to 1971 – Did not enter 1975 – Round 1 1979 to 1987 – Did not enter 1991 – Round 1 1995 to 2015 – Did not Qualify Central American Games 1973 – Silver Medal 1977 – Bronze Medal 1986 – Bronze Medal 1990 – Bronze Medal 1994 – Round 1 1997 – Round 1 2001 – Round 1 2013 – Round 1

Personnel

Current staff

Position	Name
Head Coach	Henry Duarte
Assistant Coach	Ivan Rodriguez
Physical Coordinator	TBD

Schedule and results

The following is Nicaragua's schedule and results for the 2015 season.

Key

      Win       Draw       Loss

2015

2018 FIFA World Cup Q 23 March	Nicaragua	5–0	Anguilla	Managua, Nicaragua
18:00 (UTC−6)	Galeano  12' Copete  24', 39' Barrera  36' Lazo  63'	Report		Stadium: Dennis Martínez National Stadium Referee: Jafeth Perea (Panama)

2018 FIFA World Cup Q 29 March	Anguilla	0–3	Nicaragua	The Valley, Anguila
17:00 (UTC−4)		Report	Leguias  21', 67' Barrera  46'	Stadium: Ronald Webster Park Referee: Óscar Moncada (Honduras)

Friendly 20 May	Nicaragua	v	Cuba	Nicaragua
				Stadium: Estadio Nacional

Friendly 23 May	Nicaragua	v	Cuba	Nicaragua
				Stadium: Estadio Independencia

2018 FIFA World Cup Q 7 June	Nicaragua	v	Suriname	Managua, Nicaragua
18:00 (UTC-6)				Stadium: Dennis Martínez National Stadium

2018 FIFA World Cup Q 16 June	Suriname	v	Nicaragua	Paramaribo, Suriname
16:30 (UTC-3)				Stadium: André Kamperveen Stadion

Current squad

The following 22 players were selected for the 2018 WCQ - First Round Anguila.
Caps and goals updated as of March 29, 2015 after the game against Anguilla.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club 1 1GK Justo Lorente (1994-02-27) February 27, 1994 8 0 Real Estelí 1GK Erling Mendez (1992-03-20) March 20, 1992 0 0 Juventus Managua 1GK Diedrich Tellez (1984-10-31) October 31, 1984 0 0 Managua 13 2DF Jason Casco (1990-02-13) February 13, 1990 7 0 Deportivo Walter Ferretti 2 2DF Luis Fernando Copete (1989-02-12) February 12, 1989 7 2 AS Puma Generaleña 2DF Francisco Paz (1987-08-07) August 7, 1987 0 0 Real Estelí 4 2DF Josué Quijano (1991-03-10) March 10, 1991 21 1 Deportivo Walter Ferretti 15 2DF Alejandro Tapia (1993-03-28) March 28, 1993 5 0 Deportivo Walter Ferretti 5 2DF Erick Téllez (1989-11-28) November 28, 1989 10 0 Diriangén 3 3MF Manuel Rosas (1983-10-14) October 14, 1983 8 0 Real Estelí 2DF Cristhian Gutierrez (1987-01-22) January 22, 1987 1 0 Deportivo Walter Ferretti 3MF Luis Perlata tbd 2 0 Diriangén 3MF Marlon López (1992-11-02) November 2, 1992 3 0 Managua 3MF Franklin Ullises Lopez (1982-08-16) August 16, 1982 18 0 Real Estelí 3MF Luis Manuel Galeano tbd 2 1 ART Municipal Jalapa 10 3MF Juan Barrera (1989-05-02) May 2, 1989 25 4 Real Estelí 16 3MF Elvis Pinel (1992-03-22) March 22, 1992 13 1 Real Estelí 3MF Norlan Cuadra (1987-06-29) June 29, 1987 2 0 Juventus Managua 4FW Carlos Chavarría (1993-10-09) October 9, 1993 4 0 Real Estelí 9 4FW Daniel Reyes (1990-07-21) July 21, 1990 6 1 Deportivo Walter Ferretti 4FW Norfran Lazo (1990-09-08) September 8, 1990 6 1 Real Estelí 4FW Raúl Leguías (1981-10-09) October 9, 1981 15 5 AS Puma Generaleña 4FW Ariagner Smith tbd 0 0 Real Estelí Jnr

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up to the Nicaragua squad in the past 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up GK Josimar Narváez (1993-06-31) June 31, 1993 0 0 Diriangén v.  El Salvador, November, 2014 GK Lester Acevedo (1992-03-20) March 20, 1992 0 0 Diriangén v.  El Salvador, November, 2014 DF Donald Parrales (1989-11-28) November 28, 1989 11 0 Deportivo Walter Ferretti v.  Guatemala, August 14, 2014 DF David Solórzano (captain) (1980-11-05) November 5, 1980 49 0 Diriangén v.  El Salvador, November, 2014 DF Yader Balladares (1987-01-22) January 22, 1987 0 0 Real Estelí v.  El Salvador, November, 2014 DF Salvador García (1982-03-13) March 13, 1982 11 0 Real Estelí v.  El Salvador, November, 2014 DF Nasser Valverde (1993-01-04) January 4, 1993 1 0 Diriangén v.  El Salvador, November, 2014 MF Derick Sequeira (1996-01-20) January 20, 1996 1 0 Toronto Academy v.  Guatemala, August 14, 2014 MF Lesther Jarquín 0 0 Juventus Managua v.  Guatemala, August 14, 2014 MF Daniel Cadena (1987-02-09) February 9, 1987 4 0 Deportivo Walter Ferretti v.  El Salvador, November, 2014 MF Walmer Otero (1993-05-16) May 16, 1993 3 0 San Francisco v. TBD, 2014 MF Gerardo Arce (1987-06-29) June 29, 1987 0 0 Deportivo Walter Ferretti v.  El Salvador, November, 2014 MF Medardo Martínez (1988-10-20) October 20, 1988 10 0 Deportivo Walter Ferretti v. TBD, 2014 MF Elmer Mejía (1978-06-23) June 23, 1978 4 0 Real Estelí v.  El Salvador, November, 2014 MF Mario Cantillo tbd 0 0 Juventus Managua v.  El Salvador, November, 2014 FW Henry García (1990-07-21) July 21, 1990 5 0 Juventus Managua v.  El Salvador, November, 2014 FW Javier Dolmus (1987-04-05) April 5, 1987 2 0 Deportivo Walter Ferretti v.  El Salvador, November, 2014 FW Eulises Pavón (1993-01-06) January 6, 1993 6 1 Diriangén v.  El Salvador, November, 2014

Top ten appearances

#	Name	Career	Appearances
1	David Solórzano	1999-TBD	49 (0)
2	Denis Espinoza	2004-TBD	33 (1)
3	Carlos Alonso	1999-2011	29 (0)
4	Samuel Wilson	2001-TBD	29 (4)
5	Emilio Palacios	2001-2009	26 (11)
6	Rudel Calero	2001-2011	26 (4)
7	Juan Barrera	2009-TBD	25 (4)
8	Felix Zeledón	2009-TBD	24 (1)
9	Silvio Avilés	2002-2010	22 (0)
10	Josué Quijano	20110-TBD	21 (1)

Note: Players in bold text are still active with Nicaragua. Last updated: September 13, 2014

|

Top ten goal scorers

#	Name	Career	Goals
1	Emilio Palacios	2001-2009	11
2	Raul Leguias	2011-	5
3	Samuel Wilson	2001-	4
4	Rudel Calero	2001-2011	4
5	Juan Barrera	2009–	4
6	Víctor Webster	2000–2003	2
7	Ramon Garcia	1943	2
8	Dámaso Silva	1963	2
9	Gerardo Barrios	1965-67	2
10	Rudy Sobalvarro	1967	2
11	Manuel “Catarrito” Cuadra	1967-1977	2
12	Bayardo “Carita” Barrera	1970-1973	2
13	César Rostvan	1992-1994	2
14	José María Bermúdez	1995-2001	2
15	Milton Bustos	2004–2011	2
16	Armando Reyes	2009–2010	2
17	Axel Villanueva	2010–	2
18	Ricardo Vega	2000–2012	2
19	Félix Rodríguez (footballer)	2010–	2
20	Luis Fernando Copete	2014–	2

Note: Players in bold text are still active with Nicaragua.

Last updated: September 13, 2014.

|}

Nicaragua Coaches

Name	From	To
Octavio Edmundo Salas Urbina	1941	?
Eduardo Kosovic 'Edy'	1941	?
Santiago Bonilla	1952	1953
Carlos Ruiz	1961	1962
Santiago Berrini	1966	?
Ferenc Mészáros	1967	?
Livio Bendaña Espinoza	1967	1970
Salvador Dubois Leiva	1977	1977
Jan Fulop	1985	1986
Salvador Dubois Leiva	1991	1992
Mauricio Cruz Jiron	1993	June 2001
Florencio Levia	June 2001	December 2002
Maurizio Battistini	February 2003	June 2004
Marcelo Javier Zuleta	January 2005	September 2005
Carlos De Toro	September 2007	December 2008
Mauricio Cruz Jiron	December 2008	October 2008
Ramón Otoniel Olivas	November 2008	December 2009
Enrique Llena	January 2010 –	November 2014
Javier Londono	November 2014 –	December 2014
Henry Duarte	December 2014 –	Present

Others

• Omar Muraco
• José "Chingolo" Rodríguez
• Omar Zambrana

References

External links

• A Picture of the Team
• FENIFUT – Nicaraguan Football Federation
• Nicaragua – List of International Matches at RSSSF.com (Last updated: 7 July 2004)

Football in Nicaragua Nicaraguan Football Federation National teams Men National team Olympic (U-23) U-20 U-17 Women National team Olympic (U-23) U-20 U-17 League system Primera Segunda Tercera Nicaraguan women's football championship Domestic cups Copa de Nicaragua (defunct) Awards Footballer of the Year Top scorers Lists All-time Table Champions Clubs International footballers Foreign players Venues Men's clubs Women's clubs Men's players Women's players Expatriate players Managers Referees Venues Seasons Records

International association football FIFA World Cup Confederations Cup U-20 World Cup U-17 World Cup Olympics Youth Olympics Universiade World Rankings Player of the Year FIFA Ballon d'Or Geography Teams Debuts Competitions Federations Codes Asia AFC – Asian Cup U-23 U-19 U-16 U-14 Africa CAF – Africa Cup of Nations U-23 U-20 U-17 North America, Central America and the Caribbean CONCACAF – Gold Cup U-20 U-17 U-15 South America CONMEBOL – Copa América U-20 U-17 U-15 Oceania OFC – Nations Cup U-20 U-17 Europe UEFA – European Championship U-21 U-19 U-17 Non-FIFA NF-Board – Viva World Cup CONIFA - ConIFA World Football Cup ConIFA European Football Cup IGA - Island Games Games All-Africa Games Asian Games Central America Central America and Caribbean East Asian Games Francophonie Games Indian Ocean Island Lusophony Games Mediterranean Games Pan American Games Pan Arab Games Pacific Games South Asian Games Southeast Asian Games See also International women's football

National association 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 Guiana2 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.