Puerto Rico national football team

Puerto Rico

Nickname(s)	El Huracán Azul (The Blue Hurricane)
Association	Federación Puertorriqueña de Fútbol
Sub-confederation	CFU (Caribbean)
Confederation	CONCACAF (North America)
Head coach	Carlos Avedissian
Captain	Héctor Ramos
Most caps	Alexis Rivera Curet (24)
Top scorer	Héctor Ramos (13)
Home stadium	Estadio Juan Ramón Loubriel
FIFA code	PUR
FIFA ranking	166 6 (9 April 2015)
Highest FIFA ranking	97 (March 1994)
Lowest FIFA ranking	202 (November 2004)
Elo ranking	181
Highest Elo ranking	171 (21–25 May 1993)
Lowest Elo ranking	201 (3 February 2001, 21 July 2002)
First colours Second colours
First international
Cuba 1–1 Puerto Rico  (Havana, Cuba; November 12, 1940)
Biggest win
Puerto Rico 9–0 Saint-Martin  (Port-Au-Prince Haiti; September 9, 2012)
Biggest defeat
Netherlands Antilles 15–0 Puerto Rico  (Caracas, Venezuela; January 15, 1959)
Caribbean Cup
Appearances	10
Best result	Quarter Finals 1993

The Puerto Rico national football team is the national team of Puerto Rico and is controlled by Federación Puertorriqueña de Fútbol. Puerto Rico's national football team is a member of the Caribbean Football Union, part of the CONCACAF.

History

1940–1990

Puerto Rico's first international match was against Cuba in 1940 in which they drew 1–1. They did not record a win until a 3–0 result in 1970 against the Bahamas. In 1972 Puerto Rico recorded a 1–0 win against Panama in a friendly. Wins between the '80s and '90s were mainly against the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, and Martinique.^[1]

Chris Armas Years (1993–1994)

Chris Armas played for Puerto Rico in the 1993 Caribbean Cup. In the tournament Puerto Rico established a 4 game win streak without conceding a goal.^[1] The competition was not then recognized by FIFA and so his five matches were considered friendlies. As a result, he was later allowed to switch his allegiance to the United States of America,^[2] for whom he has since been capped over fifty times.

1995–2007

Puerto Rico did not record a win, and had only 4 draws. During this time the team almost dropped all the way down in the FIFA Rankings as they went to 202.^[1]

2008–present

Over the past few years Puerto Rico has begun to emerge as a contender, like they were in the 1990s. In 2008, they drew with the Caribbean giants Trinidad and Tobago. They also won for the first time since 1994 when they beat the Dominican Republic in the first round of World Cup qualifiers. Although they lost the first leg 4–0 to Central American powerhouse Honduras, they fought a 2–2 tie in the home leg in the second round. The Puerto Rican Football Federation has announced plans that would allow them to participate in the next editions of the Caribbean Cup and Gold Cup.^[3]

Puerto Rico were supposed to make their debut in the 21st Central American and Caribbean Games in 2010 on home soil in Mayagüez, but due to the controversy of CONCACAF not approving the stadiums, the team couldn't compete in the football event. The team was supposed to play in Venezuela instead but due to the lack of teams, the male event was cancelled.^[4]

Puerto Rico faced World and European champion Spain in a friendly on August 15, 2012, losing 2-1 in the Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium in Bayamón, Puerto Rico.

Tournament results

Caribbean Cup

• 1989 to 1990 – Did not enter
• 1991 – Did not qualify
• 1992 – Did not enter
• 1993 – Group stage
• 1994 to 1995 – Did not qualify
• 1996 – Did not enter
• 1997 – Withdrew
• 1998 to 2005 – Did not qualify
• 2007 to 2008 – Did not enter
• 2010 to 2014 – Did not qualify

Gold Cup

• 1991 to 2015 – Did not enter or Did not qualify

Pan American Games

• 1979 – Round 2 (5th Place)

World Cup

• 1930 to 1970 – Did not enter
• 1974 – Did not qualify
• 1978 to 1982 – Did not enter
• 1986 to 2002 – Did not qualify
• 2006 – Did not enter
• 2010 to 2014 – Did not qualify

Current squad

The following players were called up for friendlies against Canada on March 30, 2015.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club 1 1GK Matthew Sanchez (1994-08-04) 4 August 1994 1 0 Loyola University 21 1GK José Arroyo (1996-11-04) 4 November 1996 0 0 Bayamon FC 6 2DF Alexis Rivera (1982-10-29) 29 October 1982 25 0 Bayamón FC 15 2DF Joan Morales (1988-08-12) 12 August 1988 9 0 Criollos de Caguas FC 3 2DF Alberto Montesino (1993-06-21) 21 June 1993 1 0 Guayama FC 19 2DF Felix Dawson (1994-01-27) 27 January 1994 0 0 Criollos de Caguas FC 4 2DF Javier Lalondriz (1987-06-18) 18 June 1987 1 0 Criollos de Caguas FC 13 2DF Jayson Concepción 0 0 Don Bosco FC 14 3MF Andrés Pérez (1988-10-05) 5 October 1988 14 0 Unattached 11 3MF Juan Coca (1993-05-31) 31 May 1993 8 0 Kultsu FC 5 3MF Michael Fernandez (1994-02-09) 9 February 1994 1 0 Criollos de Caguas FC 7 3MF Andrés Cabrero (1989-01-04) 4 January 1989 21 5 Kultsu FC 17 3MF Alex Oikkonen (1994-10-15) 15 October 1994 8 2 Kultsu FC 12 3MF Deniz Bozkurt (1993-07-27) 27 July 1993 1 0 Unattached 2 3MF Christian Cantero 0 0 Criollos de Caguas FC 9 4FW Héctor Ramos (1990-05-04) 4 May 1990 25 13 A.D. Isidro Metapán 10 4FW Joseph Marrero (1993-04-09) 9 April 1993 16 7 Criollos de Caguas FC 18 4FW Lemuel Sálamo (1992-02-13) 13 February 1992 1 0 Bayamón FC 8 4FW Pedro Rosado (1988-06-05) 5 June 1988 1 0 Criollos de Caguas FC 16 4FW José Pérez 1 0 Universidad del Turabo

Recent call-ups

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 Eric Reyes (1992-03-13) 13 March 1992 12 0 Unattached 2014 Caribbean Cup qualification, September 7, 2014 GK Luis Fiol 0 0 Criollos de Caguas FC 2014 Caribbean Cup qualification, September 7, 2014 DF Emmanuel D'Andrea (1995-01-20) 20 January 1995 6 0 Sevilla FC C 2014 Caribbean Cup qualification, September 7, 2014 DF Juan Velez 3 0 Criollos de Caguas FC 2014 Caribbean Cup qualification, September 7, 2014 DF Joel Rivera 3 0 Unattached 2014 Caribbean Cup qualification, September 7, 2014 DF Gustavo Rivera (1993-06-04) 4 June 1993 4 0 Barry University 2014 Caribbean Cup qualification, September 7, 2014 DF Carlos Rosario (1994-01-30) 30 January 1994 5 0 Bayamón FC 2014 Caribbean Cup qualification, September 7, 2014 DF Sean Sweeney 0 0 Fort Pitt FC Regiment 2014 Caribbean Cup qualification, September 7, 2014 DF Steven Estrada (1987-08-17) 17 August 1987 5 0 Unattached 2014 Caribbean Cup qualification, September 7, 2014 MF Álvaro Betancourt (1994-02-08) 8 February 1994 7 0 Bayamón FC 2014 Caribbean Cup qualification, September 7, 2014 MF Eduardo Jimenez 0 0 Unattached 2014 Caribbean Cup qualification, September 7, 2014 MF Samuel Soto (1992-08-11) 11 August 1992 11 0 Bayamón FC 2014 Caribbean Cup qualification, September 7, 2014 FW Reid Strain (1994-01-04) January 4, 1994 0 0 Aserrí Fútbol Club 2014 Caribbean Cup qualification, September 3, 2014 (preliminary) FW Eloy Matos (1985-04-04) April 4, 1985 3 0 Don Bosco FC 2014 Caribbean Cup qualification, September 3, 2014 (preliminary)

Results and fixtures

2014

2014 Caribbean Cup qualification September 3, 2014	Puerto Rico	2 – 2	Curaçao	Bayamon, Puerto Rico
	Marrero  7', 51'	Report	Mathilda  59' Martis  82'	Stadium: Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Jhon Pitti (Panama)

2014 Caribbean Cup qualification September 5, 2014	Puerto Rico	1 – 2	French Guiana	Bayamon, Puerto Rico
	Ramos  39' (pen.)	Report	Gab. Pigrée  60', 90'	Stadium: Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium Attendance: 3,200 Referee: Edvin Jurisevic (United States)

2014 Caribbean Cup qualification September 7, 2014	Puerto Rico	2 – 2	Grenada	Bayamon, Puerto Rico
	Ramos  29' Oikkonen  68'	Report	James  55' Bain  85'	Stadium: Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Moeth Gaymes (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)

2015

Friendly March 30, 2015	Puerto Rico	0 – 3	Canada	Bayamón, Puerto Rico
		Report	Ricketts  42' Edwini-Bonsu  60' Larin  77'	Stadium: Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium Attendance: 8,952 Referee: Sandy Vasquez (Dominican Republic)

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round June 12, 2015	Puerto Rico	v	Grenada	Bayamon, Puerto Rico
				Stadium: Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round June 16, 2015	Grenada	v	Puerto Rico	St. George's, Grenada
				Stadium: Grenada National Stadium

Coaches

Eduardo Ordóñez Munguera (1959) Raúl Marchant González (1966) Luis Villarejo (1974–75) Oscar Rosa (1992) Raimundo Gatinho (2000) Toribio Rojas (2002–2003)

Víctor Hugo Barros (2004) Colin Clarke (2007–2011) Jeaustin Campos (2011–2013) Víctor Hugo Barros (2013-2014)

See also

• Puerto Rico U-20 national football team

References

External links

• Puerto Rico web page at FIFA.com
• Puerto Rico List of International Matches at RSSSF.com
• Official Site: Federación Puertorriqueña de Fútbol
• Puerto Rico National Football Team Fan Website

Football in Puerto Rico Overview Puerto Rican Football Federation Venues National teams Men National team U-20 Women National team League system Men Liga Nacional NASL (Islanders on hiatus) Puerto Rico Soccer League (defunct) Liga Mayor (defunct) Campeonato Nacional (defunct) Women WPSL Domestic cups Men Cup of Puerto Rico Lists Champions Clubs Men's clubs Men's players Expatriate players

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