 El Salvador participated at the Pan American Games for the first time in 1975 at the VII ( 7 ) Pan American Games , hosted in Mexico . The national team participated in a group that included Brazil , Costa Rica , and Nicaragua . They debuted with a 4 – 1 win against Nicaragua on October 14 with 3 goals from " Pajarito " Huezo and the debut of Francisco " Paco " Jovel . Then they played against Brazil on the 15th and lost 0 – 2 . They ended the tournament by playing against Costa Rica , where they tied 0 – 0 , and wherein " Pelé " Zapata missed a penalty . They finished at third place in Group D , failing to advance to the next round . 
