 In the 2009 UNCAF Nations Cup , hosted in Honduras , El Salvador was drawn into a group with Belize , Honduras , and Nicaragua . They defeated Belize 4 – 1 , tied against Nicaragua 1 – 1 with an own @-@ goal , and lost to Honduras 0 – 2 . This gave them second place in the group and qualified them for the semifinals . There , the team faced Costa Rica . However , the games was called off after 60 minutes of play ( with Costa Rica leading 1 – 0 ) when El Salvador was reduced to six players . Two El Salvador players , Alexander Escobar and Eliseo Quintanilla , were awarded red cards in the first half , while <unk> <unk> , Rodolfo Zelaya , and goalkeeper Juan José Gómez were injured and had to leave the game after El Salvador had already exhausted their three substitutions . The game was awarded 3 – 0 to Costa Rica . In the third place playoff , Honduras earned a win over La Selecta with the only goal scored by Roger Espinoza ( 30 ' ) . At the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup , El Salvador were in Group A alongside Canada , Costa Rica , and Jamaica . They debuted against Costa Rica , winning 2 – 1 with El Salvador 's goals scored by <unk> Romero in the 19th and 85th minute . However , they lost their games against Canada and Jamaica , both matches 1 – 0 . The team was still coached by Carlos de los Cobos . 
