 Although El Salvador played a few games in the early part of the 20th century , they did not form an official national team until 1921 when players such as José Pablo Huezo , Carlos Escobar Leiva or Santiago <unk> revolutionized football in the country . In September 1921 , El Salvador were invited to Guatemala to take part in the Independence Centenary Games , to celebrate 100 years of Central American Independence . The tournament was between Guatemala , Honduras , Costa Rica , and El Salvador . The Guatemalans and Costa Ricans had more experience with football than the Salvadorans and Hondurans . It was a single @-@ elimination tournament with Guatemala playing Honduras and El Salvador playing Costa Rica . El Salvador , which were dressed with white shorts and black shirt , utilized the classic 2 – 3 – 5 scheme with Carlos Escobar Leyva ; Spanish resident Santiago <unk> , José Pablo Huezo ; Benjamín Sandoval , Emilio Dawson , and Frenchman Emilio <unk> ; Víctor Recinos , brothers Guillermo and José E. <unk> , Guillermo Sandoval and Enrique Lindo . By halftime Costa Rica was up 3 – 0 , and at the final whistle after 80 minutes ( 40 minutes for each half ) won 7 – 0 . Despite the loss , this tournament was the starting point of the official El Salvador national team . 
