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Nicaragua national football team

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Nicaragua
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)La Azul y Blanco (The Blue and White)
Los Pinoleros (The Pinoleros)
AssociationFederación Nicaragüense de Fútbol
ConfederationCONCACAF (North America)
Sub-confederationUNCAF (Central America)
Head coachMarco Antonio Figueroa
CaptainJuan Barrera
Most capsJosué Quijano (73)
Top scorerJuan Barrera (22)
Home stadiumNicaragua National Football Stadium
FIFA codeNCA
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 132 Decrease 1 (24 October 2024)[1]
Highest92 (December 2015)
Lowest193 (May 2001)
First international
 El Salvador 9–0 Nicaragua 
(San Salvador, El Salvador; 1 May 1929)
Biggest win
 Turks and Caicos Islands 0–7 Nicaragua 
(San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic; 27 March 2021)
Biggest defeat
 Honduras 10–0 Nicaragua 
(San José, Costa Rica; 13 March 1946)
 Curaçao 11–1 Nicaragua 
(Guatemala City, Guatemala; 2 March 1950)
Gold Cup
Appearances5 (first in 1963)
Best resultSixth place (1967)
Medal record

The Nicaragua national football team (Template:Lang-es) represents Nicaragua in men's international football and is controlled by the Nicaraguan Football Federation. Nicaragua achieved its first qualification to a major international competition in 2009, as they qualified for the 2009 Gold Cup as the last entrant from Central America, after a 2–0 win over Guatemala in the fifth place match in the 2009 Nations Cup.[3] However, the team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup.

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 traveled 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.[4]

Recent times

After qualifying for the 2019 Gold Cup on the back of finishing ninth in Nations League qualifying, they would go on to finish bottom of the group with losses to Costa Rica, Haiti and Bermuda.[5]

Schedule and results

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss

2021

24 February Friendly Guatemala  1–0  Nicaragua Guatemala City, Guatemala
15:00 (UTC−6)
  • Rittmeyer 90+4'
Report Stadium: Centro de Alto Rendimiento de Guatemala
Referee: Armando Reyna (Guatemala)
8 June WC 1st Round Qualifying Haiti  1–0  Nicaragua Port-au-Prince, Haiti
17:00 UTC−4
Report Stadium: Stade Sylvio Cator
Referee: Kevin Morrison (Jamaica)
8 September Friendly Guatemala  2–2  Nicaragua Antigua, Guatemala
15:00 (UTC−6)
Report
Stadium: Estadio Pensativo
Referee: Armando Reyna (Guatemala)
10 November Friendly Nicaragua  0–3  Cuba Managua, Nicaragua
19:00 (UTC−6) Report
Stadium: Nicaragua National Football Stadium
Referee: Nitzar Sandoval (Nicaragua)
13 November Friendly Nicaragua  2–0  Cuba Managua, Nicaragua
18:00 (UTC−6) Report Stadium: Nicaragua National Football Stadium
Referee: Tatiana Guzman (Nicaragua)

2022

29 January Friendly Nicaragua  4–0  Belize Managua, Nicaragua
19:00 (UTC−6)
Report Stadium: Estadio Nacional de Fútbol
Referee: Ricardo Mendoza (Nicaragua)
1 February Friendly Nicaragua  1–1  Belize Managua, Nicaragua
19:00 (UTC−6) Report Stadium: Estadio Nacional de Fútbol
Referee: Félix Mojica (Nicaragua)

Coaching staff

Position Name
Head coach Chile Antonio Figueroa
Technical director Nicaragua Roger Rodriguez
Assistant coach Nicaragua Tyron Acevedo
Goalkeeping coach Nicaragua Carlos Mendieta
Physical coordinator Nicaragua Jaime Ruiz
Doctor Nicaragua Dr. Cupertino Borrell
Physiotherapist Nicaragua Zamir Cerna
Team coordinator Nicaragua Cesar Castro Trinidad
Team coordinator Nicaragua Nestor Diaz

Coaching history

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for friendlies against Belize on 29 January and 1 February 2022.[6]
Caps updated as of 1 February 2022, after the match with Belize.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Denis Espinoza (1983-08-25) 25 August 1983 (age 41) 39 1 Nicaragua Walter Ferretti
1GK Douglas Forvis (1992-05-17) 17 May 1992 (age 32) 3 0 Costa Rica Santos de Guápiles
1GK Alyer Lopez (1999-05-16) 16 May 1999 (age 25) 0 0 Nicaragua Managua

2DF Josué Quijano (1991-03-10) 10 March 1991 (age 33) 75 1 Nicaragua Real Estelí
2DF Erick Téllez (1989-01-28) 28 January 1989 (age 35) 26 0 Nicaragua Diriangén
2DF Francisco Flores (1988-04-02) 2 April 1988 (age 36) 18 0 Costa Rica Jicaral
2DF Cristian Gutiérrez (1993-01-06) 6 January 1993 (age 31) 13 1 Nicaragua Real Estelí
2DF Henry Niño (1997-10-03) 3 October 1997 (age 27) 12 1 Nicaragua Walter Ferretti
2DF Jason Ingram (1997-08-20) 20 August 1997 (age 27) 8 0 Costa Rica Santos de Guápiles
2DF René Huete (1995-06-05) 5 June 1995 (age 29) 4 0 Nicaragua Diriangén
2DF Christian Reyes (1995-11-02) 2 November 1995 (age 29) 4 0 Costa Rica Pérez Zeledón
2DF Jason Castellón (1992-01-24) 24 January 1992 (age 32) 2 0 Nicaragua Walter Ferretti

3MF Juan Barrera (Captain) (1989-05-02) 2 May 1989 (age 35) 68 22 Guatemala Xelajú
3MF Marlon López (1992-11-02) 2 November 1992 (age 32) 40 0 Nicaragua Real Estelí
3MF Byron Bonilla (1993-08-30) 30 August 1993 (age 31) 20 3 Costa Rica Cartaginés
3MF Richard Rodríguez (1992-07-13) 13 July 1992 (age 32) 17 1 Nicaragua Real Estelí
3MF Matías Moldskred (1997-08-12) 12 August 1997 (age 27) 5 2 Norway Start
3MF Harold Medina (2002-01-30) 30 January 2002 (age 22) 3 0 Nicaragua Real Estelí
3MF Brayan López (1990-06-03) 3 June 1990 (age 34) 2 0 Costa Rica Santos de Guápiles
3MF Pablo Gállego (1993-10-01) 1 October 1993 (age 31) 1 1 Greece Pierikos
3MF Bancy Hernández 1 0 Nicaragua Walter Ferretti

4FW Jaime Moreno (1995-03-30) 30 March 1995 (age 29) 20 4 Nicaragua Diriangén
4FW Brandon Ayerdis (1999-09-11) 11 September 1999 (age 25) 18 1 Nicaragua Real Estelí
4FW Henry García (1990-07-21) 21 July 1990 (age 34) 17 0 Nicaragua Real Estelí
4FW Ariagner Smith (1998-12-13) 13 December 1998 (age 25) 7 3 Russia Veles Moscow

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team in the last twelve months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Denver Fox (1997-11-22) 22 November 1997 (age 26) 1 0 Nicaragua Real Estelí v.  Cuba, 13 November 2021
GK Justo Lorente (1994-02-27) 27 February 1994 (age 30) 33 0 Nicaragua Diriangén v.  Belize, 4 June 2021 PRE

DF Marvin Fletes (1997-11-12) 12 November 1997 (age 27) 7 1 Nicaragua Real Estelí v.  Cuba, 13 November 2021
DF Melvin Hernández (1994-04-26) 26 April 1994 (age 30) 5 0 Nicaragua Walter Ferretti v.  Cuba, 13 November 2021
DF Luis Copete (1989-02-12) 12 February 1989 (age 35) 37 3 Bolivia Independiente Petrolero v.  Haiti, 8 June 2021
DF Óscar Acevedo (1997-03-18) 18 March 1997 (age 27) 0 0 Nicaragua Real Estelí v.  Guatemala, 8 September 2021
DF Manuel Rosas (1983-10-14) 14 October 1983 (age 41) 57 2 Nicaragua Real Estelí v.  Turks and Caicos Islands, 27 March 2021
DF Alejandro Tapia (1993-03-28) 28 March 1993 (age 31) 7 0 Nicaragua Walter Ferretti v.  Turks and Caicos Islands, 27 March 2021 PRE
DF Juan Pérez (1999-06-29) 29 June 1999 (age 25) 0 0 Costa Rica San Carlos v.  Turks and Caicos Islands, 27 March 2021 PRE

MF Kevin Serapio (1996-04-09) 9 April 1996 (age 28) 17 0 Nicaragua Managua v.  Cuba, 13 November 2021
MF Agenor Báez (1997-12-18) 18 December 1997 (age 26) 1 0 Nicaragua Managua v.  Cuba, 13 November 2021
MF Nahúm Peralta (1994-10-21) 21 October 1994 (age 30) 2 0 Nicaragua Managua v.  Guatemala, 8 September 2021
MF Armando Goufas (1995-02-02) 2 February 1995 (age 29) 8 1 Nicaragua Real Estelí v.  Haiti, 8 June 2021
MF Danilo Zúñiga (1997-06-04) 4 June 1997 (age 27) 5 0 Nicaragua Managua v.  Haiti, 8 June 2021
MF Bismarck Montiel (1995-03-05) 5 March 1995 (age 29) 13 0 Unattached v.  Belize, 4 June 2021 PRE
MF Daniel Cadena (1987-02-09) 9 February 1987 (age 37) 33 3 Nicaragua Ocotal v.  Turks and Caicos Islands, 27 March 2021 PRE

FW Ricardo Mendieta (1995-01-18) 18 January 1995 (age 29) 6 1 Nicaragua Real Madriz v.  Cuba, 13 November 2021
FW Dshon Forbes (1997-07-09) 9 July 1997 (age 27) 3 1 Nicaragua Walter Ferretti v.  Cuba, 13 November 2021
FW Adrian Chavarría (1997-08-31) 31 August 1997 (age 27) 0 0 Nicaragua Juventus Managua v.  Cuba, 13 November 2021
FW Carlos Chavarría (1994-05-02) 2 May 1994 (age 30) 43 11 Nicaragua Real Estelí v.  Haiti, 8 June 2021
FW Ezequiel Ugalde (2001-09-19) 19 September 2001 (age 23) 1 0 Nicaragua Walter Ferretti v.  Turks and Caicos Islands, 27 March 2021
FW Holman Mairena (1996-07-11) 11 July 1996 (age 28) 0 0 Costa Rica San Ramón v.  Turks and Caicos Islands, 27 March 2021 PRE

INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
PRE Preliminary squad.
RET Player retired from the national team.
SUS Player is serving suspension.
WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.

Records

As of 1 February 2021[7]
Players in bold are still active with Nicaragua.

Most appearances

Josué Quijano is Nicaragua's most-capped player with 75 international appearances.
Rank Player Caps Goals Career
1 Josué Quijano 75 1 2011–present
2 Juan Barrera 68 22 2009–present
3 Manuel Rosas 60 2 2013–present
4 David Solórzano 49 1 1999–2014
5 Carlos Chavarría 44 11 2013–present
6 Marlon López 40 0 2014–present
7 Denis Espinoza 39 1 2004–present
8 Carlos Alonso 37 0 1999–2011
Luis Copete 37 3 2014–present
10 Daniel Cadena 34 3 2014–present

Top goalscorers

Juan Barrera is Nicaragua's all-time top scorer with 22 goals.
Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Juan Barrera 22 68 0.32 2009–present
2 Emilio Palacios 11 26 0.42 2001–2009
Carlos Chavarría 11 44 0.25 2013–present
4 Raúl Leguías 8 23 0.35 2011–2016
5 Luis Galeano 5 34 0.15 2015–present
6 Jaime Moreno 4 20 0.2 2016–present
Rudel Calero 4 26 0.15 2001–2011
Samuel Wilson 4 29 0.14 2001–2013
9 Ariagner Smith 3 7 0.43 2017–present
Byron Bonilla 3 20 0.15 2016–present
Bryan García 3 22 0.14 2015–present
Daniel Cadena 3 34 0.09 2014–present
Luis Copete 3 37 0.08 2014–present

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

The Nicaragua national football team has never qualified for the World Cup. Their latest attempt was for the 2022 World Cup, when the side failed to advance from the first round.

FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Not a FIFA member Not a FIFA member
Italy 1934
France 1938
Brazil 1950 Did not enter Declined participation
Switzerland 1954
Sweden 1958
Chile 1962
England 1966
Mexico 1970
West Germany 1974
Argentina 1978
Spain 1982
Mexico 1986
Italy 1990
United States 1994 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 1 10
France 1998 2 0 0 2 1 3
South Korea Japan 2002 4 0 0 4 0 10
Germany 2006 2 0 1 1 3 6
South Africa 2010 2 0 0 2 0 3
Brazil 2014 4 2 0 2 5 7
Russia 2018 6 5 0 1 15 5
Qatar 2022 3 2 0 1 10 1
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined To be determined
Total 0/22 25 9 1 15 35 45

CONCACAF Gold Cup

CONCACAF Championship & Gold Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad
El Salvador 1963 Round 1 8th 4 0 0 4 2 15 Squad
Guatemala 1965 Did not qualify
Honduras 1967 Sixth place 6th 5 0 1 4 3 12 Squad
Costa Rica 1969 Did not enter
Trinidad and Tobago 1971 Did not qualify
Haiti 1973
Mexico 1977 Did not enter
Honduras 1981
1985
1989
United States 1991 Did not qualify
Mexico United States 1993
United States 1996
United States 1998
United States 2000
United States 2002
Mexico United States 2003
United States 2005
United States 2007
United States 2009 Group stage 11th 3 0 0 3 0 8 Squad
United States 2011 Did not qualify
United States 2013
Canada United States 2015
United States 2017 Group stage 10th 3 0 0 3 1 7 Squad
Costa Rica Jamaica United States 2019 Group stage 15th 3 0 0 3 0 8 Squad
United States 2021 Did not qualify
Total Sixth place 5/26 18 0 1 17 6 50

CONCACAF Nations League

CONCACAF Nations League record
Season Division Group Pld W D L GF GA P/R RK
United States 2019−20 B D 6 2 1 3 9 11 Same position 23rd
2022–23 B To be determined
Total 6 2 1 3 9 11 23rd

Copa Centroamericana

Copa Centroamericana record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Costa Rica 1991 Preliminary round 5th 2 0 0 2 2 5
Honduras 1993 Preliminary round 5th 2 0 0 2 0 8
El Salvador 1995 Preliminary round 7th 2 0 0 2 0 7
Guatemala 1997 First round 6th 2 0 0 2 2 11
Costa Rica 1999 First round 5th 2 0 0 2 0 2
Honduras 2001 First round 7th 3 0 0 3 2 19
Panama 2003 Sixth place 6th 5 1 0 4 1 11
Guatemala 2005 Fifth place 5th 3 1 0 2 2 9
El Salvador 2007 Sixth place 6th 4 1 0 3 6 14
Honduras 2009 Fifth place 5th 4 1 2 1 5 6
Panama 2011 Sixth place 6th 4 0 1 3 2 7
Costa Rica 2013 Seventh place 7th 3 0 1 2 2 5
United States 2014 Sixth place 6th 3 0 0 3 0 6
Panama 2017 Fifth place 5th 5 1 1 3 5 6
Total Fifth place 14/14 44 5 5 34 29 116

CCCF Championship

CCCF Championship record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Costa Rica 1941 Fifth place 5th 4 0 0 4 5 29
El Salvador 1943 Fourth place 4th 6 0 0 6 7 39
Costa Rica 1946 Sixth place 6th 5 1 0 4 5 31
Guatemala 1948 Did not enter
Panama 1951 Third place 3rd 4 0 0 4 4 22
Costa Rica 1953 Sixth place 6th 6 1 0 5 4 18
Honduras 1955 Did not enter
Netherlands Antilles 1957
Cuba 1960
Costa Rica 1961 Ninth place 9th 3 0 0 3 3 18
Total Third place 6/10 28 2 0 26 28 157

Pan American Games

Pan American Games record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Argentina 1951 Did not enter
Mexico 1955
United States 1959
Brazil 1963
Canada 1967
Colombia 1971
Mexico 1975 Preliminary round 13th 3 0 0 3 2 23
Puerto Rico 1979 Did not enter
Venezuela 1983
United States 1987
Cuba 1991 Preliminary round 8th 3 0 0 3 1 20
Argentina 1995 Did not qualify
Canada 1999
Dominican Republic 2003
Brazil 2007
Mexico 2011
Canada 2015
Peru 2019
Total Preliminary round 2/18 6 0 0 6 3 43

Central American and Caribbean Games

Central American and Caribbean Games record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Cuba 1930 Did not qualify
El Salvador 1935
Panama 1938
Colombia 1946
Guatemala 1950 Group stage 8th 3 0 0 3 4 19
Mexico 1954 Did not qualify
Venezuela 1959
Jamaica 1962
Puerto Rico 1966
Panama 1970
Dominican Republic 1974
Colombia 1978
Cuba 1982 Group stage 7th 3 0 1 2 2 6
Dominican Republic 1986 Did not qualify
Mexico 1990
Puerto Rico 1993
Venezuela 1998 Quarter-finals 8th 4 1 0 3 3 13
El Salvador 2002 Quarter-finals 8th 3 1 0 2 2 7
Colombia 2006 Did not qualify
Puerto Rico 2010
Mexico 2014
Colombia 2018
Total Quarter-finals 4/22 13 2 1 10 11 45

Central American Games

Central American Games record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Guatemala 1973 Runners-up 2nd 4 2 1 1 4 3
El Salvador 1977 Third place 3rd 6 2 0 4 6 23
Guatemala 1986 Third place 3rd 3 0 2 1 1 5
Honduras 1990 Third place 3rd 4 0 0 4 1 11
El Salvador 1994 Group stage 6th 2 0 0 2 0 17
Honduras 1997 Group stage 6th 2 0 0 2 3 8
Guatemala 2001 Group stage 5th 3 1 0 2 5 8
Honduras 2006 Not held
Panama 2010
Costa Rica 2013 Group stage 7th 3 0 0 3 1 9
Nicaragua 2017 Third place 3rd 4 1 2 1 2 1
Total Runners-up 9/11 31 6 5 20 23 85

Head-to-head record

As of 1 February 2022 after the match against  Belize.[8]

  Positive Record   Neutral Record   Negative Record

  1. ^ Includes matches against  Netherlands Antilles.

See also

References

  1. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  2. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 16 October 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  3. ^ "Nicaragua shocks Guatemala 2–0 to claim last berth in CONCACAF Gold Cup". CONCACAF. 29 January 2009. Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 29 January 2009.
  4. ^ "Nicaragua - List of International Matches". rsssf.com. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  5. ^ "Bermuda downs Nicaragua to earn first ever Gold Cup victory". New Jersey: Gold Cup. 24 June 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  6. ^ "Selection against Belize". Twitter. FENIFUT NICARAGUA (OFICIAL).
  7. ^ Passo Alpuin, Luis Fernando. "Nicaragua - Record International Players". RSSSF.
  8. ^ "World Football Elo Ratings: Nicaragua".