Curaçao and El Salvador set for third Gold Cup meeting | OneFootball

MIAMI – The 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup continues as Curaçao takes on El Salvador in Group B on Tuesday at PayPal Park in San Jose, California.

The occasion presents the third Gold Cup encounter between the countries, with La Selecta claiming wins in both previous meetings.

Curaçao returns to the competition for the first time since 2019 for what will be the Caribbean nation’s third Gold Cup appearance. The nation qualified by placing first in Group B of League B in the 2024/25 Concacaf Nations League.

El Salvador is set for its 14th Gold Cup appearance. The Central American nation qualified for the tournament by finishing first in Group A of League B in the 2024/25 CNL.

Curaçao will seek to match or better its best finish in the tournament, when it reached the Quarterfinals in the 2019 edition. El Salvador’s best finish at a Gold Cup came as quarterfinalists on six occasions, most recently at the 2021 edition.

All-Time series Curaçao vs El Salvador

El Salvador and Curaçao will meet for the third time in Gold Cup history, with La Selecta having won both of their previous encounters.

The first came on July 13, 2017, in Group C action at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, where El Salvador secured a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Gerson Mayén (21') and Rodolfo “Fito” Zelaya (24'). They followed that up with a 1-0 victory on June 17, 2019, in Kingston’s Independence Park, with Nelson Bonilla scoring just before halftime (45+1').

Top El Salvador Scorers v. Curaçao in the Gold Cup:

Gerson Mayén (1), Rodolfo “Fito” Zelaya (1), Nelson Bonilla (1)

Across all competitions, El Salvador holds a clear upper hand in the rivalry. In their last 12 meetings, El Salvador has won 9 times, with the remaining 3 ending in draws. Most recently, the two sides played back-to-back friendlies in Willemstad in November 2023—both ended 1-1. On November 16, Juninho Bacuna (3') and Diego Flores (87') traded goals. On November 20, Rangelo Janga (19' penalty) and Styven Vásquez (71') found the net.

Curaçao’s last victory over El Salvador dates all the way back to the 1966 Central American and Caribbean Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, when they earned a 2-0 win on June 22, with goals from Bernardo Brete and Félix Angélico Pérez—almost 59 years ago.

All-Time Series (All Competitions):

- 23 matches

- 13 wins for El Salvador (32 goals scored)

- 8 draws

- 2 wins for Curaçao (17 goals scored)