Curaçao vs El Salvador

Curacao makes their long-awaited return to the CONCACAF Gold Cup this Tuesday, kicking off Group B action against El Salvador at PayPal Park. Both teams are riding high after securing their spots in the next round of 2026 World Cup qualifying last week—Curacao with a dominant 5-1 victory over Haiti, and El Salvador grinding out a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Suriname.

Under the guidance of seasoned Dutch coach Dick Advocaat, Curacao has emerged as one of the region’s most exciting teams. They arrive in stellar form, winning five of their last six matches across all competitions, outscoring opponents by a staggering 19-2 in those victories. This marks their first Gold Cup appearance since 2019, when they narrowly edged out El Salvador on goal difference to reach the quarterfinals.

Curacao has a solid track record on U.S. soil in this tournament, unbeaten in their last two Gold Cup matches stateside. They’ve also been ruthless under Advocaat when scoring first—winning all eight games in which they’ve struck the opening goal. However, their last victory over a Central American side came back in June 2022, a tight 2-1 win over Honduras in the Nations League.

El Salvador, meanwhile, kept their World Cup dreams alive by the slimmest of margins, pipping Puerto Rico to second place in their qualifying group by just one point. Their resilience has been on full display this year, battling back to salvage results in three matches—including the crucial Suriname draw that kept their 2026 hopes intact.

Since Hernan Gomez took over as manager in February, La Selecta has lost just once in five games—a 2-1 friendly defeat to the Houston Dynamo. But the Gold Cup has been a tougher challenge: they’re winless in their last five tournament matches and haven’t claimed a group-stage victory since July 2021. Still, history offers some encouragement—they’ve won their opening group match in two of the last three Gold Cups, including a 2-0 win over Guatemala in 2021.

Most importantly, El Salvador has never lost to Curacao in eight previous meetings, including two Gold Cup victories (2-0 in 2017 and 1-0 in 2019). Will that dominance continue, or can Curacao’s red-hot form rewrite history? Tuesday’s clash promises plenty of drama.