Preview: El Salvador vs Martinique - prediction, team news, lineups

El Salvador will welcome Martinique to the Estadio Jorge Gonzalez for Friday's CONCACAF Nations League meeting in San Salvador. 

The hosts are back competing in League A after winning promotion in the last edition of the Nations League, while the visitors are competing in the top tier for a fifth consecutive campaign. 

Match preview

El Salvador are set to return to action for the first time since playing a series of friendlies against club sides in July, which saw them follow a 3-0 win over Los Angeles Galaxy with a defeat by the same scoreline against Los Angeles FC and a 2-2 draw against Tijuana.

Their last outings against international opposition took place in June, when they fell to a narrow 1-0 loss against South Korea before playing out a goalless draw against Qatar.

Having experienced a run of friendlies, Hernan Gomez's side will be looking forward to getting back to competitive action in the CONCACAF Nations League, especially as they are back competing in League A after topping a League B group that featured Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Bonaire and Montserrat in 2024-25.

The extended international window is bookended with home and away games against Martinique, with La Selecta set to follow Friday's fixture with a trip to Guatemala and a home clash against Jamaica.

They can take confidence from the fact they have already beaten Martinique this year, claiming a 1-0 victory in March's CONCACAF Series encounters in Santiago.

La Selecta now have the chance to record back-to-back wins against Martinique for the first time in their relatively short head-to-head history. 

Martinique, meanwhile, have not played an official friendly since they lost to El Salvador in March, a result that extended their winless run to eight matches (D3, L5).

Their most recent win took place in the penultimate matchday of the 2024-25 CONCACAF Nations League, when they recorded a 1-0 away win over Guadeloupe.

That result proved pivotal as they finished in fourth place in Group A, one point clear of Guadeloupe in fifth position.

While Guadeloupe and Guyana dropped down to League B, Martinique maintained their record of always competing in League A since the competition's inception in 2019-20. 

Like El Salvador, Fabien Mercadal's side face just three teams in a six-team group due to the competition's unique format, with games against Suriname and Honduras set to take place in between away and home fixtures against La Selecta.

Having failed to win their last two head-to-head meetings (D1, L1), Martinique are hoping to beat El Salvador for the first time since recording a 1-0 home win in a Nations League clash in October 2023. 

El Salvador form (all competitions):

Martinique form (all competitions):

Team News

© Imago / ZUMA Press Wire

Mario Gonzalez, who will don the captain's armband, will feature in between the posts on matchday one, with the goalkeeper likely to be shielded by three centre-backs.

Julio Sibrian, Rudy Clavel and Jorge Cruz could play as the three central defenders, while Jefferson Valladares and Diego Flores are likely to start as the two wing-backs. 

At the opposite end of the pitch, Nathan Ordaz may get the chance to form a centre-forward pairing with Brayan Gil Hurtado..

As for Martinique, goalkeeper Emmanuel Vermignon is expected to get the nod over Xavier Lenogue and Aldrick Boulois. 

Kenny Lala could make his international debut in a back four that could also feature Boris Moltenis, Florent Poulolo and Joris Moutachy.

Jonathan Varane should play a key role in midfield, while Bryan Labeau is likely to lead the line in San Salvador. 

El Salvador possible starting lineup:

Gonzalez; Sibrian, Clavel, Cruz; Valladares, Cerritos, Martinez, Diaz, Flores; Ordaz, B. Gil

Martinique possible starting lineup:

Vermingnon; Lala, Moltenis, Poulolo, Moutachy; Varane, Madouki; Marajo, Appin, Blas; Labeau

We say: El Salvador 2-1 Martinique

The narrow scoreline in March's meeting between the two nations suggests this one will be a close-fought contest, although we believe El Salvador will prevail again, especially as they have home advantage and Martinique have lost five of their last seven games. 

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.