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

Guatemala will welcome El Salvador to the Estadio Manuel Felipe Carrera for Tuesday's CONCACAF Nations League encounter.

The Chapines began their 2026-27 Nations League campaign with a 3-2 defeat to Jamaica, while El Salvador made a winning start with a 3-1 victory over Martinique.

Match preview

Guatemala made a flying start when in-form Oscar Santis scored inside the opening two minutes, but Jamaica restored parity through Kasey Palmer just before half time.

The Reggae Boyz then took the lead through Rumen Burrell, before Santis struck again to level the scores at 2-2.

Guatemala looked set to hold on for a point, but Renaldo Cephas scored late to complete a dramatic 3-2 victory for Jamaica and leave the Mayans heartbroken.

The defeat means Guatemala are still searching for their first win of 2026 and have now lost five consecutive matches, conceding 17 goals in the process.

Interestingly, all five defeats have come away from home, and Luis Fernando Tena will hope a return to home soil can finally bring about a change in fortunes.

El Salvador picked up their second win of 2026 after defeating Martinique in their opening Group B clash.

Brayan Gil scored a brace, while Harold Osorio added another inside the opening 30 minutes to put the contest beyond Martinique's reach, and although they pulled one back in the second half, the deficit proved too much to overcome.

La Selecta played four friendly matches before the competition, drawing twice, losing once and securing a 1-0 victory over Martinique.

The two sides are meeting for the first time this year, while they faced each other twice in the 2025 World Cup qualifiers, with both teams recording 1-0 away victories.

The last meeting between the sides in the League A phase of the Nations League ended in a 2-0 victory for El Salvador, while La Selecta have also avoided defeat on their last two visits to Guatemala.

Guatemala CONCACAF Nations League form:

Guatemala form (all competitions):

El Salvador CONCACAF Nations League form:

El Salvador form (all competitions):

Team News

Kenderson Navarro endured a nightmare outing between the sticks against Jamaica and is likely to be replaced by Luis Moran.

In defence, Allen Yanes struggled at the back and could make way for Carlos Salvador Estrada, with Kevin Ruiz and Cesar Calderon also options for Tena.

Rudy Munoz failed to make an impact in the previous game and could be dropped from the starting XI, with Jehu Fajardo likely to take his place.

El Salvador are unlikely to make wholesale changes, although left-back Julio Sibrian could come into the starting XI in place of Diego Flores.

Mauricio Cerritos picked up an injury in the previous game and is unlikely to be risked, with Danis Cerros a natural replacement in midfield.

Guatemala possible starting lineup:

Moran; Herrera, Estrada, Samayoa, Morales; Evans, Fajardo, Rosales, Santis; Lom, Rubin

El Salvador possible starting lineup:

Gonzalez; Sibrian, Clavel, Cruz Valladares; Cerros, Martinez, Diaz, Tejada; Osorio, B. Gil

We say: Guatemala 0-1 El Salvador

Guatemala have won just once in their last four meetings with El Salvador, losing two of those encounters by a 1-0 scoreline, which points towards another closely fought contest.

La Selecta will be buoyed by their victory over Martinique and should carry that confidence into this fixture, with a narrow away win the expected outcome.

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