Nicaragua national football team facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Nicaragua

Nickname(s)	La Azul y Blanco (The Blue and White) Los Pinoleros (The Pinoleros)
Association	Federación Nicaragüense de Fútbol (FENIFUT)
Confederation	CONCACAF (North America)
Sub-confederation	UNCAF (Central America)
Head coach	Marco Antonio Figueroa
Captain	Juan Barrera
Most caps	Josué Quijano (99)
Top scorer	Juan Barrera (25)
Home stadium	Estadio Nacional de Fútbol
FIFA code	NCA
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	128 1 (7 February 2019)
Highest	92 (December 2015)
Lowest	193 (May 2001)
Elo ranking
Current	141 2 (3 March 2019)
Highest	126 (3 July 2017)
Lowest	204 (May–November 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)
CONCACAF Championship / Gold Cup
Appearances	5 (first in 1963)
Best result	Sixth place (1967)
Medal record CCCF Championship Bronze 1951 Panama Team

The Nicaragua national football team (Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Nicaragua) represents Nicaragua in men's international football and is controlled by the Nicaraguan Football Federation. Nicaragua achieved their first qualification into 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 victory against Guatemala in the fifth place match in the 2009 Nations Cup. 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.

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.

Nicaragua qualified directly for the 2023 Gold Cup and was promoted to Nations League A as group winners in Nations League B but was disqualified on 12 June 2023 for fielding an ineligible player. As a result, they were replaced in the Gold Cup and League A by Trinidad and Tobago, who was the best second-place team overall in League B and must stay in Nations League B.

Team image

Kit sponsorship

Kit supplier	Period
Joma	2004–2021
Keuka	2022–2024
Orion	2024- Present

Results and fixtures

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       Fixture

2024

Friendly 22 March	Peru	2–0	Nicaragua	Lima, Peru
20:30 UTC−5	Grimaldo  2' Lapadula  12'	https://int.soccerway.com/matches/2024/03/23/world/friendlies/peru/nicaragua/4309120/		Stadium: Estadio Alejandro Villanueva Referee: Paulo Cesar Zanovelli da Silva (Brazil)

Friendly 26 March	Nicaragua	0–1	Cuba	Managua, Nicaragua
19:00 UTC−6		https://int.soccerway.com/matches/2024/03/27/world/friendlies/nicaragua/cuba/4327999/	Reyes  81'	Stadium: Nicaragua National Football Stadium Referee: Ricardo Mendoza (Nicaragua)

Friendly 26 May	Guatemala	1–1	Nicaragua	San Jose, United States
17:00 UTC−7	Rubin  11'	https://int.soccerway.com/matches/2024/05/27/world/friendlies/guatemala/nicaragua/4346024/	Medina  61' (pen.)	Stadium: PayPal Park Referee: Jon Freemon (United States)

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification 5 June	Nicaragua	4–1	Montserrat	Managua, Nicaragua
20:00 UTC−6	Moreno  3' Daniels  23' (o.g.) Montes  69' Medina  90+3'	https://www.fifa.com/en/match-centre/match/520/288301/288302/400017756	Barzey  9'	Stadium: Estadio Nacional de Fútbol Attendance: 14,320 Referee: Tori Penso (United States)

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification 8 June	Belize	0–4	Nicaragua	Belmopan, Belize
18:00 UTC−6		https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/match-centre/match/520/288301/288302/400017760	Hernandez  39', 65' Barrera  56' Moreno  89'	Stadium: FFB Field Referee: Bryan López (Guatemala)

2024–25 Nations League 6 September	French Guiana	0–1	Nicaragua	Remire-Montjoly, French Guiana
16:00 UTC−3		https://www.concacaf.com/en/nations-league/game-details?matchid=740603	Talavera  90+5'	Stadium: Stade Municipal Dr. Edmard Lama Attendance: 450 Referee: Julio Luna (Guatemala)

2024–25 Nations League 10 September	Cuba	1–1	Nicaragua	Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
16:00 UTC−4	Espino  42' (pen.)	https://www.concacaf.com/en/nations-league/game-details?matchid=740622	Medina  90+7'	Stadium: Estadio Antonio Maceo Attendance: 3,565 Referee: Pierre-Luc Lauzière (Canada)

2024–25 Nations League 10 October	Nicaragua	0–2	Jamaica	Managua, Nicaragua
20:00 UTC−6		https://www.concacaf.com/en/nations-league/game-details?matchid=740629	Quijano  32' (o.g.) Williams  69'	Stadium: Estadio Nacional de Fútbol Attendance: 16,630 Referee: Mario Escobar (Guatemala)

2024–25 Nations League 14 October	Nicaragua	3–2	French Guiana	Managua, Nicaragua
19:00 UTC−6	Moreno  54' Barrera  79' Fletes  84'	https://www.concacaf.com/en/nations-league/game-details?matchid=740648	Baal  16' Haabo  62'	Stadium: Estadio Nacional de Fútbol Referee: Iván Barton (El Salvador)

2025

2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification March	Guadeloupe	v	Nicaragua	Guadeloupe

2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification March	Nicaragua	v	Guadeloupe	Nicaragua

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification 6 June	Nicaragua	v	Guyana	Nicaragua
--:-- UTC−6

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification 10 June	Panama	v	Nicaragua	Panama
--:-- UTC−5

Coaching staff

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

Coaching history

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up to the squad for 2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League matches against Jamaica and French Guiana on 10 and 14 October 2024.

Caps and goals correct as of 14 October 2024, after the match against French Guiana.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Miguel Rodríguez	(2003-06-13) 13 June 2003 (age 21)	13	0	SJK
	1GK	Alyer López	(1999-05-16) 16 May 1999 (age 25)	4	0	Managua
	1GK	Jason Vega	(1995-11-06) 6 November 1995 (age 29)	3	0	Real Estelí
	2DF	Josué Quijano	(1991-03-10) 10 March 1991 (age 33)	99	3	Real Estelí
	2DF	Marvin Fletes	(1997-11-12) 12 November 1997 (age 27)	37	2	Real Estelí
	2DF	Óscar Acevedo	(1997-03-18) 18 March 1997 (age 27)	29	2	Real Estelí
	2DF	Juan Luis Pérez	(1999-06-29) 29 June 1999 (age 25)	15	3	Diriangén
	2DF	Christian Reyes	(1998-01-03) 3 January 1998 (age 27)	12	0	AD Municipal Liberia
	2DF	Justing Cano	(2002-03-02) 2 March 2002 (age 23)	3	0	Diriangén
	2DF	Anyelo Velásquez	(2004-12-22) 22 December 2004 (age 20)	1	0	Diriangén
	3MF	Juan Barrera (captain)	(1989-05-02) 2 May 1989 (age 35)	93	26	Managua
	3MF	Jason Coronel	(1993-10-06) 6 October 1993 (age 31)	32	0	Diriangén
	3MF	Matías Moldskred Belli	(1997-08-12) 12 August 1997 (age 27)	29	7	Sandnes Ulf
	3MF	Harold Medina	(2002-01-30) 30 January 2002 (age 23)	27	3	Real Estelí
	3MF	Henry Niño	(1997-10-03) 3 October 1997 (age 27)	25	1	Real Estelí
	3MF	Junior Arteaga	(1999-12-09) 9 December 1999 (age 25)	18	2	Diriangén
	3MF	Jacob Montes	(1998-12-20) 20 December 1998 (age 26)	11	4	RWD Molenbeek
	4FW	Jaime Moreno	(1995-03-30) 30 March 1995 (age 29)	42	13	SJK
	4FW	Byron Bonilla	(1993-08-30) 30 August 1993 (age 31)	35	6	Real Estelí
	4FW	Widman Talavera	(2003-01-12) 12 January 2003 (age 22)	15	3	Real Estelí
	4FW	Bancy Hernández	(2000-06-27) 27 June 2000 (age 24)	14	2	Real Estelí
	4FW	Ariel Arauz	(2001-05-30) 30 May 2001 (age 23)	3	0	CS Herediano
	4FW	Edgar Castillo	(2002-05-21) 21 May 2002 (age 22)	1	0	CS Sebaco
	4FW	Ronald Palacios	(2002-09-09) 9 September 2002 (age 22)	1	0	Managua

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	César Salandia	(2004-06-13) 13 June 2004 (age 20)	5	0	Real Estelí	v.  Cuba, 10 September 2024
DF	Pablo Rodríguez	(2000-06-04) 4 June 2000 (age 24)	1	0	Managua	v.  Belize, 8 June 2024
DF	Evert Martínez	(2002-03-08) 8 March 2002 (age 22)	1	0	Real Estelí	v.  Cuba, 26 March 2024
DF	Melvin Hernández	(1994-04-26) 26 April 1994 (age 30)	12	0	UNAN Managua	v.  Dominican Republic, 21 November 2023
DF	Jeffrey Chávez	(1997-02-10) 10 February 1997 (age 28)	1	0	Municipal Liberia	v.  Dominican Republic, 21 November 2023
DF	Cristhiam Quinto	(2001-01-17) 17 January 2001 (age 24)	0	0	Managua	v.  Dominican Republic, 21 November 2023
MF	Jonathan Moncada	(1998-01-03) 3 January 1998 (age 27)	16	0	Diriangén	v.  Cuba, 10 September 2024
MF	Nextaly Rodríguez	(1998-03-03) 3 March 1998 (age 27)	10	1	AD Municipal Liberia	v.  Cuba, 10 September 2024
MF	Kevin Serapio	(1996-04-09) 9 April 1996 (age 28)	28	1	Managua	v.  Belize, 8 June 2024
MF	Jeremy Cuarezma	(2000-05-28) 28 May 2000 (age 24)	2	0	Managua	v.  Montserrat, 6 June 2024
FW	Luis Fernando Coronel	(1997-02-25) 25 February 1997 (age 28)	18	3	Diriangén	v.  Cuba, 10 September 2024
FW	Abner Acuña	(1997-03-05) 5 March 1997 (age 27)	11	0	Managua FC	v.  Cuba, 10 September 2024
FW	Brayan López	(1990-06-03) 3 June 1990 (age 34)	11	0	Puntarenas	v.  Cuba, 26 March 2024
FW	Anderson Treminio	(1997-04-17) 17 April 1997 (age 27)	8	0	Real Santa Cruz	v.  Cuba, 26 March 2024
FW	Ariagner Smith	(1998-12-13) 13 December 1998 (age 26)	20	7	FK Panevėžys	v.  Dominican Republic, 21 November 2023
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. INE Ineligible player.

Records

Players in bold are still active with Nicaragua.

Most appearances

Josué Quijano is Nicaragua's most-capped player with 99 international appearances.

Top goalscorers

Juan Barrera is Nicaragua's all-time top scorer with 26 goals.

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										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Not a FIFA member									Not a FIFA member
1934
1938
1950	Did not enter									Declined participation
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994	Did not qualify									2	0	0	2	1	10
1998										2	0	0	2	1	3
2002										4	0	0	4	0	10
2006										2	0	1	1	3	6
2010										2	0	0	2	0	3
2014										4	2	0	2	5	7
2018										6	5	0	1	15	5
2022										3	2	0	1	10	1
2026	Qualification in progress									2	2	0	0	8	1
2030	To be determined									To be determined
2034
Total	–	0/19	–	–	–	–	–	–		27	11	1	15	43	46

CONCACAF Gold Cup

CONCACAF Championship & Gold Cup record											Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1963	Group stage	8th	4	0	0	4	2	15	Squad		Qualified automatically
1965	Did not qualify										2	1	0	1	2	4
1967	Sixth place	6th	5	0	1	4	3	12	Squad		2	1	0	1	4	4
1969	Did not enter										Did not enter
1971	Did not qualify										2	0	0	2	2	4
1973	Did not enter										Did not enter
1977
1981
1985
1989
1991	Did not qualify										2	0	0	2	2	5
1993											2	0	0	2	0	8
1996											2	0	0	2	0	7
1998											2	0	0	2	2	11
2000											2	0	0	2	0	2
2002											3	0	0	3	2	19
2003											5	1	0	4	1	11
2005											3	1	0	2	2	9
2007											4	1	0	3	6	14
2009	Group stage	11th	3	0	0	3	0	8	Squad		4	1	2	1	5	6
2011	Did not qualify										4	0	1	3	2	7
2013											3	0	1	2	2	5
2015											3	0	0	3	0	6
2017	Group stage	10th	3	0	0	3	1	7	Squad		7	2	1	4	9	9
2019		15th	3	0	0	3	0	8	Squad		4	3	0	1	9	2
2021	Did not qualify										6	2	1	3	9	11
2023	Disqualified										6	4	2	0	15	5
Total	Sixth place	5/27	18	0	1	17	6	50	—		68	17	8	43	74	149

CONCACAF Nations League

CONCACAF Nations League record
League											Finals
Season	Division	Group	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	P/R		Year	Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
2019–20	B	D	6	2	1	3	9	11			2021	Ineligible
2022–23	B	C	6	4	2	0	15	5			2023
2023–24	B	B	6	5	1	0	17	1			2024
2024–25	A	B	4	2	1	1	5	5			2025	Did not qualify
Total	—	—	22	13	5	4	46	22	—		Total	0 Titles	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Copa Centroamericana

Copa Centroamericana record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1991	Preliminary round	5th	2	0	0	2	2	5
1993	Preliminary round	5th	2	0	0	2	0	8
1995	Preliminary round	7th	2	0	0	2	0	7
1997	First round	6th	2	0	0	2	2	11
1999	First round	5th	2	0	0	2	0	2
2001	First round	7th	3	0	0	3	2	19
2003	Sixth place	6th	5	1	0	4	1	11
2005	Fifth place	5th	3	1	0	2	2	9
2007	Sixth place	6th	4	1	0	3	6	14
2009	Fifth place	5th	4	1	2	1	5	6
2011	Sixth place	6th	4	0	1	3	2	7
2013	Seventh place	7th	3	0	1	2	2	5
2014	Sixth place	6th	3	0	0	3	0	6
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
1941	Fifth place	5th	4	0	0	4	5	29
1943	Fourth place	4th	6	0	0	6	7	39
1946	Sixth place	6th	5	1	0	4	5	31
1948	Did not enter
1951	Third place	3rd	4	0	0	4	4	22
1953	Sixth place	6th	6	1	0	5	4	18
1955	Did not enter
1957
1960
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
1951	Did not enter
1955
1959
1963
1967
1971
1975	Preliminary round	13th	3	0	0	3	2	23
1979	Did not enter
1983
1987
1991	Preliminary round	8th	3	0	0	3	1	20
1995	Did not qualify
1999
2003
2007
2011
2015
2019
2023
Total	Preliminary round	2/19	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
1930	Did not qualify
1935
1938
1946
1950	Group stage	8th	3	0	0	3	4	19
1954	Did not qualify
1959
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982	Group stage	7th	3	0	1	2	2	6
1986	Did not qualify
1990
1993
1998	Quarter-finals	8th	4	1	0	3	3	13
2002	Quarter-finals	8th	3	1	0	2	2	7
2006	Did not qualify
2010
2014
2018
Total	Quarter-finals	4/22	13	2	1	10	11	45

Honours

Regional

• CCCF Championship
  • Third place (1): 1951

Head-to-head record

As of 14 October 2024 after the match against  French Guiana.

      Positive Record       Neutral Record       Negative Record

Opponents	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Anguilla	3	3	0	0	14	0	+14
Argentina	1	0	0	1	1	5	−4
Bahamas	2	2	0	0	6	0	+6
Barbados	4	3	0	1	10	2	+8
Belize	14	6	4	4	24	14	+10
Bermuda	5	2	0	3	5	7	−2
Bolivia	3	0	1	2	4	6	−2
Canada	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2
Cayman Islands	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1
Colombia	1	0	0	1	2	7	−5
Costa Rica	19	1	1	17	10	72	−62
Cuba	15	4	4	7	17	26	−9
Curaçao	8	0	1	7	3	34	−31
Dominica	4	4	0	0	10	1	+9
Dominican Republic	4	1	1	2	2	4	−2
El Salvador	31	1	3	27	21	120	−99
French Guiana	2	2	0	0	4	2	+2
Ghana	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1
Guadeloupe	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2
Guatemala	28	2	5	21	18	74	−56
Haiti	9	1	2	6	9	16	−7
Honduras	25	1	3	21	16	80	−64
Iran	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1
Jamaica	3	1	0	2	3	6	−3
Martinique	2	0	0	2	0	4	−4
Mexico	3	0	0	3	1	10	−9
Montserrat	3	3	0	0	10	1	+9
Panama	28	5	1	22	26	79	−53
Paraguay	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2
Peru	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2
Puerto Rico	5	3	1	1	9	6	+3
Qatar	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1
Saint Kitts and Nevis	2	0	2	0	0	0	0
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	7	2	3	2	12	11	+1
Suriname	5	2	0	3	6	11	−5
Trinidad and Tobago	7	2	2	3	7	12	−5
Turks and Caicos Islands	1	1	0	0	7	0	+7
United States	1	0	0	1	0	3	−3
Uruguay	1	0	0	1	1	4	−3
Venezuela	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Total (40)	255	54	35	166	263	629	−366

See also

In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Nicaragua para niños

• Nicaragua national under-20 football team
• List of football clubs in Nicaragua