Nicaragua national football team

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.^[4]

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.^[5]

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.^[6]

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

Uruguay  v  Nicaragua

14 June Friendly	Uruguay	4–1	Nicaragua	Montevideo, Uruguay
20:30 UTC−3	Arezo 8' Zalazar 37', 82' Brian 56'	Report	Coronel 90+2'	Stadium: Estadio Centenario Referee: Wagner do Nascimento Magalhães (Brazil)

Paraguay  v  Nicaragua

18 June Friendly	Paraguay	2–0	Nicaragua	Asunción, Paraguay
10:30 UTC−4	Almirón 62' Balbuena 78'	Report		Stadium: Estadio Defensores del Chaco Referee: Gustavo Tejeda (Uruguay)

Dominican Republic  v  Nicaragua

8 September 2023–24 Nations League	Dominican Republic	0–2	Nicaragua	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
19:00 UTC−4		Report	Acevedo 38', 41'	Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Félix Sánchez Referee: Patrick Senecharles (Haiti)

Nicaragua  v  Barbados

11 September 2023–24 Nations League	Nicaragua	5–1	Barbados	Managua, Nicaragua
20:00 UTC−6	Smith 11' Pérez 40' Moreno 45+1', 76' Montes 69'	Report	Gale 89'	Stadium: Estadio Nacional de Fútbol Referee: Bryan López (Guatemala)

Montserrat  v  Nicaragua

13 October 2023–24 Nations League	Montserrat	0–3	Nicaragua	Wildey, Barbados
15:00 UTC−4		Report	Pérez 5' Medina 72' Montes 90+4'	Stadium: Wildey Turf Referee: Jorge Leira (Panama)

Nicaragua  v  Montserrat

16 October 2023–24 Nations League	Nicaragua	3–0	Montserrat	Managua, Nicaragua
20:00 UTC−6	Pérez 38' Coronel 43' Moldskred Belli 48'	Report		Stadium: Estadio Nacional de Fútbol Referee: José Valladares (Honduras)

Barbados  v  Nicaragua

17 November 2023–24 Nations League	Barbados	0–4	Nicaragua	Wildey, Barbados
17:00 UTC−4		Report	Arteaga 22' (pen.) N. Rodríguez 43' L. Coronel 55' Montes 59'	Stadium: Wildey Turf Referee: Kwinsi Williams (Trinidad and Tobago)

Nicaragua  v  Dominican Republic

21 November 2023–24 Nations League	Nicaragua	0–0	Dominican Republic	Managua, Nicaragua
20:00 UTC−6		Report		Stadium: Estadio Nacional de Fútbol Referee: Ignacio Fuentes (Guatemala)

Peru  v  Nicaragua

22 March Friendly	Peru	2–0	Nicaragua	Lima, Peru
20:30 UTC−5	Grimaldo 2' Lapadula 12'	Report		Stadium: Estadio Alejandro Villanueva Referee: Paulo Cesar Zanovelli da Silva (Brazil)

Nicaragua  v  Cuba

26 March Friendly	Nicaragua	0–1	Cuba	Managua, Nicaragua
19:00 UTC−6		Report	Reyes 81'	Stadium: Nicaragua National Football Stadium Referee: Ricardo Mendoza (Nicaragua)

Guatemala  v  Nicaragua

26 May Friendly	Guatemala	1–1	Nicaragua	San Jose, United States
17:00 UTC−7	Rubin 11'	Report	Medina 61' (pen.)	Stadium: PayPal Park Referee: Jon Freemon (United States)

Nicaragua  v  Montserrat

5 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Nicaragua	4–1	Montserrat	Managua, Nicaragua
20:00 UTC−6	Moreno 3' Daniels 23' (o.g.) Montes 69' Medina 90+3'	Report	Barzey 9'	Stadium: Estadio Nacional de Fútbol Attendance: 14,320 Referee: Tori Penso (United States)

Belize  v  Nicaragua

8 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Belize	0–4	Nicaragua	Belmopan, Belize
18:00 UTC−6		Report	Hernandez 39', 65' Barrera 56' Moreno 89'	Stadium: FFB Field Referee: Bryan López (Guatemala)

French Guiana  v  Nicaragua

6 September 2024–25 Nations League	French Guiana	v	Nicaragua	French Guiana
--:-- UTC−3				Stadium: TBD

Cuba  v  Nicaragua

10 September 2024–25 Nations League	Cuba	v	Nicaragua	Cuba
--:-- UTC−4				Stadium: TBD

Nicaragua  v  Jamaica

10 October 2024–25 Nations League	Nicaragua	v	Jamaica	Nicaragua
--:-- UTC−6				Stadium: TBD

Nicaragua  v  French Guiana

14 October 2024–25 Nations League	Nicaragua	v	French Guiana	Nicaragua
--:-- UTC−6				Stadium: TBD

Nicaragua  v  Guyana

6 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Nicaragua	v	Guyana	Nicaragua
TBD

Panama  v  Nicaragua

10 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Panama	v	Nicaragua	Panama
TBD

The following players were called up to the squad for 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Montserrat and Belize on 5 and 8 June 2024.^[7]

Caps and goals correct as of 26 May 2024, after the match against Guatemala.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Miguel Rodríguez	(2003-06-13) 13 June 2003 (age 21)	9	0	SJK
	1GK	César Salandia	(2004-06-13) 13 June 2004 (age 20)	5	0	Real Estelí
	1GK	Jason Vega	(1995-11-06) 6 November 1995 (age 28)	1	0	San Carlos
	2DF	Josué Quijano	(1991-03-10) 10 March 1991 (age 33)	93	3	Real Estelí
	2DF	Marvin Fletes	(1997-11-12) 12 November 1997 (age 26)	31	1	Real Estelí
	2DF	Óscar Acevedo	(1997-03-18) 18 March 1997 (age 27)	23	2	Real Estelí
	2DF	Christian Reyes	(1998-01-03) 3 January 1998 (age 26)	10	0	Pérez Zeledón
	2DF	Juan Luis Pérez	(1999-06-29) 29 June 1999 (age 24)	9	3	Alajuelense
	2DF	Justing Cano	(2002-03-02) 2 March 2002 (age 22)	2	0	Diriangén
	2DF	Pablo Rodríguez	(2000-06-04) 4 June 2000 (age 24)	1	0	Managua
	3MF	Juan Barrera (captain)	(1989-05-02) 2 May 1989 (age 35)	87	24	Managua
	3MF	Kevin Serapio	(1996-04-09) 9 April 1996 (age 28)	26	1	Managua
	3MF	Matías Moldskred Belli	(1997-08-12) 12 August 1997 (age 26)	24	7	Sandnes Ulf
	3MF	Harold Medina	(2002-01-30) 30 January 2002 (age 22)	21	2	Real Estelí
	3MF	Henry Niño	(1997-10-03) 3 October 1997 (age 26)	21	1	Real Estelí
	3MF	Junior Arteaga	(1999-12-09) 9 December 1999 (age 24)	13	1	Diriangén
	3MF	Jacob Montes	(1998-12-20) 20 December 1998 (age 25)	7	3	Botafogo
	3MF	Jeremy Cuarezma	(2000-05-28) 28 May 2000 (age 24)	2	0	Managua
	3MF	Nextaly Rodríguez	(1998-03-03) 3 March 1998 (age 26)	1	0	Sporting
	4FW	Jaime Moreno	(1995-03-30) 30 March 1995 (age 29)	36	10	SJK
	4FW	Luis Fernando Coronel	(1997-02-25) 25 February 1997 (age 27)	15	3	Diriangén
	4FW	Widman Talavera	(2003-01-12) 12 January 2003 (age 21)	13	1	Real Estelí
	4FW	Bancy Hernández	(2000-06-27) 27 June 2000 (age 23)	12	0	Real Estelí

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	Alyer López	(1999-05-16) 16 May 1999 (age 25)	4	0	Managua	v.  Dominican Republic, 21 November 2023
GK	Denver Fox	(1997-11-22) 22 November 1997 (age 26)	3	0	Real Sociedad	v.  Dominican Republic, 8 September 2023
DF	Juan Luis Pérez	(1999-06-29) 29 June 1999 (age 24)	9	3	Alajuelense	v.  Cuba, 26 March 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 27)	1	0	Municipal Liberia	v.  Dominican Republic, 21 November 2023
DF	Cristhiam Quinto	(2001-01-17) 17 January 2001 (age 23)	0	0	Managua	v.  Dominican Republic, 21 November 2023
DF	Anyelo Velásquez	(2004-12-22) 22 December 2004 (age 19)	0	0	Diriangén	v.  Dominican Republic, 21 November 2023
DF	Erick Téllez	(1989-11-28) 28 November 1989 (age 34)	34	0	Diriangén	v.  Barbados, 11 September 2023
DF	Francisco Flores	(1988-04-02) 2 April 1988 (age 36)	26	1	Diriangén	v.  Paraguay, 18 June 2023
MF	Jason Coronel	(1993-10-06) 6 October 1993 (age 30)	28	0	Diriangén	v.  Cuba, 26 March 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 25)	20	7	FK Panevėžys	v.  Dominican Republic, 21 November 2023
FW	Byron Bonilla	(1993-08-30) 30 August 1993 (age 30)	33	6	Real Estelí	v.  Barbados, 11 September 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.

As of 22 March 2024^[8]

Players in bold are still active with Nicaragua.

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 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	Group stage	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[9]										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 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	To be determined								2025	To be determined
Total	—	—	18	11	4	3	41	17	—		Total	0 Titles	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

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 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 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 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

Central American Games record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1973	Runners-up	2nd	4	2	1	1	4	3
1977	Third place	3rd	6	2	0	4	6	23
1986	Third place	3rd	3	0	2	1	1	5
1990	Third place	3rd	4	0	0	4	1	11
1994	Group stage	6th	2	0	0	2	0	17
1997	Group stage	6th	2	0	0	2	3	8
2001	Group stage	5th	3	1	0	2	5	8
2006	Not held
2010
2013	Group stage	7th	3	0	0	3	1	9
2017	Third place	3rd	4	1	2	1	2	1
Total	Runners-up	9/11	31	6	5	20	23	85

As of 8 June 2024 after the match against  Belize.^[10]

  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	14	4	3	7	16	25	−9
Curaçao[a]	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
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	2	1	0	1	3	4	−1
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 (39)	251	52	34	165	258	624	−366

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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nicaragua national association football team.

• Official website (in Spanish)
• Nicaragua FIFA profile
• Nicaragua – List of International Matches at RSSSF