# 2012 El Salvador national football team season

The 2012 season is the 91st season in El Salvador's history, their 74th in FIFA and 50th in CONCACAF. As of December 2012, the team was managed by Agustín Castillo. In mid-June, Rubén Israel quit due to financial problems between him and the Federation. FESFUT then hired a new coach 14 July 2012. The new DT, Juan de Dios Castillo, would coach until the end of the 2013 after the 2013 Copa Centroamericana and 2013 Gold Cup. Although, the elimination of La Selecta for the campaign for the 2014 World Cup led the FESFUT to fire him due to the poor result. By 18 December 2012, FESFUT had hired Agustín Castillo for the new DT. He became the first Peruvian to coach the national team.

## Players

These players have been capped during the 2012 season (listed alphabetically): name (games played)

### Debutants

* Eldel Figueroa – On February 29, started in a friendly math against Estonia
* Alexander Méndoza – On February 29, came on as a substitute in a friendly match against Estonia
* Nelson Bonilla – On May 23, started in a friendly match against New Zealand
* Ricardo Ulloa – On May 23, came on as a substitute in a friendly match against New Zealand
* Darwin Cerén – on May 23, came on as a substitute in a friendly match against New Zealand
* Isidro Gutiérrez – on June 2, came on as a substitute in a friendly match against Honduras
* Alexander Larín – on August 11, started in a friendly math against Guatemala

### Player statistics
## Competitions
### Overall

| Competition | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Started Round | Final position / round | First match | Last match |
| International Friendlies | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 9 | -4 | 7 | — | — | February 29, 2012 | — |
| Unofficial Friendly | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 0 | — | — | July 27, 2012 | — |
| 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 8 | 0 | 5 | second round | third round | June 8, 2012 | October 16, 2012 |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |

### 2014 World Cup qualifiers
#### Third round

Group B :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | | | | |
| 1 | Mexico | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 2 | +13 | 18 | Advance to fourth round | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 |
| 2 | Costa Rica | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 5 | +9 | 10 | Advance to fourth round | 0–2 | — | 2–2 | 7–0 |
| 3 | El Salvador | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 11 | −3 | 5 | | 1–2 | 0–1 | — | 2–2 |
| 4 | Guyana | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 24 | −19 | 1 | | 0–5 | 0–4 | 2–3 | — |

## Coaching staff

| Position | Staff |
| Head coach | Agustín Castillo |
| First assistant manager | vacant |
| Second assistant manager/Advisor | Jorge "Mágico" González |
| First physical coordinator | Carlos Eduardo Villareal |
| Goalkeeping coach | Carlos Felipe Cañadas |
| Doctor | José María Rivas |
Last updated: 8 November 2011 Source: FESFUT (in Spanish)

## Ranking

| Date | FIFA ranking position | Total Points | +/- Ranking | +/- Points |
| December 2012 | 103 | 348 | -9 | 54 |
| November 2012 | 94 | 402 | -16 | -39 |
| October 2012 | 78 | 441 | -11 | -40 |
| September 2012 | 67 | 481 | -3 | -8 |
| August 2012 | 64 | 490 | 3 | 3 |
| July 2012 | 67 | 487 | -12 | -63 |
| June 2012 | 55 | 550 | -6 | -41 |
| May 2012 | 49 | 591 | 0 | 2 |
| April 2012 | 49 | 589 | 9 | 35 |
| March 2012 | 58 | 554 | -4 | -22 |
| February 2012 | 54 | 576 | 10 | 70 |
| January 2012 | 64 | 506 | 5 | 43 |
| December 2011 | 69 | 463 | 0 | 0 |