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 (92)
Top scorer	Juan Barrera (24)
Home stadium	Estadio Nacional de Fútbol
FIFA code	NCA
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	134 (21 December 2023)[1]
Highest	92 (December 2015)
Lowest	193 (May 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 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.^[3] 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.^[4]

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.^[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]

Team image

Kit sponsorship

Kit supplier	Period
Joma	2004–2021
Keuka	2022–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

2023

Nicaragua  v  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

24 March 2022–23 Nations League	Nicaragua	4–1	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Managua, Nicaragua
18:00 UTC−6	Smith 3' Barrera 42' Moldskred 60' Flores 90+2'	Report	Edwards 18' (pen.)	Stadium: Estadio Nacional de Fútbol Referee: Adonai Escobedo (Mexico)

Trinidad and Tobago  v  Nicaragua

27 March 2022–23 Nations League	Trinidad and Tobago	1–1	Nicaragua	Bacolet, Trinidad and Tobago
20:00 UTC−4	J. Jones 42'	Report	Smith 27'	Stadium: Dwight Yorke Stadium Referee: Armando Villarreal (United States)

Panama  v  Nicaragua

10 June Friendly	Panama	3–2	Nicaragua	Penonomé, Panama
19:00 UTC−5	Murillo 55', 81' Miller 84'	Report	Talavera 44' Acevedo 62'	Stadium: Estadio Universitario F.C. Referee: David Gómez (Costa Rica)

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)

2024

Peru  v  Nicaragua

22 March Friendly	Peru	v	Nicaragua	Lima, Peru
20:45 UTC+1				Stadium: Estadio Alejandro Villanueva

Nicaragua  v  Montserrat

5 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Nicaragua

v

Montserrat

Belize  v  Nicaragua

8 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Belize

v

Nicaragua

2025

Nicaragua  v  Guyana

6 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Nicaragua

v

Guyana

Panama  v  Nicaragua

10 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Panama

v

Nicaragua

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 26 players are called up to the squad for friendly matches against Panama, Uruguay and Paraguay on 10, 14 and 18 June 2023 respectively.^[7]

Caps and goals correct as of 18 June 2023, after the match against Paraguay.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Alyer López	(1999-05-16) 16 May 1999 (age 24)	4	0	Managua
	1GK	Miguel Rodríguez	(2003-06-13) 13 June 2003 (age 20)	4	0	Diriangén
	1GK	César Salandia	(2004-06-13) 13 June 2004 (age 19)	1	0	Real Estelí
	2DF	Josué Quijano	(1991-03-10) 10 March 1991 (age 32)	87	3	Real Estelí
	2DF	Erick Téllez	(1989-11-28) 28 November 1989 (age 34)	33	0	Diriangén
	2DF	Francisco Flores	(1988-04-02) 2 April 1988 (age 35)	26	1	Diriangén
	2DF	Óscar Acevedo	(1997-03-18) 18 March 1997 (age 26)	15	1	Real Estelí
	2DF	Melvin Hernández	(1994-04-26) 26 April 1994 (age 29)	11	0	UNAN Managua
	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)	1	0	Alajuelense
	3MF	Kevin Serapio	(1996-04-09) 9 April 1996 (age 27)	25	1	Managua
	3MF	Jason Coronel	(1993-10-06) 6 October 1993 (age 30)	21	0	Diriangén
17	3MF	Matías Moldskred Belli	(1997-08-12) 12 August 1997 (age 26)	17	5	Sandnes Ulf
	3MF	Harold Medina	(2002-01-30) 30 January 2002 (age 22)	13	0	Real Estelí
	3MF	Luis Fernando Coronel	(1997-02-25) 25 February 1997 (age 26)	7	1	Diriangén
	3MF	Jacob Montes	(1998-12-20) 20 December 1998 (age 25)	2	0	Botafogo
	4FW	Juan Barrera (captain)	(1989-05-02) 2 May 1989 (age 34)	79	24	Real Estelí
	4FW	Byron Bonilla	(1993-08-30) 30 August 1993 (age 30)	32	6	Real Estelí
	4FW	Jaime Moreno	(1995-03-30) 30 March 1995 (age 28)	31	8	SJK
	4FW	Henry García	(1991-08-03) 3 August 1991 (age 32)	22	0	Real Estelí
	4FW	Ariagner Smith	(1998-12-13) 13 December 1998 (age 25)	15	6	FK Panevėžys
	4FW	Nextaly Rodríguez	(1998-03-03) 3 March 1998 (age 25)	1	0	Herediano

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	Douglas Forvis	(1992-05-17) 17 May 1992 (age 31)	8	0	Real Estelí	v.  Guatemala, 19 November 2022
GK	Denver Fox	(1997-11-22) 22 November 1997 (age 26)	3	0	Real Sociedad	v.  Guatemala, 19 November 2022
DF	Luis Copete	(1989-02-12) 12 February 1989 (age 35)	39	3	Diriangén	v.  Trinidad and Tobago, 27 March 2023
DF	Francisco Vallecillo	(2002-10-20) 20 October 2002 (age 21)	0	0	Real Estelí	v.  Trinidad and Tobago, 27 March 2023
DF	Marvin Fletes	(1997-11-12) 12 November 1997 (age 26)	22	1	Real Estelí	v.  Guatemala, 19 November 2022
DF	Mario Dávila	(1997-11-07) 7 November 1997 (age 26)	3	0	Diriangén	v.  Guatemala, 19 November 2022
DF	Joel Obando	(2000-11-20) 20 November 2000 (age 23)	1	0	Real Estelí	v.  Guatemala, 19 November 2022
DF	Cristian Gutiérrez	(1993-01-06) 6 January 1993 (age 31)	20	1	Real Estelí	v.  Iran, 10 November 2022
DF	Jeffrey Chávez	(1997-02-10) 10 February 1997 (age 27)	0	0	Municipal Liberia	v.  Iran, 10 November 2022
DF	Henry Niño	(1997-10-03) 3 October 1997 (age 26)	16	1	Chalatenango	v.  Ghana, 27 September 2022
MF	Jonathan Moncada	(1998-01-03) 3 January 1998 (age 26)	13	0	Walter Ferretti	v.  Trinidad and Tobago, 27 March 2023
MF	Agenor Báez	(1997-12-18) 18 December 1997 (age 26)	4	0	Managua	v.  Trinidad and Tobago, 27 March 2023
MF	Widman Talavera	(2003-01-12) 12 January 2003 (age 21)	6	1	Real Estelí	v.  Guatemala, 19 November 2022
MF	Marlon López	(1992-11-02) 2 November 1992 (age 31)	40	0	Real Estelí	v.  El Salvador, 17 November 2022
MF	Waldner Vásquez	(2002-03-20) 20 March 2002 (age 21)	1	0	Managua	v.  El Salvador, 17 November 2022
MF	Ismael Mendieta	(2001-02-20) 20 February 2001 (age 22)	0	0	Walter Ferretti	v.  El Salvador, 17 November 2022
MF	Luis Galeano	(1991-10-15) 15 October 1991 (age 32)	35	6	Sport Sébaco	v.  Iran, 10 November 2022
MF	Nahúm Peralta	(1994-10-21) 21 October 1994 (age 29)	5	0	Managua	v.  Iran, 10 November 2022
MF	Junior Arteaga	(1999-12-09) 9 December 1999 (age 24)	6	0	Diriangén	v.  Iran, 10 November 2022
MF	Jeremy Cuarezma	(2000-05-28) 28 May 2000 (age 23)	0	0	Managua	v.  Iran, 10 November 2022
FW	Abner Acuña	(1997-03-05) 5 March 1997 (age 26)	7	0	Diriangén	v.  Trinidad and Tobago, 27 March 2023
FW	Brayan López	(1990-06-03) 3 June 1990 (age 33)	9	0	Sporting	v.  Trinidad and Tobago, 27 March 2023
FW	Adrián Chavarría	(1997-08-31) 31 August 1997 (age 26)	0	0	Juventus	v.  El Salvador, 17 November 2022
FW	Anderson Treminio	(1997-04-17) 17 April 1997 (age 26)	5	0	UNAN Managua	v.  Iran, 10 November 2022
FW	Cristian Flores	(1996-08-27) 27 August 1996 (age 27)	1	1	Real Estelí	v.  Iran, 10 November 2022
FW	Keylon Batiz	(2004-02-01) 1 February 2004 (age 20)	0	0	Real Estelí	v.  Qatar, 13 October 2022
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

As of 21 November 2023^[8]

Players in bold are still active with Nicaragua.

Most appearances

Top goalscorers

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	To be determined									To be determined
2030
2034
Total	–	0/19	–	–	–	–	–	–		25	9	1	15	35	45

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	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

CONCACAF Nations League record
Season	Division	Group	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	P/R	RK
2019−20	B	D	6	2	1	3	9	11		23rd
2022–23	B	C	6	4	2	0	15	5		15th
2023–24	B	B	In progress
Total			12	6	3	3	24	16	15th

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
2019
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

Central American Games

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

Head-to-head record

As of 21 November 2023 after the match against  Dominican Republic.^[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	13	5	4	4	20	14	+6
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	13	4	3	6	16	24	−8
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	27	2	4	21	17	73	−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	2	2	0	0	6	0	+6
Panama	28	5	1	22	26	79	−53
Paraguay	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 (38)	246	50	33	163	249	619	−370