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CONCACAF Gold Cup action kicks off with a Group A encounter between El Salvador and Curacao at Toyota Stadium on Saturday.
El Salvador have been in great form in the World Cup qualifying fixtures and friendly games in 2021 and of their eight outings have lost just once. Their latest friendly meeting with Qatar ended in a 1-0 loss on Sunday.
Curacao have played six games in 2021, with all of them being World Cup qualifying fixtures. They also have just one defeat in six games.
However, a 2-1 loss to Panama in the first leg of the second round fixtures and a 0-0 draw in the second saw them eliminated from the qualification race for a spot at the 2022 World Cup.
El Salvador vs Curacao Head-to-Head
The two national teams have squared off four times so far. Two of the meetings have come in the World Cup 2018 qualifiers and they have also faced each other twice in the Gold Cup, in 2017 and 2019.
El Salvador have dominated the proceedings against the Caribbean nation, maintaining a 100% record so far. They are yet to concede a goal in a competitive fixture against Curacao.
They last met in the Gold Cup 2019 group stages at the Independence Park in Jamaica. The game ended in a 1-0 win for La Selecta, with Nelson Bonilla scoring the winner in first-half injury time.
El Salvador form guide: (all competitions): L-D-W-W-W
Curacao form guide (FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers): D-L-D-W-W
El Salvador vs Curacao Team News
El Salvador
Head coach Hugo Perez has announced a 23-man squad for the Gold Cup. Defender Rómulo Villalobos has picked up a hand injury and had to be replaced by Julio Sibrián in the squad.
Villalobos has been ruled out for the entirety of the competition and is the only injury concern for El Salvador at the moment.
Injured: Rómulo Villalobos
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
Curacao
Patrick Kluivert does not have any injury concerns at the moment. A player recently tested positive for COVID-19. The national team officials are waiting for CONCACAF's approval to bring in a replacement for the player, whose identity has not been revealed.
Injured: None
Suspended: None
Unavailable (Due to COVID-19): One unidentified player
El Salvador vs Curacao Predicted XI
El Salvador Predicted XI (4-1-4-1): Mario Antonio Martínez; Eriq Zavaleta, José Campos, Roberto Dominguez, Alexander Larín; Isaac Portillo; Darwin Ceren, Narciso Orellana, Marvin Monterrosa, Walmer Martinez; Tony Rugamas
Curacao Predicted XI (3-4-1-2): Eloy Room; Jurien Gaari, Suently Alberto, Cuco Martina; Kenji Gorre, Vurnon Anita, Leandro Bacuna, Michael Maria; Brandley Kuwas; Rangelo Janga, Gervane Kastaneer
El Salvador vs Curacao Prediction
Given their head-to-head record and current form, El Salvador look like the favorites to record a win in this fixture.
Curacao will be hoping to score their first-ever goal against El Salvador but the latter have conceded just two goals in 2021, so the task might be a bit difficult for Curacao.
Prediciton: El Salvador 2-0 Curacao
