The Salvadoran federation hired U.S. Hall of Famer Hugo Perez last January as El Salvador’s U-23 head coach for the Olympic qualifying tournament in March. And to propel El Salvador’s 2026 Project, a quest to end the Central American nation’s World Cup qualifying drought that started after its 1982 appearance at the Spain-hosted World Cup. Progress under Perez, whose son Gerson serves as an assistant, now has El Salvador in contention to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.

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