In Guatemala City, a six-goal evening at El Trébol gave Luis Fernando Tena’s Guatemala a needed answer after a bruising start to their Concacaf Nations League campaign. Jehú Fajardo struck three times as the home side swept aside El Salvador 6-0, restoring momentum in Group B despite a visibly reduced crowd.
The news from the club
Guatemala had arrived home after losing 3-2 to Jamaica in Kingston on Friday, having initially taken a 1-0 lead. El Salvador, meanwhile, had opened the regional competition with a win over Martinique, but Hernán “Bolillo” Gómez’s side could not contain the hosts in the capital.
Darwin Lom, the Guatemala forward playing for Bolivia’s The Strongest, opened the scoring in the eighth minute. Rubio Rubín then extended the advantage before Fajardo made it 3-0 ahead of the interval.
There was no Salvadoran recovery after the break. Fajardo completed his hat-trick with two further goals, while Jorge Aparicio added the other strike to complete a one-sided 6-0 result.
The clearest chance for El Salvador fell to Jefferson Valladares, who found himself unmarked but saw his effort stopped by Guatemala goalkeeper Nicholas Hagen.
For 25-year-old Fajardo, an Antigua player in Guatemala’s domestic league, the treble takes his international return to four goals. He made his senior Guatemala debut in 2024.
The scale of the victory contrasted with the mood around the stadium. El Trébol was not full, unlike during the previous World Cup qualifying campaign, with supporters showing their dissatisfaction over ticket prices and recent national-team results.
Group B picture
Guatemala move into second place in Group B, ahead of Honduras, Jamaica and El Salvador on goal difference. The first two teams in each of the Nations League groups, A and B, will reach the quarter-finals.
Panama, the United States, Mexico and Canada are already through to that stage automatically because of their Concacaf ranking positions.
