El Salvador added another chapter to their storied history on sand at the weekend. Os Cuscatlecos scored three spot-kicks to stay alive during a dramatic shootout with USA, which they eventually edged 7-6 to reach the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Seychelles 2025™. They then went on to defeat Guatemala 2-1 in the Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship final.
With six goals in his team’s five games, Emerson Cerna claimed the Top Scorer and Best Player awards. The exuberant player spoke to FIFA about the pressure he felt taking a penalty against the Americans, his and El Salvador’s success, and which teams he wants to face at the global finals.
How did it feel to win the Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship?
Emerson Cerna: I’m very happy, very proud and feeling motivated along with my team-mates after this wonderful tournament that we’ve played. We performed so well, we closed it out with the gold, so we’re happy and celebrating it.
You took home the tournament’s Best Player Award. What did that mean to you?
A lot of pride. I think it’s all thanks to the sacrifice that I’ve made, so I feel very proud of that. Debuting in qualifying and taking home this award makes me feel proud. I think it is the lifelong goal of any player and I thank God it happened to me. I believe I played a great tournament and I deserved it.
How special is it knowing this group of players have added their own chapter to El Salvador’s storied beach soccer history?
We know that El Salvador are one of the best national teams in Concacaf and the world. This is the sixth World Cup that we’re going to, and personally it will be my first. I believe that the Salvadoran people are proud of us. I think we played a great tournament and did things well. We’re all just so happy and so proud.
How did you handle the tension of that game against USA?
We knew that it was a semi-final, that we were fighting for the ticket to the World Cup, and it was a hard game. We knew that USA are a power in beach soccer but we felt like we had prepared very well. We put forth a great effort and, in the end, took the game in a penalty shootout and earned that World Cup ticket. It was a very difficult game because of how USA play, but we have a group of players who are very mature, like Fran Velasquez, Agustin Ruiz, our goalkeeper Eliodoro Portillo. They are all world class. We always had trust in God and ended up getting what we wanted.
What did coach Rudis Gonzalez tell you all before the penalties?
He told us to gather around and said that we had luck on our side. We had practiced penalties in the training sessions, so each one of us who had to take a penalty had to leave no doubt when we shot. We did that and we got the victory.
Three times El Salvador had to convert to stay alive, including one you had to take. Talk to me about the pressure that a player feels in that moment…
Personally, I did feel great pressure because I saw my team-mates were so tired. Some of them were praying quietly and when it was my turn to shoot, we were in sudden death. If I had missed, we would have been eliminated. In my mind I told myself to trust in God and in the potential I have. I told myself to be strong with it because, if not, there would be no World Cup for us. I just closed my eyes and hit it hard and strong because I knew the USA goalkeeper is one of the best in the world. When I saw that I scored my penalty, I was massively relieved. I could breathe easily. Their shooter then went and missed, so I started praying, saying, ‘This has to be it, there can’t be any more.’ And when I saw that my team-mate had scored, there was such great emotion and celebration.
What were the celebrations like?
It was very exciting, because we knew that we had punched our ticket to the World Cup. We knew that we had accomplished our goal because of all the work we had put in as individuals and a team. We were all crying and celebrating, also because we know that we’ve brought great joy to the Salvadoran people, to our families, our children. It’s a happiness that just can’t be explained.
Who do you want to play against at the World Cup?
Well, I think right now we are going to celebrate this victory and then later we’ll get together because we have weeks of training ahead. I think we have some opponents that we want to face, like Portugal, because we know that they are one of the best in the world. I would like take them on because a month ago we played them in some friendlies in El Salvador and they only beat us 3-2. They have a tremendous team, but I think we competed at a high level against them, and so I think we have that urge to go against them again in the Seychelles. Also, we want to face other teams like Japan, who are one of the powers. Brazil, too, because if you want to win, you have to beat the best.
