Reporter : Somayeh Ghanbari

One of the most successful Concacaf teams at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup™ is El Salvador. Los Cuscatlecos have reached the global showpiece an impressive five times, including four successive participations from 2008 to 2013. That stretch was decorated by fourth place at Ravenna 2011 and a quarter-final finish at Tahiti 2013.

The anchor of those two editions for the Central American side was goalkeeper Jose Portillo, who also led his nation to Russia 2021 and is aiming for one final Beach Soccer World Cup in the Seychelles next year.

Are you all eager to start preparing for qualifying?
Jose Portillo: Yes, it’s very important for us and we want to take advantage of our time in preparing and do it in the best way possible. Since we didn’t achieve qualification last time out, it has made us want to qualify even more and to do it as quickly as possible, so we are working on that. When the dates come for qualifying, we are going to be ready to try to make the World Cup.

What is that preparation process like?
We try to make sure we stay active, to be in some sort of competition. When it comes to the national team and international level, it’s always about training in the best way. In our league here, the teams remain in the rhythm of competition, but training with the national team is different, of course. We try to train together in the national team once or twice a week.

How would you size up the national team at the moment?
The national team has had to make a generational change of about 50-60 per cent of the squad and bring in younger players. It has made it a more intense and dynamic team that has understood really well to how the coaching staff wants us to play. The fact that they are young and intense helps us feel more confident in the sense that we can give more. They are in the stage of their careers in which they can achieve top performances.

Do you sense a lot of optimism then about El Salvador’s beach soccer future?
With the league there are so many more opportunities to be able to be part of a national-team process and with this generational change, these young players who have arrived are going to be the base of the team. They are going on the right path, they’ve been competitive in certain events with the national team, and so that makes us feel good knowing that it will be left in good hands.

How have you noticed the appeal of beach soccer grow in your country?
When there are beach soccer events and competitions, the people go crazy here. You see children and their parents watching it together. It’s very exciting. It’s not just people who live on the coast who are playing beach soccer, it’s people from all parts of the country that are practicing it. For those of us in the national team, I think we have always served as a motivation for the young kids, that’s what we hear when we go to other parts of the country. That underlines the importance of playing this sport to grow its interest.

What memories do you have of playing at Russia 2021?
There were many positive things to take away from that World Cup. We went with other expectations and other objectives to be able to advance past the group stage, because El Salvador have a great history in World Cups. In the 2011 and 2013 World Cups, El Salvador were there among the top teams and that’s what we had in mind for Russia 2021. We thought we were very competitive, but the results did not give us the opportunity to go to the next round. We lost three group games and they were three completely different games. We barely lost to Brazil. We were ahead in the first and second periods and had chances to extend our leads, but in the third period they took advantage. It left a very good lesson in that there is no margin for error.

What does it mean to wear the El Salvador shirt in a World Cup?
First, it is an honour and a joy, but accompanying that there is a great responsibility to do things well in all senses, both on and off the pitch. The athlete needs to be well-disciplined and, above all, perform on the pitch. Me, personally, as a player, I hold dearly that commitment of always representing my country and feeling proud.

In your experience in beach soccer, how much have you seen the sport grow?
Beach soccer is definitely growing, especially in our region. Before there was no league in El Salvador, just local tournaments involving clubs, but now there’s a league and that is boosting everything. That provides more motivation and commitment and makes players more competitive at the regional and world level. I am seeing more interest at having our very best players come together to form a very competitive national team to provide the best showing possible at a World Cup.