qualified for the second round of regional play for the 1994 World Cup.

Both teams are competing in the North and Central American and Caribbean round of the World Cup qualifiers.

El Salvador join Honduras, Bermuda, Canada and either Jamaica or Trinidad and Tobago in the second round. Trinidad, who lost the first leg of the series 2-1, play at Kingston in the return leg on August 16.

Sergio Chamorro opened the scoring with a penalty kick in the 13th minute following a foul against striker Julio Palacios. Mauricio Cienfuegos scored in the 33th minute when Jorge "Magico'' Gonzalez sent him in alone on goal.

The Nicaraguans stayed on the defensive throughout.

Defender Asley Barrios fouled striker Oscar Ulloa, and Carlos Castro booted in El Salvador's third goal in the 46th minute. "Magico'' dodged two defenders and made the score 4-0 three minutes later.

Cesar Rostran scored Nicaragua's lone goal with a cannonball in the 65th minute. Ulloa sewed up the game (5-1) one minute later with a ground-scraping kick from a close angle.

El Salvador's Uruguayan coach Anibal Ruiz said that, despite the victory, his team must improve to reach the World Cup finals in the United States.

"I'm not even thinking of Nicaragua anymore. They were only a step in the the World Cup ladder,'' he said. -- AP.