FRISCO, Texas — El Salvador and Jamaica tied 0-0 in an international friendly today.

Both teams were playing their final exhibition match to get ready for the third round of World Cup qualifying, which begins next month.

Backed by the vast majority of the crowd, El Salvador controlled play for most of the contest, directing numerous shots at — or almost at — the Jamaican goal, but goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts kept them off the scoreboard.

In the 14th minute, captain Alfredo Pacheco received a nice cross from Shawn Martin near the left post but volleyed it just wide. Martin had another chance in the 43rd minute, drilling a shot from the left corner of the penalty box, but Ricketts lunged to bat it away.

Ricketts also knocked away a scorching free kick from Christian Castillo from the right flank in first half stoppage time.

Martin just missed on two golden opportunities early in the second half, as his free kick from 30 yards out rolled just wide in the 48th minute. Seven minutes later, his cross from the left side of the box found a charging Rodolfo Zaleya, but his header went just over the crossbar.

But after El Salvador's Rudis Corrales launched a shot from the edge of the box just over the bar in the 62nd minute, Jamaica began to turn the tide, pressing with several chances of their own.

In the 65th minute, Omar Cummings, who plays for Colorado in the MLS, was in the clear, but his volley was denied by a diving save from El Salvador goalkeeper Miguel Montes.

Seven minutes after that, Javaughn Watson chipped a shot from the left side of the box over Montes, but the ball rolled across the goal mouth and out the other side.

Third round qualifying begins on Aug. 20, when Jamaica faces Canada in Group 2 and El Salvador takes on Costa Rica in Group 3. The top two finishers in each of the three four-team groups advance to the final stage, where three countries will earn a spot in South Africa 2010, while a fourth will play a South American squad in a one-game playoff for another spot.

Neither nation made it to the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Jamaica last qualified in 1998 while El Salvador is seeking its first trip to the World Cup since 1982.