Israel Castro (footballer, born 1975)


Israel Castro Franco is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born in Brazil, he played for the El Salvador national team.

Club career

Castro spent the majority of his career in his adopted homeland El Salvador, mostly twice at C.D. [Luis Ángel Firpo|Luis Ángel Firpo]. He also played in his native Brazil and for a short period of time with the Portuguese lower league outfit Imortal de Albufeira.

International career

Castro became a Salvadoran citizen in 1996. He made his debut for the El Salvador national team in an August 1997 FIFA [World Cup qualification] match against Costa Rica and has earned a total of 13 caps, scoring 3 goals. He thus participated in the 1998 FIFA World Cup campaign, playing four matches in the process, under the popular Serbian coach Milovan Đorić and represented his country at the 1998 [CONCACAF Gold Cup].
His final international was a November 1998 friendly match against Honduras.

Career statistics

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
121 January 1998Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador2–02–0Friendly match
229 January 1998Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador1–11–1Friendly match
318 November 1998Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, USA1–12–1Hurricane Relief Tournament

Honours

Atlético Paranaense
Luis Ángel Firpo