Israel Castro Franco

Israel Castro Franco (born April 11, 1975) 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 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 Scores and results list El Salvador's goal tally first. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 21 January 1998 Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador 2–0 2–0 Friendly match 2 29 January 1998 Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador 1–1 1–1 Friendly match 3 18 November 1998 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, USA 1–1 2–1 Hurricane Relief Tournament

Honours Atlético Paranaense Campeonato Paranaense: 2000

Luis Ángel Firpo Salvadoran Primera División: 1997–98