| Israel Castro Franco | |
| Birth Date: | 11 April 1975 |
| Birth Place: | Curitiba, Brazil |
| Height: | 1.83 m |
| Position: | Striker |
| Years1: | 1996–1999 |
| Clubs1: | Luis Ángel Firpo |
| Years2: | 2000–2001 |
| Clubs2: | Juventus-SP |
| Years3: | 2000 |
| Clubs3: | Atlético Paranaense |
| Years4: | 2002 |
| Clubs4: | Imortal |
| Years5: | 2002–2004 |
| Clubs5: | Luis Ángel Firpo |
| Years6: | 2005 |
| Clubs6: | Portuguesa |
| Years7: | 2005–2006 |
| Clubs7: | Chalatenango |
| Years8: | 2006 |
| Clubs8: | Combate Barreirinha |
| Years9: | 2006 |
| Clubs9: | San Salvador |
| Years10: | 2007 |
| Clubs10: | Once Municipal |
| Years11: | 2007 |
| Clubs11: | CESP |
| Years12: | 2008 |
| Clubs12: | TCW |
| Years13: | 2009 |
| Clubs13: | Vila Fanny |
| Nationalyears1: | 1997–1998 |
| Nationalteam1: | El Salvador |
| Nationalcaps1: | 13 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 3 |
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.
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.
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.[1]
His final international was a November 1998 friendly match against Honduras.
Scores and results list El Salvador's goal tally first.
| Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 January 1998 | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly match | |||
| 2 | 29 January 1998 | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly match | |||
| 3 | 18 November 1998 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, USA | 1–1 | 2–1 | Hurricane Relief Tournament |
Atlético Paranaense
Luis Ángel Firpo