Keyler Lázaro García Estrada (born 14 January 1990) is a Cuban international footballer.

Keyler García
Personal information
Full name Keyler Lázaro García Estrada[1]
Date of birth (1990-01-14) 14 January 1990 (age 34)
Place of birth Camagüey, Cuba
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2015 Camagüey
International career
2011 Cuba U23 5 (2)
2011–2015 Cuba 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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Nicknamed el Chino, Garcia played for hometown team Camagüey before leaving Cuba.[2]

International career

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He made his international debut for Cuba in an international friendly against Costa Rica in December 2011[3] and has earned a total of 5 caps, scoring no goals.

García was called up to the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup but defected to the United States in Chicago, one day prior to the Cuba's opening game against Mexico on 9 July 2015 at Soldier Field.[4] Arael Argüelles, Darío Suárez and Ariel Martinez also fled their country at the same tournament.[5]

His final international was a June 2015 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Curacao.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Keyler García at Soccerway
  2. ^ Camagüey - Habana en fotos - El Blog del Futbol Cubano (in Spanish)
  3. ^ "Cuba vs. Costa Rica 1 – 1". Soccerway. 11 December 2011.
  4. ^ "Keilen García desertó de la selección de Cuba" (in Spanish). futbol.univision.com. 8 July 2015. Archived from the original on 10 July 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  5. ^ Gold Cup: Striker Ariel Martinez becomes the fourth player to defect from Cuba - MLS Soccer
  6. ^ Keyler GarcíaFIFA competition record (archived)
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