Nelson Blanco Flores (born 17 August 1999) is a Salvadoran

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

North Carolina FC North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League One, the third tier of the American league system. The team has played its home games a ...

USL League One USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championshi ...

and the El Salvador national team.

Career

Blanco played for the academy team at

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

for three seasons before signing with

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

side

on 11 October 2017. He re-signed with North Carolina on 29 January 2018, when the club moved to the

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...

. In August 2019, he joined

San Diego 1904 FC San Diego 1904 FC was an American professional soccer team based in San Diego, California, United States. In December 2021, the team was absorbed by Albion San Diego, which effectively took over 1904's membership in the National Independent Socce ...

, an expansion team in the

National Independent Soccer Association The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States. The league is in the third tier of American soccer and began play in 2019. NISA initially used a fall-to-spring season format with a ...

. On August 6, 2020, Blanco signed with

Oakland Roots SC Oakland Roots Sports Club is an American professional soccer team based in Oakland, California. The club was formed in 2018 by a group of Oakland natives, and began play in the National Independent Soccer Association in the fall of 2019. In 2021, ...

of the

. In March 2021, Blanco returned to

International

Blanco debuted for the El Salvador national team in a 1–0 friendly win over

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

on 6 November 2021. Blanco started his first game for the El Salvador national team in a 1–1 tie vs Ecuador on 4 December 2021.He has also recently been called for the World Cup qualifiers.

References

External links

* * 1999 births Living people People from San Miguel, El Salvador Salvadoran men's footballers El Salvador men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders North Carolina FC players Oakland Roots SC players USL Championship players National Independent Soccer Association players Salvadoran expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Salvadoran expatriate sportspeople in the United States 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup players {{ElSalvador-footy-bio-stub