Karel Espino

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Espino and the second or maternal family name is Contreras.

Karel Aldair Espino Contreras (born 27 October 2001) is a Cuban professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liga Nacional club Comunicaciones and the Cuba national team.

Karel Espino

Personal information
Full name	Karel Aldair Espino Contreras
Date of birth	(2001-10-27) 27 October 2001 (age 23)
Place of birth	San Cristóbal, Cuba
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Comunicaciones
Number	4
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2019–2021	Artemisa	73	(2)
2021–	Comunicaciones	126	(3)
International career‡
2017	Cuba U17	5	(0)
2018	Cuba U20	4	(0)
2019–	Cuba	29	(2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:00, 4 May 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:00, 10 September 2024 (UTC)

Debuting for Artemisa in 2019, Espino would go on to sign for Comunicaciones two years later. He has gone on to make over 100 appearances for the club, as well as scoring four goals. Espino has also won two league titles, along with one CONCACAF League title with Comunicaciones.

Having previously been capped by the U17 and U20 teams, Espino made his senior debut in 2019 at the age of 17. He also been part of Cuba's squads for the 2019 and 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Club career

Comunicaciones

2021–22: Debut season, CONCACAF League title, and first league title

On 1 July 2021, Comunicaciones had announced the official signing of Espino.^[2] He made his debut and scored his first goal for the club in a 4–0 win over Sololá on 1 August.^[3] Four days later, Espino started in the preliminary round of the 2021 CONCACAF League against Once Deportivo, where he received a yellow card at the 90th minute in a 1–1 draw.^[4]

International career

Espino made his Cuba national football team debut on 27 February 2019 in a friendly against Bermuda, as a 79th-minute substitute for Yasmany López, at the age of 17 years and 120 days old.^[5]

On 13 June, he was selected for the country's 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup squad by Raúl Mederos.^[6] In the first match of Group A, Espino was subbed off at the 87th minute for Alejandro Portal in the 7–0 loss against Mexico.^[7] In the second match on 19 June, Espino received a yellow card at the 21st minute in a 3–0 defeat to Martinique.^[8] In the third match against Canada, Espino was subbed on at the 58th minute for Aníbal Álvarez in another 7–0 loss, as Cuba ended their campaign.^[9]

Honours

Comunicaciones

• Liga Nacional de Guatemala: 2022 Clausura,^[10] 2023 Apertura^[11]
• Copa Campeón de Campeones runner-up: 2024^[12]
• CONCACAF League: 2021^[13]