Luciano Javier Cabral Melgarejo (born April 26, 1995) is a

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 lea ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for Independiente. Born in Argentina, he represents

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

internationally.

Club career

Cabral returned to professional football for the 2023 season, after signing with

Coquimbo Unido Coquimbo Unido is a Chilean football club based in the city of Coquimbo. The club was founded in 1958 and has played in the Chilean Primera División since being promoted in 2022. Their home games are played at the Estadio Municipal Francisco Sán ...

in the

Chilean Primera División The Chilean Primera División () is a professional association football league in Chile and the highest level of the Chilean football league system. Founded in 1933, it is organized by the Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (ANFP). The l ...

. In the second half of 2024, Cabral moved to Mexico and signed with León in the

Liga MX Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

. In 2025, Cabral returned to his country of birth and joined Independiente on a deal for three seasons.

International career

Cabral represented Argentina at under-20 level in the 2014 COTIF Tournament. In 2015, he represented Chile at under-20 level in the South American Championship. At senior level, Cabral was included in the preliminary squad for the

2024 Copa América The 2024 Copa América was the 48th edition of the Copa América, the quadrennial international men's association football, soccer championship organized by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. The tournament was held in the United Sta ...

. Later, he received his first call-up for the

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification will decide the 45 teams that will join hosts Canada men's national soccer team, Canada, Mexico national football team, Mexico, and the United States men's national soccer team, United States at the 2026 FIFA ...

matches against

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

in October 2024. He made his debut on 19 November 2024 in a World Cup qualifier against Venezuela at the

Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos Julio Martínez Prádanos National Stadium (, ; named after Julio Martínez) is an association football stadium in Santiago, Chile. Located in the Ñuñoa commune, it is part of Sports Park National Stadium, a 62 hectare sporting complex which a ...

. He substituted

Arturo Vidal Arturo Erasmo Vidal Pardo (; born 22 May 1987) is a Chilean professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for Chilean Primera División club Colo-Colo and the Chile national football team, Chile national team. His displ ...

in the 67th minute and scored the goal that was overturned after VAR review, as Chile won 4–2.

Personal life

He is naturalized

an since his grandfather was born in Chile. In June 2018, he was given a years prison sentence due to being linked along with his father to a homicide occurred in January 2017 in Mendoza, Argentina. Due to his good behavior, In September 2022, he came out on parole.

Career statistics

International

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cabral, Luciano 1995 births Living people Footballers from Mendoza Province Chilean men's footballers Chile men's under-20 international footballers Chile men's international footballers Argentine men's footballers Argentina men's under-20 international footballers Chilean people of Argentine descent Argentine sportspeople of Chilean descent Naturalized citizens of Chile Comisión de Actividades Infantiles footballers Argentinos Juniors footballers Club Athletico Paranaense players Coquimbo Unido footballers Club León footballers Club Atlético Independiente footballers Torneo Argentino A players Primera Nacional players Argentine Primera División players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Chilean Primera División players Argentine expatriate men's footballers Chilean expatriate men's footballers Argentine emigrants to Chile Expatriate men's footballers in Chile Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Chile Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Sportspeople of Argentine descent Men's association football midfielders 21st-century Argentine sportsmen