Wikipedia

Lucía García

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

Lucía García Córdoba (Spanish pronunciation: [luˈθi.a ɣaɾˈθi.a];[a] born 14 July 1998) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger for Liga MX Femenil side C.F. Monterrey and the Spain national team. Starting with Spain U17, she has represented Spain internationally since 2015.

Lucía García
García playing for Manchester United in 2023
Personal information
Full name Lucía García Córdoba
Date of birth (1998-07-14) 14 July 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth Barakaldo, Spain[1]
Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward, winger
Team information
Current team
 Monterrey
Number 17
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2016 Oviedo Moderno 63 (19)
2016–2022 Athletic Bilbao 148 (59)
2022–2024 Manchester United 41 (11)
2024– Monterrey 12 (5)
International career‡
2015–2016 Spain U17 8 (6)
2016–2017 Spain U19 16 (17)
2016–2018 Spain U20 6 (4)
2018– Spain 53 (11)
Medal record
Representing  Spain
UEFA Women's Nations League
Winner 2024 France–Netherlands–Spain
FIFA U-20 World Cup
Runner-up 2018 France
UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship
Winner 2017 Northern Ireland
Runner-up 2016 Slovakia
UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship
Winner 2015 Iceland
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 November 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 29 October 2024

Early life

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García was the only female in a set of quadruplets. She was born at Cruces University Hospital in Barakaldo, Basque Country, 180 miles from her hometown of Aller, Asturias, after her mother decided on a specialist hospital due to the increased risk of a multiple birth. They were born prematurely after seven months and initially placed into incubators.[1] Growing up she has stated that none of her brothers were particularly interested in football, and she played on the street as the village of 200 inhabitants had no football field. She played one year of futsal in nearby Cabañaquinta before taking up athletics and tennis for two years.[3][4] When she was 13 years old, a physical education teacher suggested García try out for the youth team at Oviedo Moderno.[5]

Club career

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Oviedo Moderno

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On 8 September 2013, García made her senior debut for newly-promoted first division team Oviedo Moderno at the age of 15. She appeared as a 67th-minute substitute for Irene del Río on the opening day of the 2013–14 Primera División as Oviedo lost 2–1 to Valencia.[6] In her debut season she scored eight goals in 26 league appearances as Oviedo finished 13th of 16 teams. She scored another eight goals in 18 appearances the following season as the team finished 10th, their best finish since 2003. In her third season, García scored three times in 19 games as Oviedo finished 15th and were relegated.[citation needed]

Athletic Bilbao

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Following Oviedo's relegation at the end of the 2015–16 season, García remained in the Primera División and signed for reigning champions Athletic Bilbao in June 2016[7] – under their self-imposed player restrictions, the circumstances of her birth made her eligible to play for the all-Basque club. She made her debut on 3 September 2016, starting in the opening game of the season and scored in the 2–0 win over Fundación Albacete.[8] She made her Champions League debut during the season, starting in a 2–1 win over reigning Danish Women's League champions Fortuna Hjørring in the round of 32 first leg.[9]

 
García playing for Athletic Bilbao (2021)

After scoring five and seven goals in her first two seasons respectively, García had a breakout season during 2018–19 season, scoring 13 goals in 22 matches, the most on the team and joint-8th best in the league. She scored her first career hat-trick on 13 March 2019 in a 4–3 league win over Logroño.[10] Despite an injury impacted 2019–20 season, García made 18 league appearances, scoring nine goals. The following season she made 29 league appearances and scored a career-high 16 goals but, despite her own personal success, Athletic finished 11th in the 2020–21 Primera División, lower than the club's previous worst finishing position of 5th since joining the Primera División in 2002. In her final season, García scored a team-leading 12 league goals as the team improved to 7th. In six seasons, she scored 63 goals in 161 appearances in all competitions to help the club achieve a highest league finish of third in 2017–18, also reaching the Copa de la Reina semi-finals twice. In 2022, she elected not to renew her contract at Athletic (as did teammate and fellow Spanish international Ainhoa Moraza).[11]

Manchester United

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On 25 July 2022, García signed a two-year contract with English Women's Super League club Manchester United.[12] She made her debut on 17 September 2022 in a 4–0 win against Reading before scoring her first goal for the club the following week in a 2–0 away win against West Ham United on 25 September.[13][14] On 21 May 2023, García came off the bench to score the winning goal in the 90+1st minute of the Manchester derby, securing United's first ever league win over Manchester City.[15]

In February 2024, during the 2023–24 season, García scored United's only goal in a 3–1 defeat to Arsenal in front of a record-breaking WSL crowd of 60,160 at a sold out Emirates Stadium.[16] In the 2024 Women's FA Cup final on 12 May 2024, García scored twice and was named player of the match, as Manchester United won the Women's FA Cup for the first time, beating Tottenham Hotspur 4–0 at Wembley Stadium.[17] On 26 June 2024, it was announced that García would leave the club upon the expiry of her contract.[18]

Monterrey

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On 26 June 2024, it was announced that García had signed for Liga MX Femenil club Monterrey.[19] She made her debut for the club during a 4–0 defeat to Tigres in the CONCACAF W Champions Cup on 22 August 2024.[20] Four days later, on 26 August, she scored her first goal for the club during her league debut in a 5–0 victory against Deportivo Toluca.[21]

International career

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Youth

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As a youth, García represented Spain at under-17, under-19 and under-20 level including at four major youth tournaments: 2015 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship, two editions of the UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship (2016 and 2017), and two FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup tournaments (2016 and 2018).[22]

Spain won the 2015 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship, beating Switzerland 5–2 in the final.[23] García started all five games in the tournament and finished second in the golden boot race with five goals, one behind Stefanie Sanders of Germany.[24]

The following year she represented Spain at the 2016 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship in Slovakia as they finished as runners-up, losing to France 2–1 in the final. She scored four goals in five appearances, third behind golden boot winner Marie-Antoinette Katoto and runner-up Jill Roord.[25] She was recalled to the squad later in the year for the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Papua New Guinea, playing in all four games and scoring three goals: two in a group stage victory over Canada and another in a 3–2 defeat after extra-time to North Korea in the quarter-finals. She retained her place with the under-19s in 2017 and was selected by Pedro López to go the 2017 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship.[26] Spain won the tournament with a stoppage time goal from Patricia Guijarro against France. García started every game in the tournament and scored twice, second on the team behind Guijarro's five goals although she was not one of the seven Spanish players selected to the team of the tournament.[27] The result also qualified Spain for the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. She made two appearances, both in the group stage, and scored once in a 2–2 draw with United States. Spain finished as runners-up, losing 3–1 to Japan in the final.[28]

Senior

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García with Spain in 2024

García earned her first senior international call-up for Spain for the 2018 Cyprus Women's Cup. She was given her debut during the tournament by Jorge Vilda on 2 March 2018, as a 58th-minute substitute for Jennifer Hermoso in a 0–0 draw with Belgium.[29] She made a further two appearances against the Czech Republic and then in the final against Italy as Spain won the tournament.[30]

In 2019, she was the youngest player named in the Spain squad for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup aged 20.[31] García scored her first senior international goal on 8 June 2019, the third in Spain's 3–1 comeback win against South Africa in their opening group game to secure Spain's first ever win at a FIFA Women's World Cup.[32]

In 2020, García scored four goals in four appearances for Spain. She scored a brace against Japan in a 3–1 victory at the 2020 SheBelieves Cup and another brace against Moldova during UEFA Women's Euro 2022 qualifying as Spain won 9–0.[33][34]

In 2022, García was named to the squad for UEFA Women's Euro 2022, her second successive major tournament.[35] With Jennifer Hermoso ruled out of the tournament through injury, García scored twice in a warm-up game against Australia[36] before starting all three group games, scoring in a 4–1 win over Finland.[37] She was an unused substitute for the quarter-final match against England as Spain lost 2–1 in extra-time.[38]

She was one of Las 15, a group of players who made themselves unavailable for international selection in September 2022 due to their dissatisfaction with head coach Jorge Vilda, and among the dozen who were not involved 11 months later as Spain won the World Cup.[39][40]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 8 November 2024.[22][41]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[b] League cup[c] Continental[d] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Oviedo Moderno 2013–14 Primera División 26 8 — — — 26 8
2014–15 18 8 — — — 18 8
2015–16 19 3 — — — 19 3
Total 63 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 63 19
Athletic Bilbao 2016–17 Primera División 23 5 1 0 — 2 0 26 5
2017–18 27 4 3 3 — — 30 7
2018–19 22 13 2 0 — — 24 13
2019–20 18 9 3 1 — — 21 10
2020–21 29 16 0 0 — — 29 16
2021–22 29 12 2 0 — — 31 12
Total 148 59 11 4 0 0 2 0 161 63
Manchester United 2022–23 Women's Super League 20 8 5 0 3 0 — 28 8
2023–24 22 3 4 4 4 1 2 0 32 8
Total 42 11 9 4 7 1 2 0 60 16
Monterrey 2024–25 Liga MX Femenil 12 5 0 0 — 4 3 16 8
Career total 265 94 20 8 7 1 8 3 300 106
  1. ^ In isolation, García is pronounced [ɡaɾˈθi.a].
  2. ^ Includes the Copa de la Reina and Women's FA Cup
  3. ^ Includes the FA Women's League Cup
  4. ^ Includes the UEFA Women's Champions League and CONCACAF W Champions Cup

International

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As of match played 29 October 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Spain 2018 8 0
2019 12 1
2020 4 4
2021 3 1
2022 10 3
2023 5 1
2024 11 1
Total 53 11
As of 4 June 2024
Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each García goal.
List of international goals scored by Lucía García
No. Date Cap Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 8 June 2019 15 Stade Océane, Le Havre, France   South Africa 3–1 3–1 2019 FIFA World Cup
2 5 March 2020 21 Exploria Stadium, Orlando, United States   Japan 2–1 3–1 2020 SheBelieves Cup
3 3–1
4 19 September 2020 24 Zimbru Stadium, Chișinău, Moldova   Moldova 1–0 9–0 UEFA Euro 2022 qualifying
5 5–0
6 16 September 2021 26 Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands   Faroe Islands 6–0 10–0 2023 FIFA World Cup qualification
7 25 June 2022 32 Nuevo Colombino, Huelva, Spain   Australia 4–0 7–0 Friendly
8 5–0
9 8 July 2022 34 Stadium MK, Milton Keynes, England   Finland 3–1 4–1 UEFA Euro 2022
10 26 September 2023 39 Nuevo Arcángel, Córdoba, Spain   Switzerland 1–0 5–0 2023–24 Nations League
11 4 June 2024 46 Heliodoro Rodríguez López, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain   Denmark 3–2 3–2 UEFA Euro 2025 qualifying

Honours

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Manchester United

Spain Youth
Spain

References

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  1. ^ a b "Lucía García marcó su primer gol con la Selección Sub-19" [Lucía García scored her first goal with the U19 National Team]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 17 September 2015.
  2. ^ "Lucía Garcia". Athletic Club website. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  3. ^ "Entrevista. Lucía García Córdoba: "Soy una jugadora sencilla que lucha por lo que quiere"" [Entrevista. Lucía García Córdoba: "Soy una jugadora sencilla que lucha por lo que quiere"]. VAVEL (in Spanish). 2 July 2021.
  4. ^ Herrán, Alfonso (26 January 2019). "Lucía García, ambición máxima entre las leonas de San Mamés" [Lucía García, maximum ambition among the lionesses of San Mamés]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 26 July 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  5. ^ "Lucía García: "Cuando empecé en el Oviedo no sabía lo que era un fuera de juego"" [Lucía García: "When I started at Oviedo I didn't know what offside was"]. ElDesmarque Asturias (in Spanish). 9 June 2019.
  6. ^ "El Valencia remontó al Oviedo Moderno" [Valencia came back against Oviedo Moderno]. www.futbolasturiano.es.
  7. ^ "Lucía García Córdoba ficha por el Athletic de Bilbao" [Lucía García Córdoba signed by Athletic Bilbao]. Oviedo Moderno Official (in Spanish). 16 June 2016. Archived from the original on 26 June 2016.
  8. ^ "Athletic Club VS Fundación Albacete 3/9/2016". www.athletic-club.eus.
  9. ^ "Athletic-Fortuna | UEFA Women's Champions League 2016/17". UEFA.com.
  10. ^ "Athletic Club VS EDF Logroño 13/3/2019". www.athletic-club.eus.
  11. ^ El Athletic teme por Moraza, Lucía García y alguna más... [Athletic fears for Moraza, Lucía García and some more...], El Desmarque, 12 April 2022 (in Spanish)
  12. ^ "Lucia Garcia signs for Man Utd Women 25 July 2022". www.manutd.com.
  13. ^ Sanders, Emma (17 September 2022). "Manchester United 4-0 Reading: Maya le Tissier scores twice on debut". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 19 April 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  14. ^ "West Ham United 0-2 Manchester United: Visitors keep up 100% start". BBC Sport. 25 September 2022. Archived from the original on 19 April 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  15. ^ Anderson, Jess (21 May 2023). "Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City: Lucia Garcia goal keeps Red Devils' WSL title hopes alive". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 19 April 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  16. ^ "WSL: Arsenal beat Man Utd 3-1 in front of record crowd - as it happened". BBC Sport. 16 February 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  17. ^ "Women's FA Cup Final 2024 LIVE: Watch Man Utd vs Tottenham plus score, commentary & latest updates from Wembley". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  18. ^ "Lucía García departure confirmed". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 26 June 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  19. ^ "¡Bienvenida a Rayadas, Lucía García!" [Welcome to Rayadas, Lucía García!]. C.F. Monterrey (in Spanish). 26 June 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  20. ^ "Game Details: Tigres 4-0 Monterrey". CONCACAF. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  21. ^ "¡Rayadas golea, y mantiene el invicto y portería imbatida!" [Rayadas wins and maintains their unbeaten record and clear goal!]. C.F. Monterrey (in Spanish). 26 August 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  22. ^ a b Lucía García at Soccerway
  23. ^ "Spain-Switzerland | Women's Under-17". UEFA.com.
  24. ^ "Germany's Sanders takes top scorer prize". UEFA.com. 4 July 2015.
  25. ^ "France's Katoto finishes WU19 EURO top scorer". UEFA.com. 31 July 2016.
  26. ^ "Pedro López da la lista definitiva para el Europeo Femenino Sub-19" [Pedro López gives the final list for the U-19 Women's European]. as.com. Diario AS. 18 July 2017. Archived from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  27. ^ "Women's Under-19 - Technical report - The UEFA technical team – UEFA.com". uefa.com. UEFA. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  28. ^ "Japan cruise to maiden world title". fifa.com. FIFA. 24 August 2018. Archived from the original on 21 August 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  29. ^ "Cyprus Cup: Spain 0–0 Belgium – Belgian defence shines in dour draw". Vavel. 2 March 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  30. ^ Fra, Amalia (7 March 2018). "España sigue creciendo y conquista la Chipre Cup" [Spain continues to grow and wins the Cyprus Cup]. Diario AS (in Spanish).
  31. ^ "Lucía García, la pequeña 'leona' que tira la puerta de la titularidad con la Selección de España" [Lucía García, the little 'lioness' who throws the door of ownership with the Spanish National Team]. El Español (in Spanish). 17 June 2019.
  32. ^ "Jennifer Hermoso strikes twice from spot as Spain beat South Africa". The Guardian. 8 June 2019.
  33. ^ "Spain Defeats Japan 3-1 to Open 2020 SheBelieves Cup". www.ussoccer.com.
  34. ^ "Moldova-Spain | UEFA Women's EURO 2022 qualifying". UEFA.com.
  35. ^ "Esta es la lista de convocadas por la Selección española femenina para la EURO 2022". sefutbol.com (in Spanish). 27 June 2022. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  36. ^ "Understrength Matildas hammered by Spain in 7-0 friendly defeat". The Guardian. 26 June 2022.
  37. ^ Lucas, Katherine (8 July 2022). "Spain survive fastest goal in Women's Euro history but don't look like champions just yet". inews.co.uk.
  38. ^ "England into semis with dramatic extra-time victory". BBC Sport. 19 July 2022.
  39. ^ Jorge Vilda Recalls Players Who Resigned Back Into His Spanish World Cup Squad, Asif Burhan, Forbes, June 12, 2023
  40. ^ Spain v Sweden: Las 15+3, An International Team In Chaos And Lonely Jorge Vilda, Simon Lillicrap, The Sportsman, 14 August 2023
  41. ^ "Lucía García | Jugadora estadísticas". Athletic Club.
  42. ^ Sanders, Emma (12 May 2024). "Women's FA Cup final: Manchester United beat Tottenham to win first major trophy". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  43. ^ Wrack, Suzanne (14 May 2023). "Chelsea claim FA Cup hat-trick after Sam Kerr sees off Manchester United". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  44. ^ "Women's Nations League final: World Cup winners Spain beat France 2-0 in Seville". BBC Sport. 28 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
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