M. Zambrano

Marcos Zambrano was born in Guayaquil and started out in Ecuadorian football with Norte América, El Nacional and Clan Juvenil before crossing to the United States, where he joined the Philadelphia Union academy in 2021. He won the MLS Next Cup with the club's youth side and scored the winning goal in the inaugural MLS Next All-Star Game, then spent two seasons with Philadelphia Union II. From there his path took him to Europe: a move to Benfica B in January 2023, followed a year later by a switch to Vitória Guimarães B.

Although he came through Ecuador's youth setup, earning two caps for the under-16 side in 2019, Zambrano holds American citizenship through his father and has since represented the United States at youth level. He has made 27 appearances for the US under-19 and under-20 teams, scoring eight goals, among them one at the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile.

He returned to MLS in July 2025, signing with Real Salt Lake, though most of his football came for the affiliate side Real Monarchs, where he scored seven goals in ten MLS Next Pro appearances. New England Revolution brought him in on loan from Real Salt Lake in March 2026 to cover for the injured Leonardo Campana. Zambrano made his debut in the U.S. Open Cup and scored his first senior goal for the club in April 2026, a run of form that persuaded Revolution to exercise their option and make the move permanent in July. The following month, U.S. Soccer Collective placed him twentieth in its list of the top American-born 2005 prospects.