Cuba national football team

Cuba

Nickname(s)	Leones del Caribe (Lions of the Caribbean)
Association	Football Association of Cuba
Confederation	CONCACAF (North America)
Sub-confederation	CFU (Caribbean)
Head coach	Julio Valero
Most caps	Yénier Márquez (126)
Top scorer	Lester Moré (29)
Home stadium	Estadio Pedro Marrero
FIFA code	CUB
First colours Second colours Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current	125 17 (24 November 2016)
Highest	46 (November–December 2006)
Lowest	175 (December 1994)
Elo ranking
Current	118 (14 June 2015)
Highest	52 (February 2005)
Lowest	143 (January 1965)
First international
Cuba 3–1 Jamaica  (Havana, Cuba; 16 March 1930)
Biggest win
Cuba 9–0 Puerto Rico  (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; 27 May 1995)
Biggest defeat
Sweden 8–0 Cuba  (Antibes, France; 12 June 1938)  Soviet Union 8–0 Cuba  (Moscow, Soviet Union; 24 July 1980)
World Cup
Appearances	1 (first in 1938)
Best result	Quarter-finals, 1938
CONCACAF Championship & Gold Cup
Appearances	10 (first in 1971)
Best result	Fourth place, 1971

The Cuba national football team is controlled by the Asociación de Fútbol de Cuba, the governing body for football in Cuba.^[1] They are affiliated to the Caribbean Football Union of CONCACAF.

They were the first Caribbean team to make the World Cup, which they did in 1938. There, they defeated Romania in a replay 2–1 after drawing against them 3–3. They were then eliminated in the quarter-finals by Sweden, 8–0. Cuba has not returned to the World Cup since.

Cuba finished second in the Caribbean Cup in 1996, 1999 and 2005 and won the 2012 Caribbean Cup.

History

Early history

Cuba played its first international football match on 16 March 1930 at that year's Central American and Caribbean Games. They beat Jamaica (then a British colony) 3–1 in Havana. Four days later they beat Honduras 7–0.^[2] Cuba were managed by José Tapia, who remained in charge until after Cuba's 1938 FIFA World Cup campaign. Cuba's first World Cup qualification campaign was for the 1934 FIFA World Cup in Italy. All of the CONCACAF entrants were placed in Group 11. The winner of a best-of-three tournament between the two weakest nations, Cuba and Haiti would produce a winner to play 1930 qualifiers Mexico in another round of best-of-three. The winner of that would play 1930 semi-finalists the United States of America for a place in the finals. All of the matches between Cuba and Haiti in the first round were staged at Parc Leconte in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on 28, 1 and 4 January February 1934. Cuba won the first match 3–1 with Mario Lopez opening from a penalty and Hector Socorro scoring the second. The second match was a 1–1 draw with Lopez equalising in the 85th minute. In the final match Cuba won 6–0 with two Lopez goals, one from Hector Socorro and one from his brother Francisco. The second round against Mexico consisted of three matches at Parque Necaxa in Mexico City. Its first match, on 4 March 1934, saw Mexico go 3–0 up with a hat-trick by Dionisio Mejia, his goals scored in the 12th, 14th and 16th minutes. Mario Lopez scored twice for Cuba with one in each half, but Mexico won 3–2. A week later Mejia scored another hat-trick as Mexico won 5–0, and seven days later Mexico won 4–1 after Lopez opened the scoring in the 15th minute. Mexico did not qualify, their 4–2 play-off defeat to the United States was held in Rome during the finals, as the two teams had forgotten to stage it earlier

1938–2000

The decision to stage the 1938 World Cup in France was poorly received in the Americas, who had hoped for it to return to South America after the 1934 World Cup in Italy. All nations in South America except Brazil withdrew, and all CONCACAF nations except Cuba, thus the two qualified by default. The tournament was held as a straight knock-out tournament of 16 nations. Cuba were drawn to play their first-ever World Cup finals match against Romania (who were making their third finals appearance) at Stade Chapou in Toulouse, on 5 June 1938. Silviu Bindea put Romania ahead after 35 minutes and Hector Socorro equalised nine minutes later. With three minutes remaining Tomas Fernandez gave Cuba the lead, but within a minute Iuliu Baratky forced extra time with a Romanian equaliser. Romania went 3–2 up in extra-time by Stefan Dobay's goal on 105 minutes, but Juan Tunas equalised for Cuba with three minutes of extra-time remaining. The replay was held at the same stadium, on 9 June. This was at the same time as Switzerland's 4–2 replay win over Germany. Dobay put Romania 1–0 up at half-time with a 35th-minute goal, but in the second half Cuba equalised through Socorro in the 51st minute. Six minutes later, Carlos Oliviera scored the winning goal and it ended 2–1. In the quarter-final Cuba lost 8–0 to Sweden at Stade du Fort Carre in Antibes, on 12 June. Sweden's Tore Keller and Gustav Wetterstrom each scored hat-tricks.^[3]

The NAFC Championship 1949 served as CONCACAF's qualification group for the 1950 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Cuba, the United States of America and Mexico played each other twice in a tournament held in Mexico City in September 1949. The top two would qualify. Cuba came third and did not qualify, their only point was gained from their second match, a 1–1 draw against the United States on 14 September. Cuba did not compete in World Cup qualification again until 1966. They returned to participation in qualification for 1978, but the 1982 qualifiers represented a significant breakthrough- Cuba reached the final round of qualifying, and were only 2 points short of reaching the 1982 World Cup. In recent years, Cuban football has seen an improvement in results.

2000–present

They reached the Quarter-finals of the 2003 Gold Cup (where they were beaten by the USA) by defeating Canada 2–0 in the Group Stage. During the 2006 World Cup qualifiers Cuba faced Costa Rica and were only eliminated on away goals. They held Costa Rica to a draw in Havana 2–2 and later battled it out for a 1–1 draw in Costa Rica. During the 2010 World Cup qualifiers Cuba faced Antigua & Barbuda and drew 3–3 against Antigua & Barbuda. Later in Pedro Marreo Cuba won 4–1 to advance to the semifinal round of the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers. Cuba was with United States, Trinidad & Tobago and Guatemala. Cuba finished in the fourth place with only a victory against Guatemala 2–1 with a goal scored by Aliannis Urgellés. They finished in third place in the Caribbean Cup 2010 to take a place in Gold Cup 2011. In 2012 Cuba won the Caribbean Cup for the first time.

For the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the Cuban team qualified directly to the Third Round as one of the six highest ranked teams and were placed in Group C with Honduras, Panama, and Canada. Although the Cuban team had several close games, they ended their qualification process with 1 draw and 5 defeats (losing home and away to Canada and Honduras and drawing to Panama in Havana in their final game after losing in Panama City). Their only goal of the qualifying campaign came from Alberto Gomes against Panama in the final game of the group stage.

Competitive record

World Cup record

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1930	Did Not Enter
1934	Did Not Qualify
1938	Quarter-Finals	8th	3	1	1	1	5	12
1950	Did Not Qualify
1954	Entry Not Accepted[4]
1958	Did Not Enter
1962
1966	Did Not Qualify
1970	Entry Not Accepted[4]
1974	Did Not Enter
1978	Did Not Qualify
1982
1986	Did Not Enter
1990	Did Not Qualify
1994	Withdrew
1998	Did Not Qualify
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022	To Be Determined
Total	Quarter-Final	1/22	3	1	1	1	5	12

Cuba's World Cup Record
First Match	Cuba 3–3 Romania  ( 5 June 1938; Toulouse, France)
Biggest Win	Cuba 2–1 Romania  ( 9 June 1938; Toulouse, France)
Biggest Defeat	Cuba 0–8 Sweden  ( 12 June 1938; Antibes, France)
Best Result	8th place at the 1938 FIFA World Cup
Worst Result	N/A

Gold Cup record

• 1991 – Withdrew
• 1993 – Did not enter
• 1996 – Did not qualify
• 1998 – Round 1
• 2000 – Did not qualify
• 2002 – Round 1
• 2003 – Quarterfinals
• 2005 – Round 1
• 2007 – Round 1
• 2009 – Withdrew
• 2011 – Round 1
• 2013 – Quarterfinals
• 2015 – Quarterfinals

CONCACAF Championship record

• 1963 – Did not enter
• 1965 – Did not enter
• 1967 – Did not qualify
• 1969 – Did not enter
• 1971 – 4th place
• 1973 – Did not enter
• 1977 – Did not qualify
• 1981 – 5th place
• 1985 – Did not enter
• 1989 – Did not qualify

NAFC Championship record

• 1947 – Runner-up
• 1949 – Third place

Caribbean Cup record

• 1989 – Did not enter
• 1990 – Did not enter
• 1991 – Withdrew
• 1992 – Fourth place
• 1993 – Did not enter
• 1994 – Withdrew
• 1995 – Third place
• 1996 – Second place
• 1997 – Did not enter
• 1998 – Did not qualify
• 1999 – Second place
• 2001 – Fourth place
• 2005 – Second place
• 2007 – Third place
• 2008 – Fourth place
• 2010 – Third place
• 2012 – Winners
• 2014 – Fourth place
• 2016 – Did not qualify

Players

Current squad

The following 20 players were selected for friendly match against Unites States on October 7, 2016.^[5]
Caps and goals updated as October 7, 2016 after the match against Unites States.

0#0	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	GK	Sandy Sánchez	24 May 1994	4	0	FC Las Tunas
29	GK	Diosvelis Guerra	21 May 1989	14	0	FC Artemisa
4	DF	Yasmany López	11 October 1987	15	1	FC Ciego de Ávila
5	DF	Yosel Piedra	27 March 1994	5	0	FC Villa Clara
11	DF	Carlos Francisco	22 May 1990	44	0	FC Santiago de Cuba
16	DF	Yaisnier Nápoles	20 October 1987	9	0	FC Camagüey
18	DF	David Urgellés	24 April 1995	2	0	FC Guantánamo
20	DF	Erick Rizo	28 February 1991	0	0	FC Santiago de Cuba
2	MF	Roberney Caballero	2 November 1995	1	0	FC Villa Clara
6	MF	Daniel Luís	11 May 1994	10	1	AC Ajaccio
8	MF	Alberto Gómez	12 February 1988	41	1	FC Guantánamo
10	MF	Arichel Hernández	20 September 1993	9	0	Cruz Azul Hidalgo
17	MF	Dairon Blanco	2 October 1992	1	0	FC Las Tunas
19	MF	Roberto Peraza	12 April 1995	1	0	FC La Habana
25	MF	Geandrys Megret		0	0
26	MF	Yoelvis González	20 July 1994	0	0	FC Villa Clara
7	FW	Duxney Espinosa	6 March 1996	1	0	FC Camagüey
9	FW	Maikel Reyes	4 March 1993	11	2	Cruz Azul Hidalgo
13	FW	Eddygelqui Olivares		1	0
21	FW	Yasnay Rivero	11 July 1991	0	0	FC La Habana

Previous squads

FIFA World Cup 1938 FIFA World Cup squad

CONCACAF Gold Cup 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup squad 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup squad 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup squad 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup squad 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup squad 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup squad 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup squad

Olympic football tournament 1976 Summer Olympics squad 1980 Summer Olympics squad

Defection and economic migration by Cuban athletes

As well as Cuban athletes in other sports, a number of football players (such as Maykel Galindo and Osvaldo Alonso) have made the move to the United States in recent years. During the 2002 Gold Cup in Los Angeles, two Cuban players Rey Ángel Martínez and Alberto Delgado chose to remain in the United States. Striker Maykel Galindo did so during the 2005 Gold Cup. Two more, Osvaldo Alonso and Lester More did so during the 2007 Gold Cup.

In 2008, defections occurred during two separate tournaments held in the United States. In March, seven players from the U-23 national football, including Yeniel Bermúdez, Yordany Álvarez and Yendry Díaz defected during the 2008 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying tournament while the team was based in Tampa, FL. In October, two days before the country's World Cup Qualifier versus the USA, Reynier Alcántara and Pedro Faife walked away from the team's hotel near Washington, D.C.. During the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Yosniel Mesa defected while the team was in Charlotte, North Carolina.^[6] During the 2015 Gold Cup, forward Keiler García defected to the United States before the team's first match against Mexico in Chicago.^[7]

Recent results and forthcoming fixtures

Date	Venue	Opponent	Result	Competition
14 June 2015	Estadio Pedro Marrero, Havana	Curaçao	1–1	2018 WCQ
9 July 2015	Soldier Field, Chicago	Mexico	0–6	2015 Gold Cup
12 July 2015	University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale	Trinidad and Tobago	0–2	2015 Gold Cup
15 July 2015	Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte	Guatemala	1–0	2015 Gold Cup
18 July 2015	M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore	United States	0–6	2015 Gold Cup
23 September 2015	Estadio Panamericano, Havana	Nicaragua	0–1	Friendly
25 September 2015	Estadio Panamericano, Havana	Nicaragua	1–1	Friendly
8 December 2015	Nicaragua National Football Stadium, Managua	Nicaragua	0–5	Friendly
12 December 2015	Estadio Independencia, Estelí	Nicaragua	0–1	Friendly
16 December 2015	Estadio Juan Ramón Brevé Vargas, Juticalpa	Honduras	0–2	Friendly
8 January 2016	Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City	Panama	0–4	2016 CACQ
22 March 2016	Estadio Pedro Marrero, Havana	Bermuda	2–1	2017 CCQ
29 March 2016	Stade Municipal Dr. Edmard Lama, Remire-Montjoly	French Guiana	0–3	2017 CCQ
7 October 2016	Estadio Pedro Marrero, Havana	United States	0-2	Friendly

Coaches

• José Tapia (1930–34)
• Károly Katzer (1934–35)
• José Tapia (1935–38)
• Marcelino Minsal (1947–49)
• František Churda (1963–64)
• Karoly Kocza (1966)
• László Mohácsi (1967)
• Kim Yong-Ha (1970–71)
• Sergio Padrón (1976)
• Tibor Ivanicz (1980–81)
• Giovanni Campari (1990–96)
• William Bennett (1996-00)
• Miguel Company (2000–04)
• Luis Armelio Garcia (2004–05)
• Raúl González Triana (2006–07)
• Reinhold Fanz (2008)
• Raúl González Triana (2008–12)
• Chandler González (2012)
• Walter Benítez (2012–15)
• Raúl González Triana (2015–16)
• Julio Valero (2016–)

References

1. Rainsford, Sarah (2012-06-28). "BBC News – Euro 2012 football fever hits baseball-loving Cuba". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-07-08.
2. "Cuba – List of International Matches". Rsssf.com. Retrieved 2012-07-08.
3. "Baseball in Their Veins, but a New Ball at Their Feet". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 2012-07-08.
4. "History of the FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition (by year)" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
5. http://www.radiohc.cu/noticias/deportes/107581-cuba-anuncia-a-sus-20-convocados-para-tope-ante-estados-unidos
6. "Cuba's Yosniel Mesa defects". ESPN. Associated Press. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
7. "Keilen García, el premio-castigo de la libertad". ESPN Deportes. Retrieved 9 July 2015.

External links

• Cuba at FIFA.com