Cuba national football team

The Cuba national football team (Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Cuba) represents Cuba in men's international football, and is controlled by the Football Association of Cuba. Nicknamed Leones del Caribe (Lions of Caribbean), the team represents all three FIFA, Caribbean Football Union and Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF).

Cuba
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Los Leones del Caribe (The Lions of the Caribbean)
AssociationFootball Association of Cuba
ConfederationCONCACAF (North America)
Sub-confederationCFU (Caribbean)
Head coachYunielys Castillo
CaptainAricheell Hernández
Most capsYénier Márquez (126)
Top scorerLester Moré (30)
Home stadiumEstadio Pedro Marrero
FIFA codeCUB
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 169 Steady (15 February 2024)[1]
Highest46 (November – December 2006)
Lowest182 (August 2017, March–May 2018)
First international
 Cuba 3–1 Jamaica 
(Havana, Cuba; 16 March 1930)
Biggest win
 Cuba 11–0 Turks and Caicos Islands 
(Havana, Cuba; 8 September 2018)
Biggest defeat
 Sweden 8–0 Cuba 
(Antibes, France; 12 June 1938)
 Soviet Union 8–0 Cuba 
(Moscow, Soviet Union; 24 July 1980)
 Russia 8–0 Cuba 
(Volgograd, Russia; 20 November 2023)
World Cup
Appearances1 (first in 1938)
Best resultQuarter-finals (1938)
CONCACAF Championship / Gold Cup
Appearances12 (first in 1971)
Best resultFourth place (1971)

They were the first Caribbean team to get to the World Cup Quarter finals – they did so in 1938. There, in the round of 16, 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 North American Nations Cup in 1947, which they hosted the tournament, second also in Caribbean Cup in 1996, 1999, and 2005, but won in 2012.

History edit

Early history edit

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.[3] Cuba were managed by José Tapia, who remained in charge until after Cuba's 1938 World Cup campaign.

Cuba's first World Cup qualification campaign was for the 1934 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 edit

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 du T.O.E.C. 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, Tomás Fernández 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 Ștefan Dobay's goal on 105 minutes, but Juan Tuñas 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 Wetterström each scored hat-tricks.[4]

The NAFC Championship 1949 served as CONCACAF's qualification group for the 1950 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, already under Castro's regime. 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 two points short of reaching the 1982 World Cup. In recent years, Cuban football has seen an improvement in results.

2000–present edit

They reached the quarter-finals of the 2003 Gold Cup (where they were beaten by the United States) 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 and Barbuda and the match ended in a 3–3 draw. Later in Pedro Marreo, Cuba won 4–1 to advance to the semi-final round of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers. Cuba was with the United States, Trinidad and Tobago and Guatemala. Cuba finished in the fourth place with only one victory against Guatemala 2–1 with a goal scored by Aliannis Urgellés. They finished in third place in the 2010 Caribbean Cup to take a place in the 2011 Gold Cup. In 2012, Cuba won the Caribbean Cup for the first time.

For the 2014 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 one draw and five 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.

Defection and economic migration by Cuban athletes edit

As well as Cuban athletes in other sports, a number of football players 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 US, 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.[5] During the 2015 Gold Cup, forward Keiler García defected to the United States before the team's first match against Mexico in Chicago.[6] In September 2019, five players (Yordan Santa Cruz, Andy Baquero, David Urgelles, Orlendis Benítez and Alejandro Portal) defected to Canada during the 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League before and after a match against Canada.[7][8]

During the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup, four players (Roberney Caballero, Denilson Milanés, Neisser Sandó and Jassael Herrera) defected while the team was preparing to travel from Miami to Houston for their last two group stage matches.[9][10] Another player, Sandy Sánchez, also defected after the last group stage game against Canada,[11][12] with a member of the medical staff reportedly following suit.[12]

Team image edit

Kit sponsorship edit

Kit supplier Period
  Joma 2023–present

Results and fixtures edit

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2023 edit

11 June Friendly Chile   3–0   Cuba Concepción, Chile
20:30 UTC−4
Report Stadium: Estadio Ester Roa
Referee: Andrés Merlos (Argentina)
20 June Friendly Uruguay   2–0   Cuba Montevideo, Uruguay
20:30 UTC−3
Report Stadium: Estadio Centenario
Referee: Bráulio da Silva Machado (Brazil)
27 June 2023 Gold Cup Guatemala   1–0   Cuba Fort Lauderdale, United States
19:00 UTC−4
Report Stadium: DRV PNK Stadium
Attendance: 13,426
Referee: Oshane Nation (Jamaica)
1 July 2023 Gold Cup Cuba   1–4   Guadeloupe Houston, United States
18:30 UTC−5
Report
Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium
Attendance: 19,766
Referee: Iván Barton (El Salvador)
4 July 2023 Gold Cup Canada   4–2   Cuba Houston, United States
17:30 UTC−5
Report
Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium
Attendance: 20,002
Referee: Keylor Herrera (Costa Rica)
8 September 2023–24 Nations League Haiti   0–0   Cuba Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
16:00 UTC−4 Report Stadium: Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium
Attendance: 550
Referee: Randy Encarnación (Dominican Republic)
12 September 2023–24 Nations League Cuba   1–0   Suriname Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
16:00 UTC−4
Report Stadium: Estadio Antonio Maceo
Attendance: 3,500
Referee: Fernando Guerrero (Mexico)
12 October 2023–24 Nations League Cuba   0–0   Honduras Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
21:00 UTC−4 Report Stadium: Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium[note 1]
Referee: Walter López (Guatemala)
15 October 2023–24 Nations League Honduras   4–0   Cuba Tegucigalpa, Honduras
18:00 UTC−6
Report Stadium: Estadio Nacional Chelato Uclés
Referee: Keylor Herrera (Costa Rica)
20 November Friendly Russia   8–0   Cuba Volgograd, Russia
19:30 UTC+3
Report Stadium: Volgograd Arena
Attendance: 40,706
Referee: Aleksei Kulbakov (Belarus)

2024 edit

26 March Friendly Nicaragua   0–1   Cuba Managua, Nicaragua
19:00 UTC−6 Report
Stadium: Nicaragua National Football Stadium
6 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Honduras   v   Cuba Honduras
--:-- UTC−6

2025 edit

6 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Antigua and Barbuda   v   Cuba Antigua and Barbuda
--:-- UTC−4
10 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Cuba   v   Bermuda Cuba
--:-- UTC−4

Coaching history edit

Players edit

Current squad edit

The following players were called up for the friendly match against Russia on 20 November 2023.[14]

Caps and goals correct as of 20 November 2023, after the match against Russia.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Raiko Arozarena (1997-03-27) 27 March 1997 (age 27) 11 0   Las Vegas Lights
1GK Ismel Morgado (2003-05-31) 31 May 2003 (age 20) 1 0   Sancti Spíritus
1GK Yorlan Urgellés (1999-04-09) 9 April 1999 (age 24) 0 0   Guantánamo

2DF Yosel Piedra (1994-03-27) 27 March 1994 (age 30) 39 1   San Carlos
2DF Dariel Morejón (1998-12-21) 21 December 1998 (age 25) 34 0   Santa Ana
2DF Carlos Vázquez (vice-captain) (1999-04-25) 25 April 1999 (age 24) 22 2   Dornbirn
2DF Mario Peñalver (2003-01-06) 6 January 2003 (age 21) 7 0   Deportivo Fraijanes
2DF Alejandro Delgado (2003-02-14) 14 February 2003 (age 21) 5 0   Municipal Jalapa
2DF Orlando Calvo (1999-04-09) 9 April 1999 (age 24) 4 0   Artemisa
2DF Elvis Casanova 2004 (age 19–20) 1 0   Villa Clara
2DF Fabian Gloor (2002-08-12) 12 August 2002 (age 21) 1 0   FC Baden

3MF Yunior Pérez (2001-03-12) 12 March 2001 (age 23) 23 0   Deportivo Achuapa
3MF Karel Espino (2001-10-27) 27 October 2001 (age 22) 21 1   Comunicaciones
3MF Eduardo Hernández (2003-02-18) 18 February 2003 (age 21) 9 0   Municipal
3MF Romario Torres (2005-02-09) 9 February 2005 (age 19) 7 0   Nacional
3MF Rey Rodríguez (2003-01-15) 15 January 2003 (age 21) 3 0   La Habana
3MF Ricardo Polo 2004 (age 19–20) 0 0   Las Tunas

3MF Luis Paradela (1997-01-21) 21 January 1997 (age 27) 35 9   Saprissa
4FW Daniel Díaz (1994-03-27) 27 March 1994 (age 30) 12 0   San Carlos
4FW Cristian Valiente (2000-07-11) 11 July 2000 (age 23) 4 0   Holguín
4FW Reydel Sánchez (2004-01-01) 1 January 2004 (age 20) 3 0   Atlético Paso
4FW David Pérez 2005 (age 18–19) 1 0
4FW Alexander Gómez 2005 (age 18–19) 0 0   Granma

Recent call-ups edit

The following players have also been called up to the Cuba squad within the last twelve months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Nelson Johnston (1990-02-25) 25 February 1990 (age 34) 13 0   Jicaral v.   Honduras, 15 October 2023
GK Sandy Sánchez (1994-05-24) 24 May 1994 (age 29) 28 1 Unattached 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup
GK Alejandro Fernández (2003-05-08) 8 May 2003 (age 20) 0 0   Las Tunas v.   Chile, 11 June 2023 PRE

DF Jorge Corrales (1991-05-20) 20 May 1991 (age 32) 45 1   FC Tulsa v.   Honduras, 15 October 2023
DF Modesto Méndez (1998-01-06) 6 January 1998 (age 26) 14 0   Hartford Athletic v.   Honduras, 15 October 2023
DF Karel Pérez (2005-08-25) 25 August 2005 (age 18) 1 0   Santiago de Cuba v.   Honduras, 15 October 2023
DF Greibel Palma (2003-02-10) 10 February 2003 (age 21) 5 1   Ciego de Ávila 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup
DF Jassael Herrera (2002-10-15) 15 October 2002 (age 21) 0 0 Unattached 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup WD
DF Ronald Sánchez (2004-03-31) 31 March 2004 (age 19) 0 0   Matanzas v.   Chile, 11 June 2023 PRE

MF Aricheell Hernández (captain) (1993-09-20) 20 September 1993 (age 30) 33 8   O&M 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup
MF Roberney Caballero (1995-11-02) 2 November 1995 (age 28) 14 3   Municipal Jalapa 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup WD
MF Neisser Sandó (1998-10-26) 26 October 1998 (age 25) 11 0 Unattached 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup WD
MF Denilson Milanés (2002-12-16) 16 December 2002 (age 21) 6 0 Unattached 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup WD
MF Rolando Abreu (1992-05-15) 15 May 1992 (age 31) 18 0   Municipal Jalapa v.   Chile, 11 June 2023 PRE
MF Kevin Martín (2003-09-02) 2 September 2003 (age 20) 1 0   Lorca Deportiva v.   Chile, 11 June 2023 PRE
MF Kevin Fernández (2004-06-11) 11 June 2004 (age 19) 0 0   Matanzas v.   Chile, 11 June 2023 PRE
MF Dairon Reyes (2003-09-18) 18 September 2003 (age 20) 14 2   Inter Miami II v.   Guadeloupe, 26 March 2023

FW Willian Pozo-Venta (1997-08-27) 27 August 1997 (age 26) 22 4   KTP v.   Honduras, 15 October 2023
FW Yasniel Matos (2002-03-29) 29 March 2002 (age 21) 22 1   Xelajú MC v.   Honduras, 15 October 2023
FW Onel Hernández (1993-02-01) 1 February 1993 (age 31) 8 3   Norwich City v.   Honduras, 15 October 2023
FW Maikel Reyes (1993-03-04) 4 March 1993 (age 31) 39 7   Municipal Jalapa v.   Suriname, 12 September 2023
FW Aldair Ruiz (1997-11-13) 13 November 1997 (age 26) 4 0   Manchester 62 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup
FW Samoelbis López (2001-11-12) 12 November 2001 (age 22) 0 0   Camagüey v.   Chile, 11 June 2023 PRE

INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
PRE Preliminary squad.
RET Player retired from the national team.
SUS Player is serving suspension.
WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.

Player records edit

As of 19 November 2016[15]
Players in bold are still active with Cuba

Most appearances edit

 
Yénier Márquez is Cuba's most capped player with 125 appearances.
Rank Player Caps Goals Years
1 Yénier Márquez 125 16 2000–2015
2 Odelín Molina 123 0 1996–2013
3 Jaime Colomé 82 12 2002–2013
4 Alexánder Cruzata 74 2 1996–2005
5 Lázaro Darcourt 73 21 1995–2003
6 Alain Cervantes 68 8 2003–2016
7 Silvio Pedro Miñoso 66 0 2002–2008
8 Reysander Fernández 65 3 2003–2012
9 Lester Moré 62 30 1995–2007
10 Manuel Bobadilla 57 11 1995–2001

Top goalscorers edit

Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Lester Moré 30 62 0.48 1995–2007
2 Lázaro Darcourt 21 73 0.29 1995–2003
3 Roberto Linares 16 42 0.38 2008–2012
Yénier Márquez 16 126 0.12 2000–2015
5 Eduardo Sebrango 13 23 0.57 1996–1998
6 Serguei Prado 12 30 0.4 1999–2005
Maykel Galindo 12 33 0.36 2002–2005
Osmín Hernández 12 46 0.26 1995–2004
Jaime Colomé 12 82 0.15 2002–2013
10 Ariel Martínez 11 54 0.2 2006–2015
Manuel Bobadilla 11 57 0.19 1995–2001

Competitive record edit

FIFA World Cup edit

FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad Outcome Pld W D L GF GA
  1930 Not a FIFA member Not a FIFA member
  1934 Did not qualify 2nd 6 2 1 3 13 14
  1938 Quarter-finals 7th 3 1 1 1 5 12 Squad Qualified by default
  1950 Did not qualify 3rd 4 0 1 3 3 11
  1954 Not accepted[16] Not accepted
  1958 Did not enter Did not enter
  1962
  1966 Did not qualify 3rd 4 1 1 2 3 5
  1970 Not accepted[16] Not accepted
  1974 Did not enter Did not enter
  1978 Did not qualify Playoff 5 2 2 1 7 5
  1982 5th 9 4 3 2 11 8
  1986 Did not enter Did not enter
  1990 Did not qualify 2nd 2 0 1 1 1 2
  1994 Withdrew Withdrew
  1998 Did not qualify 4th 10 4 1 5 17 18
    2002 Playoff 8 2 5 1 7 3
  2006 Playoff 4 2 2 0 8 4
  2010 4th 8 3 0 5 13 21
  2014 4th 6 0 1 5 1 10
  2018 Playoff 2 0 2 0 1 1
  2022 3rd 4 2 0 2 7 3
      2026 To be determined To be determined
      2030
  2034
Total Quarter-finals 1/21 3 1 1 1 5 12 72 22 20 30 92 105

CONCACAF Gold Cup edit

CONCACAF Championship & Gold Cup record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad
  1963 Did not enter
  1965 Withdrew
  1967 Did not qualify
  1969 Did not enter
  1971 Fourth place 4th 5 1 2 2 5 7 Squad
  1973 Did not enter
  1977 Did not qualify
  1981 Final round 5th 5 1 2 2 4 8 Squad
1985 Did not enter
1989 Did not qualify
  1991 Withdrew
    1993 Did not enter
  1996 Did not qualify
  1998 Group stage 10th 2 0 0 2 2 10 Squad
  2000 Did not qualify
  2002 Group stage 11th 2 0 1 1 0 1 Squad
    2003 Quarter-finals 8th 3 1 0 2 2 8 Squad
  2005 Group stage 12th 3 0 0 3 3 9 Squad
  2007 Group stage 12th 3 0 1 2 3 9 Squad
  2009 Withdrew
  2011 Group stage 12th 3 0 0 3 1 16 Squad
  2013 Quarter-finals 8th 4 1 0 3 6 13 Squad
    2015 Quarter-finals 8th 4 1 0 3 1 14 Squad
  2017 Did not qualify
      2019 Group stage 16th 3 0 0 3 0 17 Squad
  2021 Withdrew
    2023 Group stage 15th 3 0 0 3 3 9 Squad
Total Fourth place 12/27 40 5 6 29 30 121

CONCACAF Nations League edit

CONCACAF Nations League record
Season Division Group Pld W D* L GF GA P/R Rank
  2019−20 A A 4 0 0 4 0 18   12th
  2022–23 B A 6 5 0 1 11 3   14th
  2023–24 A B 4 1 2 1 1 4   11th
Total 14 6 2 6 12 25 11th

CFU Caribbean Cup edit

CFU Championship & Caribbean Cup record Qualification record
Year Result Pld W D L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA
  1978 Did not enter Did not enter
  1979
  1981
  1983
  1985
  1988
  1989
  1990
  1991 Withdrew Withdrew
  1992 Fourth place 5 2 2 1 4 2 Squad 2 2 0 0 8 0
  1993 Did not enter Did not enter
  1994 Withdrew Withdrew
    1995 Third place 5 3 0 2 9 6 Squad 3 3 0 0 15 0
  1996 Runners-up 5 3 1 1 7 2 Squad 1 1 0 0 4 0
    1997 Did not enter Did not enter
    1998 Did not qualify 2 1 1 0 4 3
  1999 Runners-up 4 3 0 1 8 3 Squad 3 3 0 0 13 2
  2001 Fourth place 5 1 2 2 5 7 Squad 3 3 0 0 7 1
  2005 Runners-up 3 2 0 1 5 2 Squad 4 3 1 0 6 1
  2007 Third place 5 2 1 2 7 6 Squad 6 5 1 0 24 2
  2008 Fourth place 5 2 2 1 7 4 Squad 3 2 1 0 14 2
  2010 Third place 5 3 1 1 5 4 Squad 3 1 2 0 7 5
  2012 Champions 5 4 0 1 5 2 Squad 3 1 1 1 6 2
  2014 Fourth place 4 1 2 1 5 5 Squad Qualified as defending champions
  2017 Did not qualify 2 1 0 1 2 4
Total 1 Title 51 26 11 14 67 43 31 28 8 2 105 21

Olympic Games edit

Olympic Games record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad
  1976 Group stage 11th 2 0 1 1 0 1 Squad
  1980 Quarter-finals 7th 4 2 0 2 3 12 Squad
Total 6 2 1 3 3 13

NAFC Championship edit

NAFC Championship record
Year Result Pld W D L GF GA
  1947 Runners-up 2 1 0 1 6 5
  1949 Third place 4 0 1 3 3 11
Total Runners-up 6 1 1 4 9 16

CCCF Championship edit

CCCF Championship record
Year Result Pld W D* L GF GA
  1941 Did not enter
  1943
  1946
  1948
  1951
  1953
  1955 Seventh place 6 1 0 5 3 17
  1957 Fifth place 4 0 0 4 1 11
  1960 Fifth place 4 1 0 3 5 12
  1961 Fifth place 4 0 0 4 2 9
Total Fifth place 18 2 0 16 11 49

Honours edit

Major competitions

Minor competitions

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Cuba will play their home match against Honduras at the Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) instead of their regular stadium Estadio Antonio Maceo which did not meet CONCACAF requirements for hosting the match at night.[13]

References edit

  1. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 15 February 2024. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  2. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 27 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  3. ^ "Cuba – List of International Matches". Rsssf.com. Archived from the original on 9 July 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  4. ^ "Baseball in Their Veins, but a New Ball at Their Feet". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  5. ^ "Cuba's Yosniel Mesa defects". ESPN. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 12 July 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  6. ^ "Keilen García, el premio-castigo de la libertad". ESPN Deportes. Archived from the original on 10 July 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  7. ^ Ebro, Jorge; González, Pedro J. (8 September 2019). "Tres cubanos más escapan en torneo de CONCACAF y ya suman cinco los que abandonan el equipo" [Three more Cubans escape in the CONCACAF tournament and there are already five who leave the team]. El Nuevo Herald (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 21 September 2019.
  8. ^ Rodriguez, Alicia (9 September 2019). "Report: Five Cuba national team players defect during Nations League". Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on 3 July 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  9. ^ "Cuatro futbolistas de la selección de Cuba escaparon tras el primer partido de la Copa Oro en Miami". Infobae (in Spanish). 29 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  10. ^ "Reportes: Cuatro futbolistas abandonaron la concentración de Cuba en Miami durante la Copa Oro". ESPN Deportes (in Spanish). 28 June 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  11. ^ "Cinque giocatori cubani hanno abbandonato la Nazionale durante la Gold Cup, e ora sono irreperibili". Rivista Undici (in Italian). 7 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  12. ^ a b "Sandy Sánchez, portero de Cuba y Pantoja, desertó después de Copa Oro". ESPN Deportes (in Spanish). 5 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  13. ^ "Cuba recibirá como local a Honduras en República Dominicana por no contar con luz en su estadio" [Cuba to host Honduras in Dominican Republic due to lack of electricity in its stadium] (in Spanish). Santo Domingo: Diario Libre. EFE. 23 September 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  14. ^ (Asociación de Fútbol de Cuba) Lista de convocados para el amistoso de fecha FIFA ante la selección de Rusia. on Facebook. 12 November 2023.
  15. ^ Passo Alpuin, Luis Fernando. "Cuba - Record International Players". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  16. ^ a b "History of the FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition (by year)" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
  17. ^ "Cuba 1 Trinidad & Tobago 0". Soccerway. 16 December 2012. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2012.

External links edit