Cuba running low on soccer players
J. Meric/Getty Images Cuba’s under-23 soccer team was left with only 10 players on the field this week (for American readers: that’s one less than normal) after seven defected during an Olympic qualifying tournament in Tampa, Florida. Five players initially made a run for it during a team meal on Tuesday night, telling a Spanish-language ...
J. Meric/Getty Images
Cuba’s under-23 soccer team was left with only 10 players on the field this week (for American readers: that’s one less than normal) after seven defected during an Olympic qualifying tournament in Tampa, Florida. Five players initially made a run for it during a team meal on Tuesday night, telling a Spanish-language TV station that they hoped to play professional soccer in the United States. Then two more players defected before a game against Honduras yesterday, leaving Cuba with a team of 10 and no substitutes. While I’m certainly happy for the defectors and wish them luck, you’ve got to give the remaining team some credit for soldiering on shorthanded and holding Honduras scoreless for the first half before going down 2-0 in the second. They play again against Panama on Saturday. If Kevin Costner wanted to start a second career in communist propaganda films, he could find worse material.
(Hat tip: On Deadline)
Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating
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