Cuban soccer team faces US in Havana
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| Published on Saturday, August 30, 2008 |
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HAVANA, Cuba (ACN): After more than a decade, the US national soccer team will play against Cuba in the island. The game is scheduled for Saturday September 6, in a Group A match for the second round of the 2010 World Cup qualifying for the North and Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF) region.
More than thirty US sports reporters are accompanying the soccer delegation. US fans will not be able to attend the game because of Washington's travel ban against Cuba. The US forbids, under punishment of hefty fines, for its citizens to travel to the island without special US Treasury Department permission.
The last time a national US soccer team played in Cuba was in 1991 during the Pan American Games hosted by Havana. However, that squad was in the under-20 division, with a team of young players that would later stand out on a higher level such as Claudio Reyna and Alexis Lalas.
After losing to Trinidad, Cuba needs to accumulate at least 10 points in the remaining five games to advance to the CONCACAF final which will issue three direct tickets to the World Cup in South Africa.
The US is the favourite to lead Group A, in which two teams will qualify for further tournament play. For its third game, Cuba will travel to Guatemala City to play on September 10. On October 11, the island's team plays a return match hosted by the US in Washington DC, where a Cuban soccer team will be playing for the first time ever.
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