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| Nickname(s) | Leones del Caribe | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Asociación de Fútbol de Cuba |
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| Confederation | CONCACAF (North America) | ||
| Head coach |  Raul Gonzalez Triana |
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| Home stadium | Estadio Panamericano | ||
| FIFA code | CUB | ||
| FIFA ranking | 76 | ||
| Highest FIFA ranking | 46 (November 2006) | ||
| Lowest FIFA ranking | 175 (December 1994) | ||
| Elo ranking | 98 | ||
| Highest Elo ranking | 52 (February 2005) | ||
| Lowest Elo ranking | 143 (January 1965) | ||
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| First international | |||
Cuba 3 - 1 Jamaica  (Cuba; March 16, 1930) |
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| Biggest win | |||
Cuba 9 - 0 Puerto Rico  (Santo Domingo, Dom. Rep.; May 27, 1995) |
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| Biggest defeat | |||
 Sweden 8 - 0 Cuba (Antibes, France; June 12, 1938) |
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| World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 1 (First in 1938) | ||
| Best result | quarter finals, 1938 | ||
| CONCACAF Gold Cup | |||
| Appearances | 4 (First in 1998) | ||
| Best result | Quarterfinals, 2003 | ||
The Cuba national football team is the national team of Cuba and is controlled by the Asociación de Fútbol de Cuba. 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 tying them 3-3. They were then eliminated in the second round by Sweden, 8-0. The Cuban team has not returned to the World Cup since. Football (soccer) is not followed as strongly in Cuba as it is in many other countries, as baseball is the national sport.
Cuba finished second in the Caribbean Cup in 1996, 1999 and 2005.
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History
Early history
Cuba has a long-standing football tradition, although the sport has never been as popular there as baseball, and were early participants in World Cup qualifying. Cuba were given a walkover into the 1938 World Cup and reached the second round by beating Romania.
Post-war history
The post-war years were not so kind to Cuban football. They participated in the 1950 qualifiers, but it was not until the 1966 qualifiers that they would again participate.
They returned to participation in qualification in the 1978 series, 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 fortunes. 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.
World Cup record
- 1930 - Did not enter
- 1934 - Did not qualify
- 1938 - Second Round
- 1950 - Did not qualify
- 1954 - Entry not accepted by FIFA
- 1958 to 1962 - Did not enter
- 1966 - Did not qualify
- 1970 - Entry not accepted by FIFA
- 1974 - Did not enter
- 1978 to 1982 - Did not qualify
- 1986 - Did not enter
- 1990 - Did not qualify
- 1994 - Withdrew
- 1998 to 2010 - Did not qualify
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 - Qualified but withdrew
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
Defection and economic migration by Cuban athletes
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, 2 Cuban players chose to remain in the United States, 1 did so during the 2005 Gold Cup, 2 did so during the 2007 Gold Cup, and in 2008 seven players of the U-23 national football team did likewise and finally in 2008, 2 days before the World Cup Qualifier vs. the USA, 2 more athletes defected again.
Current squad
The following players were called for the Caribbean Championship 2008 semifinal match at Independence Park in Kingston, Jamaica against Grenada on 11 December 2008.[1]
Caps as of December 12, 2008
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Recent call-ups
The following players have been called up to the national team in the past year.
| Pos. | Player | DoB (Age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Last Call-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FW | Reynier Alcántara | 14 January 1982 | 18 | 10 |  Miami FC |
September 10, 2008 vs.  Guatemala |
| GK | Julio Aldama | 12 March 1981 | 0 | 0 | Matanzas |
June 22, 2008 vs.  Antigua and Barbuda |
| DF | Yusvanys Caballeros | 10 September 1983 | 2 | 0 | Ciudad de La Habana |
November 19, 2008 vs.  Trinidad and Tobago |
| FW | Heviel Cordovés González | 11 October 1989 | 4 | 0 | Ciudad de La Habana |
November 19, 2008 vs. Trinidad and Tobago |
| MF | Pedro Adriani Faife | 1 January 1984 | 18 | 10 | Miami FC |
September 10, 2008 vs. Guatemala |
| DF | Carlos Domingo Francisco Serrano | 22 May 1990 | 5 | 0 | Santiago de Cuba |
November 19, 2008 vs. Trinidad and Tobago |
| DF | Juan Carlos Martínez | 30 December 1985 | 3 | 0 | Villa Clara |
June 22, 2008 vs. Antigua and Barbuda |
| FW | Marcel Hernández Campanioni | 11 July 1989 | 2 | 0 | Ciudad de La Habana |
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| FW | Keyler Lázro García Estrada | 14 January 1990 | 2 | 0 | Camagüey |
Former Coaches
| Manager | Years |
|---|---|
| José Tapia |
1930–38 |
| Marcelino Minsal |
1947 |
 František Churda |
1963–64 |
 Karoly Kocza |
1966 |
| Laszlo Mohaczy |
1967 |
 Kim Yong Ha |
1970-1971 |
| Sergio Padrón |
1976 |
| Tibor Ivanicz |
1980–81 |
 Geovani Campari |
1990–92 |
| William Bennett |
1998 |
 Miguel Company |
2000–04 |
| Armelio Luis |
2005 |
 Reinhold Fanz |
2006–08 |
| Raúl González Triana |
2008– |
References
- ^ "Lion tamers Grenada continued their DCC Cinderella story with a 6-5 penalty shootout victory". digicelfootball.com. Kingston. 11 December 2008. http://www.digicelfootball.com/nmcms.php?snippet=news&p=news_item&id=426. Retrieved 12 December 2008.
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