Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
Cuba national football team
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Cuba | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Association | Asociación de Fútbol de Cuba |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Confederation | CONCACAF (North America) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach | Raúl González Triana | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home stadium | Estadio Panamericano | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIFA code | CUB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIFA ranking | 59 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest FIFA ranking | 46 (November 2006) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lowest FIFA ranking | 175 (December 1994) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elo ranking | 72 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
First international Cuba 3 - 1 Jamaica  (Cuba; March 16, 1930) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Biggest win Cuba 9 - 0 Puerto Rico  (Santo Domingo, Dom. Rep.; May 27, 1995) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Biggest defeat Sweden 8 - 0 Cuba (Antibes, France; June 12, 1938) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appearances | 1 (First in 1938) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best result | Quarterfinals, 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 quarterfinals 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. Nevertheless, recent showings in the Caribbean region may signal a rise in the team's futures.
Cuba finished second in the Caribbean Cup in 1996, 1999 and 2005.
Contents |
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 quarter-finals by beating Romania.
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), and in the 2006 World Cup qualifiers faced Costa Rica and were only eliminated on away goals.
- 1930 - Did not enter
- 1934 - Did not qualify
- 1938 - Quarterfinals
- 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 2006 - Did not qualify
- 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 - Qualified
During the 2002 Gold Cup in Los Angeles, Cuban players Alberto Delgado and Rey Ángel Martínez defected to the United States.
