Cuba will be in Group A of the XV Gold Cup of CONCACAF along with Mexico, Martinique, and Canada.
The distribution of the teams took place this Wednesday in Los Angeles, California, where the head coaches of the 16 qualified teams were invited.
The only coach not seen at the ceremony was Cuba's, Raúl Mederos. The reasons for his absence are unknown, but it is speculated that it could be related to visa processing.
Cuba will debut against Mexico on June 15 at the Super Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California. This match will mark the official tournament debut for the renowned Argentine coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino with Mexico, who has previously managed the national teams of Argentina and Paraguay, as well as clubs like Barcelona when Lionel Messi was on the roster, and Atlanta United, which he led to victory in the last MLS season.
Martino must rely on the top Mexican stars performing in Mexico, the United States, and Europe, knowing that Mexican fans and the press accept nothing less than the title.
In the group from Cuba, there are two of the three teams that have won the Gold Cup: Mexico, which has been crowned champion seven times, and Canada, once. The U.S. has won the tournament six times.
During the event in Los Angeles, all the head coaches were interviewed live on stage by the television network responsible for the broadcast. The only one who did not attend was the Cuban Mederos.
Group B will consist of Costa Rica, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Bermuda; Group C will include Honduras, Jamaica, El Salvador, and Curacao; and Group D will comprise the United States, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana.
The first matches for groups B and C will take place in San José, Costa Rica, and Kingston, Jamaica. It will be the first time the Gold Cup is held outside of North America and will feature 16 teams.
Cuba will have to play again in the United States weeks after its participation in the Gold Cup, in order to fulfill its commitment to the CONCACAF Nations League, in its second round, which will take place starting in September with home-and-away matches.
Cuba must compete in the Gold Cup with the same team that played in the first qualifying round of the Nations League and lost their unbeaten record 2-1 against Haiti in Port-au-Prince on March 24.
The national team featured players from the island who were signed in professional leagues in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Guatemala.
This will be Cuba's ninth participation in the Gold Cup, since its first in 1998. In 2009, it had qualified but withdrew at the last minute due to the impact of previous defections, especially the mass exodus that occurred during the Olympic Qualifiers held in Tampa in March 2008.
Around thirty Cuban football players have defected during tournaments held in the United States from 2002 to the present, including the Gold Cup, World Cup qualifiers, and Olympic qualifiers. The most recent instance occurred last November during a CONCACAF Under-20 tournament held in Bradenton, south of Tampa, where 12 players left the national team.
This event led to Cuba's absence from the subsequent U-17 Concacaf tournament, also held in Bradenton, which had a record level of participation.
Cuba's best performances in the Gold Cup occurred in 2003, 2013, and 2015 when it advanced to the second round. However, some believe that the most convincing display was in 2002, when they drew 0-0 with the invited South Korea and lost 1-0 to the USA due to a controversial penalty, both of which were against teams that qualified for that year's World Cup.
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