Cuban futsal player Harold Aguilera leaves team in Portugal.

The 22-year-old Cuban Harold Aguilera left the national futsal team in Viseu, Portugal, where they were preparing for the upcoming World Cup of the discipline in Uzbekistan 2024.

Aguilera, originally from Camagüey and known for his role as a closer on the team, was absent following a friendly match against the Ukrainian national team, reported the specialized media Play Off Magazine.

The outlet reported that the player from Camagüey played a crucial role in the Nicaragua 2024 Pre-World Cup, where his only goal in the tournament helped Cuba draw 3-3 against Costa Rica in the semifinals, forcing the penalty shootout that would eventually lead Cuba to the final.

The goal was scored by Aguilera while playing as a goalkeeper in the final moments of the match.

The Cuban team has scheduled three friendly matches in Portugal as part of their preparation for their sixth appearance in the Futsal World Cup.

The first two matches, against Portugal and Ukraine, ended in heavy defeats with scores of 9-0 and 7-0, respectively.

The team is scheduled to play its next game against Costa Rica this Sunday, August 25, before traveling to Spain to face local clubs.

Later, the team will head to Uzbekistan on September 9th.

This defection adds to the exodus of Cuban athletes in the last three years. Evidence of this was that 21 athletes competed under other flags in the recent 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

In April, the Cuban footballer Lázaro Castro left the Cuban futsal national team that was participating in the CONCACAF Pre-World Championship in Managua, Nicaragua.

After the escape of the 27-year-old fullback from Pinar del Río, the national team was left with 13 athletes, as reported by journalist Andy Lans on social media.

In November of last year, two other Cuban futsal players, Ernesto Duanes and Bárbaro Shelier, left the national team in Costa Rica, where they were participating in a training match.

Also in 2022, futsal players Mario Planchet, Christian Temprano, and Leonardo Acevedo left the official delegation at the UNCAF FIFA Forward Under-20 Futsal tournament held in Guatemala.