The exodus of Cuban athletes has added a new chapter with the recent decision of goalkeeper Leonardo Hierrezuelo to leave the national futsal team during their preparation in Spain for the 2024 World Cup in Uzbekistan.
According to Playoffmagazine, Hierrezuelo, a 22-year-old from Havana, left the team after being a substitute in the friendly matches against Portugal and Ukraine, which ended in losses of 9-0 and 7-0, respectively.
The goalkeeper was part of the island team that qualified at the Nicaragua 2024 Pre-World Cup. In fact, the athlete celebrated the ticket in grand style on the social network Facebook.
A few days ago, the team had already suffered the loss of the young Harold Aguilera (22 years old), who left the group in the Portuguese city of Viseu.
Aguilera, originally from Camagüey and known for his role as a closing player on the team, was absent after a friendly match against the Ukrainian national team, reported the specialized media.
Pending further information, the team will face the world championship with two absences in its official roster, which could significantly impact its results.
This escape adds to the exodus of Cuban athletes in the last three years. Evidence of this is that 21 athletes competed under other flags in the recent Olympic Games in Paris 2024.
In April, the Cuban soccer player Lázaro Castro left the futsal national team that was attending the CONCACAF Pre-World Championship in Managua, Nicaragua.
After the escape of the 27-year-old defender from Pinar del Río, the national team is 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, Mario Planchet, Christian Temprano, and Leonardo Acevedo made the same decision in the UNCAF FIFA Forward U-20 Futsal tournament held in Guatemala.
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