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The Cuban national men's soccer team was eliminated from the Gold Cup 2025 of Concacaf, following a decisive 0-4 defeat against Trinidad and Tobago in the second leg of the playoff.
The result confirms a concerning setback for island football, which in just five months has dropped to level B of the Nations League and now loses one of its main goals of the year.
The setback has generated a wave of criticism and concern, not only for the result but also for the image the team left in their recent matches. The defeat also raises questions about the team's preparation for the qualifiers leading up to the 2026 World Cup, according to the state-run newspaper Granma.
An early expulsion and a painful thrashing
The return match against Trinidad and Tobago started disastrously for the Cubans. Just two minutes in, Romario Torres was sent off for a reckless tackle, leaving the team with 10 men and immediately undermining the tactical plan of head coach Yunielys Castillo.
Despite some attempts to reorganize, Isaiah Lee scored two goals (22' and 37'), taking advantage of defensive errors and numerical imbalance. In the second half, Kevin Molino (51') and Nathaniel James (84') sealed the final score of 4-0, which buried any possibility of turning around the 1-2 suffered in the first leg, according to the digital site JIT.
Absences, tactical errors, and lack of depth
Beyond the numerical disadvantage, the Cuban team arrived with significant absences, such as Dayron Reyes, Carlos Vázquez, and Luis Paradela, all injured. Key figures like Jorge Luis Corrales and Modesto Méndez, both with international experience, were also missing.
This was compounded by an overly conservative strategy from the coaching staff, which prioritized defensive order but failed to generate depth in attack or effective responses in the face of adversity.
A difficult path to 2026
With this elimination, Cuba, now sitting in 18th place in the Concacaf ranking, will not be present at the Gold Cup to be held between June and July of 2025 in the United States and Canada. Now, the focus shifts to the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, where the team still holds hopes.
In June, the Cubans will face Antigua and Barbuda as visitors, and then they will host Bermuda at home, in two matches that will be crucial for starting to rebuild their path on the international stage.
The moment calls for rethinking the technical project, improving physical and tactical preparation, and investing in a core group of players with experience and leadership if there is a desire to compete seriously in the region.
Defeat despite a historic turnout
On the way to these matches against Trinidad and Tobago, Cuban football took a historic step by including in its squad two players born outside the country: Alessio Raballo and Camilo Pinillo.
Raballo, an 18-year-old forward born in Italy and part of Parma's Under-19 team, made his debut with Torino in Serie A before being recently transferred to his current club; meanwhile, Pinillo (20) is a tall central defender born in Belgium, the son of a Cuban father, who competes with the Lierse Kempenzonen reserves in the Second Division of his country.
According to the platform GolCuba on YouTube, the last time a football player not born in Cuba was present was at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg 1967, through an Angolan named Antonio, who was studying on the island at that time and competing in national tournaments.
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