The Cuban soccer team secured its promotion to the first level of the Concacaf Nations League this Sunday, after defeating Guadalupe 1-0 and finishing as leaders of its group in step B of said tournament, a result that also gives a direct ticket to the 2023 Gold Cup.
A solitary goal from Holguin’s Yasnier Matos in the discount of the first half was enough for the Antillean eleven on the “Antonio Maceo” stadium in Santiago de Cuba, where they had a remarkable performance from goalkeeper Raiko Arozarena.
The goalkeeper from Pinar del Río made several luxury interventions that left Guadalupe at zero, a team that tried to exploit their physical intensity to collapse the island’s defensive wall. However, they always ran into Arozarena, who stopped free kicks and shots from midrange with a lot of authority.
?? Cuba secured your ticket ?️ to the @GoldCup 2023! pic.twitter.com/gsH43Z3FWl
—Concacaf Nations League (@CNationsLeague) March 26, 2023
The Cuban defense had some mistakes, but in a general sense it managed to control the push of Guadalupe, who came with the mission of thrashing in untamed lands to unseat the Antilleans from the top of group A of the League of Nations B.
The visitors needed up to four goals difference to consummate an unlikely comeback, but just at the end of the first half they found themselves behind on the scoreboard thanks to a goal by Yasnier Matos, who finished off a cross from Karel Espino alone at the far post.
The target fell in stoppage time and knocked out Guadalupe, who did not find the right concentration to reverse the situation in the plugin. Although they had chances, they were not fine in the definition or ran into Arozarena’s gloves.
Despite having some casualties in the squad, players like Greibel Palma and Luis Javier Paradela gave oxygen to the team, which looked solid in containment and recovery efforts. In addition, they created several clear chances when Guadalupe went all out on attack, but they couldn’t finish off with some counter-attacks that they didn’t handle properly.
Thanks to his performance in #CNL, Cuba ?? will play in League A the next edition. ? pic.twitter.com/u0CHkRVgCF
—Concacaf Nations League (@CNationsLeague) March 26, 2023
With this victory, the team led by Pablo Elier Sánchez reached 15 units in their group, six more than their escorts, Guadeloupe and Antigua and Barbuda. In the six games in the section, the Antilleans scored 11 goals, only conceded three and left their clean sheet four times.
In this way, they won promotion to level A of the Concacaf Nations League, where they will be able to clash against the main teams of our region. In addition, they secured a direct ticket to the 2023 Gold Cup, which will be held in the United States in three months.
The Antilleans will live their tenth historical experience in the Gold Cup and the first since 2019, since they failed to qualify for the 2021 tournament. So far, Panama, Jamaica, El Salvador, Mexico, the United States, Haiti, Costa Rica, Canada and Honduras are the other qualifiers for the main national team tournament in the region, in which Qatar will also participate as a guest country.
