Cuba manages to qualify for the World Championship after defeating the Dominican Republic
14ymedio, Havana, 18 April 2024 — The defender Lázaro Castro abandoned the Cuban football (soccer) team in Managua, Nicaragua, just before Wednesday’s match against the Dominican Republic, decisive to qualify for the Football World Cup to be held in Uzbekistan. According to journalist Andy Lans, with the abandonment of this 27-year-old from Pinar del Río, Cuba’s representation led by Osmel Valdivia is left with 13 athletes.
With the agreement between Miguel Díaz-Canel and Daniel Ortega in 2021, Nicaragua does not require a visa for Cubans and has become the springboard for citizens of the Island to reach the United States by land.
Thus, Cuba “added to an endless list of athletes who abandon or break relations with the different federations to seek a better future in other countries,” published Swing Completo. The same independent media counted the escape of 75 athletes in December last year.
This Wednesday, Cuba overtook the Dominicans 2-1 and got its World Cup ticket, but it still has to play this Thursday to pass to the final against Costa Rica. The official media Jit highlighted the return of the Island to the World Cup, an event for which it had not qualified since Colombia 2016. Previously Cuba took part in Brazil 2018, China, Taipei 2004, Guatemala 2000 and Spain 1996.
With the escape of Lázaro Castro, there are now four dropouts recorded this year. Last February, the gold medalist at the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador, Osmany Diversent, escaped before his participation in the Pan American Olympic Qualifying tournament.
The digital creator Roly Dámaso, who closely followed the incidents of the competition, also reported the escape of Susana Martínez and Santiago Hernández “Santiaguito”at the beginning of February. Martínez traveled to Mexico to support the training of Yusneylis Guzmán (in the 50 kg category), Laura Herin (53 kg), Ángela Álvarez (57 kg), María Santana (62 kg) and Brenda Sterling (68 kg).
Meanwhile, Hernández did not even wait for his luggage and went out into the street, leaving the Island without the possibility of qualifying in the 57-kg category at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024.
Dámaso attributed the escapes to the fact that “young people are tired of so much socialism and the promises that never arrived.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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