Why put More in in the 44th minute? What does the coach expect to get out of him in such a short time? Who not make that sub at least 15 minutes earlier? Very strange. More, BTW, was the guy who scored Cuba's goal against the US two years ago. I think he could definitely play in MLS if he walked away.
Well, if it comes down to goal differential Cuba may look back on this result as not so bad. If nothing else, they're going to be a much bigger problem for Panama and Honduras than most thought. Good games today. And an entertaining tournament all around so far.
A lively crowd? I watched the game on the El Crapo Mexican Channel. It was 30,000 idiots who lack the intellect to start up songs and chants and can only resort to blowing on plastic horns for 2 hours straight. If that's the kind of atmosphere you enjoy then root for El Tri
Mexico's group looks really tough. All four teams have shown good ball movement, skill and knowhow going forward. Had Guatemala had the offensive abilities of any of these teams, I think we would have ended up with a tie. The US should be really careful when we later play any team from this group.
Perhaps this is the Gold Cup's group of death?? Looks like Panama is back to where they left off in 05. Mexico will struggle more with them. ...and of course Honduras (along with Costa Rica) have always been one of those teams that give Mexico and the US a hard time in our region.
I'm just suprised that we haven't had any defection reports coming from the Cuban team this year... it almost seems like a bi-yearly event for past gold cups. (not an insult to the team or anything. on the contrary that is quite a personal decision to do such a thing)
Practically speaking, they would be better off defecting after their last game, thus having more time to show their stuff to potential employers. Of course, God only know what threats there may be against their families should they defect.
Well those "idiots" outnumber you at every single Mexico/USA game. Also, I find it ironic that you call us "idiots". You'll be calling me "boss" in a couple of years.
I totally agree, I am happy it is all CONCACAF teams in on the Gold Cup. This tournament will get better and better.
Yes, but after the last game the security gets tighter as it's time to get on the plane back to Havanna. Likely easier to walk away when they think you're less likely to do it. Based on last night's game and previous games, the three Cuba players I think have the best shot at doing well in MLS are Reynier Alcantara, obviously, who scored a nice goal and looked good all night; Osvaldo Alonso, who had the assist on the goal with a nice run and a nice cross and played well on the right side most of the evening and Lester More, who only played a couple of minutes last night (no idea why) but who scored vs the US in 05 and had two against Canada in the 03 Gold Cup. Alonso might have the biggest upside as he's only 21 (11/11/85) but Alcantara is in his prime at 25 (1/10/82) while More is still in his prime at 28 (9/13/78) but is likely closer to the end of his career than the beginning of it though with his size he could likely be an effective target forward for a lot of years. Odds are the older you are the more likely you are to have a family and that makes the decision to defect a lot more difficult. I have no idea if any of these three players are married and have kids but if I had to guess, I'd say that Alonso doesn't, More does and Alcantara might. So, with that in mind Alonso might be the most likely player to make the leap.
lets also recognize that all Cubans are not born with the inherent desire to defect to the U.S. In fact I would say it is becoming a less and less tempting prospect to many today, although it is certainly still there.