Team Profile

Gold Cup regulars Cuba are back again for the 2023 edition, and are looking to make some noise in Group D and reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2015.

It will be their 11th appearance in the tournament since their debut will be back in 1998.

Cuba’s overall record in Gold Cup play is 3W-2D-23L with 18 goals scored and 100 conceded. Among the players who have shouldered scoring duties for the Caribbean island are Lester Oriel More and Ariel Martinez, who each tallied three goals in their Gold Cup careers.

Not far behind are Reynier Alcantara, Jose Alfonso and Jeniel Marquez, all with two goals each. Marquez is also Cuba’s all-time appearances leader in the Gold Cup with 20 games under his belt. Odelin Molina and Alain Cervantes played in their fair share of Gold Cup matches with 16 and 13 games, respectively.

They come in riding high after a stellar 2022-23 Concacaf Nations League campaign in which they managed a 5W-0D-1L record and outscored their opposition 11-3.

Luis Paradela was the standout with a pair of goals and a trio of assists, while Arichell Hernandez led the team with four goals of his own.

Paradela also enters the competition in good club form, having just scored a crucial goal for Saprissa in the Costa Rican Gran Final at the end of May. He remains the talisman of this side and will be attracting the most attention from opposing coaching staffs throughout the tournament.

Captain and center back Carlos Vazquez leads a stout defense that has four clean sheets in its previous five competitive matches.

Canada are the headliners in Group D, having established themselves as one of the top teams in the region, and the fourth team will not be known until the Prelims have concluded, but Cuba have some history with Guatemala, their other group foe.

In the aforementioned 2015 Gold Cup, Cuba defeated Los Chapines 1-0 in the final group match to secure passage into the knockout round, courtesy of a second half goal from Maykel Reyes. A repeat of that result would go a long way towards Cuba advancing again. Reyes is still around and still scoring goals, netting two in the Nations League.

Cuba is preparing for the tournament with a pair of friendlies against quality South American opposition, traveling to both Chile and Uruguay before landing in Florida for their opener against Guatemala on June 27.