the ideal eleven of the Cuba U-20

With just over a month left until the start of the CONCACAF Under 20 Championship, the hope of Cuban soccer to be a World Cup player in the category is revived.

Cuba will be in Mexico, the venue for the tournament, after winning a pre-qualifier in Nicaragua with a spectacular victory in the final round against the host country.

However, the “Lions of the Caribbean” did not present a single militant player in foreign leagues at this event, or as it is known in the slang of the Central American area: legionnaire.

For several years, the Cuban Football Association (AFC) has been rigid in calling legionaries in lower categories of the National Team, with the pretext of giving an opportunity to elements of the local championship.

Despite this, in a recent article for Play-Off Magazine We address several names of residents abroad who were presented at a showcase in Havana, between May 5 and 11, who could be eligible for this Under 20 World Cup if the coaching staff so understands.

Among the new faces that landed in the Cuban capital, Joel Görner (SC Verl), Alain Aguiar (Maritime Orientation), Alessandro Pasos (United Riccione), Camilo Pinillo (Lierse Kempenzonen), Ronny Martin (Tropical FC), Fredy Suárez (Imolese Calcio) and Fernando Estrada (IdeaSport Soccer Academy), just to mention a few. Could it be that AFC is willing to break its own barriers?

How to be eligible?

The eligibility regulations are transparent on the part of FIFA. Players born in Cubaor parents or grandparents born on the island, as well as those from other lands who have resided uninterruptedly for five years on Cuban soil, can opt for the selection.

Although in the case of footballers based in territory outside of AFC, they have to undergo a rather lengthy procedure to obtain a passport and register with the federation. A player who represents a Sub Team does not have the obligation to represent the country in question when it comes to the senior category.

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He Dream Team for Cuba Sub 20

Based on what was stated above, we will give ourselves the luxury of dreaming of the best eleven that Cuba could present in search of a ticket to the Chile 2025 Under 20 World Cup. To do this, we must take into account that those in line with this competition by age are those born as of January 1, 2005.

• Goalkeeper: Pedro Kulisek. There are 22 games, with 26 goals against and five clean sheets this season for this goalkeeper with a Cuban mother at the service of Sparta Prague Under 19. And at 18 years old, he has already received two call-ups with the club’s second team. Furthermore, it is worth noting that he has been a Czech Under 18 and Under 19 international.
• Left back: Edu Sánchez. Also born to a Cuban mother, Edu stood out as a full-back for CD Badajoz of the Spanish Primera RFEF until signing for FC Barcelona in 2023. Unfortunately for him, the legendary Rafa Márquez has only given him 14 minutes this season. However, he has a contract with Barça until 2025. The 18-year-old wore the Spain Under 18 uniform last year.
• Central: Francesco Coppola. Season. There is no other word that describes what was done in 2023-2024 by this central defender of a Cuban mother born in 2005. He played 25 of the 30 games of the regular stage of Primavera 2 for Pisa SC Sub 19 with three goals of his own, along that added up to reaching the tournament playoffs. His consistency led him to receive five calls with the first team between Coppa Italia and Serie B. Former Italian international Alberto Aquilani saw something in him.
• Central: Leonardo García. The son of former Havana baseball player Jorge García Solano did not look bad in his first season as a Borussia Dortmund youth player. He took the field in 31 games, 29 of them as a starter, played 2,471 minutes, was runner-up in the Under 19 Bundesliga and made his debut in the UEFA Youth League. At the moment, Leonardo’s decision is to represent Germany, although he also has the option of Honduras for his mother. He already wore the captain’s armband in the German Under 17 team.
• Right back: John Kelly Gutiérrez. Although this season he served as a winger for the CD Messenger Sub 19 with five goals in 27 appearances, this footballer from Ciego de Ávila, class of 2006, is no stranger to the full-back position, because he played it quite a bit last year. After two seasons in the Youth Honor Division, he has 48 games, 34 starts and more than 3000 minutes.
• Midfielder: Romario Torres. He impressed with Cuba in the 2022 Under 20 World Cup, which he took over at 17 years old. Not in vain did Club Nacional, from Uruguay, open its doors to him in the youth team. Since then, Romario has received more than one call-up to the reserve team. However, the Artemiseño’s contract expires at the end of 2024. The challenge will be to stay in the institution.
• Midfielder: Matteo Lontani. He won the recent Under 17 EURO with Italy, his native country. The one born in 2007 to a Cuban mother is part of Juventus in that category. He joined the Bianconeri in 2021 from Cesena. At the time, Inter Milan and Atalanta were also on his trail. In reward for his good progress at Juve, he has received the privilege of training with the first team.
• Midfielder: Alejandro Granados. A left-handed creative midfielder born in Spain to Cuban parents and 18 years old. He was at Hércules in Alicante until his family moved to the United States. In the land of stars and stripes, he consolidated his training with Orlando City SC, and playing MLS Next Pro, he received the call from Spain Sub 17 to share on the green with the pearl of Barça Lamine Yamal. Needless to say, he also received minutes in MLS with the Orlando franchise’s main squad. Then, he accepted the offer from Bruges of Belgium with a contract until 2026.
• Far left: Álvaro Ruiz Rente. The 18-year-old player migrated from Cuba to Bristol, England, at an early age with his family. He decided to sign for Birmingham in 2021 to stay close to his family, but elite clubs like Chelsea and Liverpool were also keeping an eye on him. In his third season with the institution that made the famous Jude Bellingham known, Álvaro won the Under 18 Professional Development League with numerous minutes in the final against Charlton Athletic, this allowed his team to ascend to the Premier League of the category.
• Far right: Eloy Nebreda. The versatile left-footed winger with a Cuban mother is a Real Sociedad player, but at 16 years old he was on loan at CD Vasconia during 2023-2024. The aforementioned club provided him with the minutes necessary for his development. He was given 25 games and 22 starts in the Youth Honor Division, in which he responded with a goal. Everything ready for him to return to La Reala.
• Center forward: Anthony Baró Rodríguez. The striker residing in the Netherlands, of Cuban parents, came into this world in 2006. He started playing football with VV Katwijk at the age of six, and although over time he aroused the interest of teams such as Sparta Rotterdam and Feyenoord, he decided Choose ADO Den Haag for its proximity to your home. He remained there until 2023. Then, he decided to return to Katwijk to join the ranks of their Under 23 team.

Five other promises

• Joel Görner. The goalkeeper from Santiago de Cuba, 18 years old and 1.85 meters tall, plays for SC Verl Sub 19, although he has also trained with the first team, which belongs to the German Third Division. Joel signed for his current club in 2023, with a contractual relationship until 2025. He arrived from Viktoria Berlin.
• Alain Aguiar. This left-footed center back had a consecrating campaign in the Youth Honor Division with the Orientación Marítima Sub 19 of the Canary Islands. The one born in Sancti Spíritus in 2005 played 22 games in the aforementioned tournament with the same number of starts.
• Joshua Jong Estrada. Although the left-handed back with a Cuban mother had a 2023-2024 season that was marred by injuries, he still has a contract at Borussia Mönchengladbach until 2026, so the 18-year-old boy has a chance to justify the bet that one of the greats of Germany.
• Kenneth Parra McPherson. He came into the world on October 3, 2006 in the Cuban capital, but has lived in the United States since he was a child. There he went through formations such as United Philly and FC Delco, until in January, he joined the Cadiz CF integrated academy through the International Soccer Academy project, where he will remain until this summer. Kenneth’s natural position is as an attacking midfielder, although he can also play as a full-back on both wings.
• Lizardo Hernandez. The forward from Pinar del Río scored a goal with a couple of assists in the Guatemala 2023 Under 17 World Cup wearing the Four Letters shirt. Shortly after, he headed towards Spain. Already in the Iberian Peninsula, at 18 years old, he has broken it with the youth teams of CD Pablo Iglesias of the Valencian Community, where despite only receiving six starts in 16 games he played this campaign, he responded with 14 goals, one of them to promote Juvenil A to the National League during the playoff against CF Gandia.
• Axel Perez. The primary position of this Cuban-American is that of playmaker. The one from the 2007 class has great dribbling, good hitting with both legs and vision of the game, characteristics that he polished since his training in Florida, United States, with Weston Academy and Inter Miami. Currently, Axel is part of Olympique Lyon. In this campaign, with the Under 17 of the French team, he left 17 games corresponding to his National Championship, with seven starts and two goals. He is on track to be international with Team USA, however, he also has a Spanish passport.

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Image courtesy of Photo: Álvaro Ruiz Rente / From Birmingham’s official website