The Cuban football selection that will participate in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup Chile 2025, from 27 September to 19 October, will debut next Sunday night against Argentina in Group D of the tournament
Subsequently, the Cubans will compete against Italy on Wednesday 1 October, and will conclude the group phase on Saturday 4 against Australia
This is Cuba’s second participation in world football contests in this category; the first was in 2013, in Turkey
24 selections are attending the contest and there will be a new champion as Uruguay, the last winner in 2023, did not manage to qualify after finishing in fifth place of the category’s South American Championship, held at the start of the year
From Latin America and the Caribbean, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, Chile, Mexico, Cuba, and Panama are competing
Argentina has conquered the Under-20 football World Cup on six occasions and Brazil has done so in five, out of the 23 editions held to date
The squad from the Antillean island is already in the city of Viña del Mar, host of Group D, after travelling from Havana, with a stopover in Panama
The team under the command of head coach (DT) Pedro Pablo Pereira is composed of the goalkeepers Yurdy Hodelin, Yorlan Urgellés, and Yurixander Zayas
As defenders are Karel Pérez (team captain), Leandro Mena, Camilo Pinillo, Elvis Casanova, Ricardo Polo, and Norlis Chávez
They will function as midfielders Maikol Vega, Michael Camejo, Marcos Campos, Diego Catasus, Romario Torres, and Samuel Rodríguez
The forwards are Emmanuel Torres, Alessio Raballo, Jordan Castañer, Jade Quiñones, Anier Casanova, and Didier Reinoso
The DT Pedro Pablo Pereira said to the Cuban News Agency during the flag presentation of the delegation this past Monday at the José Martí Memorial in Havana that this team’s intentions are to compete with dignity and hold high the name of Cuba
Of the 21 Cuban players, five play in the national league and 16 do so in foreign leagues, explained the strategist
The main characteristic of the Cuba squad, added the DT, is the unity and the commitment to give their all on the pitch, with the tactical premise of being solid in defence, and carrying out quick transitions to create goal-scoring options
It is a speedy team, with quite fast players, who know how to slow the game down, with good ball handling and a solid defensive system, which allows them to be organised and defend the goal well, and it will seek to take advantage of the space left by the opponents to create goal-scoring situations, emphasised the coach.
