This puts them in a position to decide against Nicaragua for advancement in the competition

Cuba narrowly defeated Belize in the CONCACAF U-20 Football Championship 2024, a qualifier for the world championship.
In doing so, Cuba maintained its perfect pace in the tournament and, as expected, will play against Nicaragua for a place in the next elimination phase.

The keys to the upcoming match, which ultimately becomes vital to continue on the road to the world championship, can be found in what has been seen so far.

The match against Belize showed the defensive strength of the Cubans, who did not allow any lapses against a team that beat them a few weeks ago in the Uncaf U-19 tournament in Honduras.

They conceded only four shots on goal and took a score of shots. They also took 13 penalty corners, which speaks of the Cubans’ dominance and options to create danger.

However, the goal-scoring ability shown against Anguilla in the debut, when they scored 13, disappeared since the previous match against the British Virgin Islands.

Effectiveness has determined two results against teams against which a better balance could have been achieved, as evidenced by the statistics overwhelmingly favorable to the Cubans in terms of chances and shots.
To that end, Cuba’s high command opted to oxygenate the attacking front and made a triple substitution of starters Cristian Mendoza, David de Jesús Pérez, and Anier Casanova, the latter scoring the winning goal.
However, youngsters Didier Reinoso, Jade Quiñones, and Yansiel Reinoso have not been able to justify their entry to the field with goals, and have fallen below the enormous expectations that some placed on their presence, despite their ages.

A separate point deserves the performance of Samuel Rodriguez, who has left an excellent image and also contributed with goals to the Cuban cause.

The outcome of the decisive match against the Pinoleros, who play with home advantage, will depend on their offensive awakening.

Surely the defensive solidity will help a lot, but the demand will also be enormously higher, and most likely they will not have as many opportunities to waste as in their last two outings.

The game will be a do-or-die match, so it will be played with a lot of nerves. Efficiency in capitalizing on an opponent’s mistakes also lies a key to success.

This is not likely to be a high-scoring game, so it is important to try to score first and put more pressure on the other team. All this makes the task very difficult, but conviction and talent do not seem impossible for the young Cubans.