Cuban soccer will embark on its journey toward the World Cup Catar-2022 in October, when the qualifying process for the region begins.
At the end of August, the tournament draw will take place. In this first stage, Cuba will share a group with four nations and play an equal number of games, two at home and two away.
Given the proximity of the qualifying event, coaches are looking to assemble a team that is as well prepared as possible, to put in a better performance than those painfully witnessed by fans in the Gold Cup and the CONCACAF League of Nations competitions.
Since the opening tournament has been put on hold, players who previously performed the best will be called up for the national team.
Another aspect under consideration is the time players will require to get in shape. The Cuban season was cut short in March, and since then players have not been able to train properly.
Once the schedule is announced, athletes will need to train intensely, to compete in the FIFA events in the best possible condition and, in addition, take advantage of friendly games arranged.
A decision by the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) on the possibility of Cuba holding home games in the Pedro Marrero Stadium is still pending. It is important to remember that the Confederation requires a grass field in good condition, a LED lighting system and 4k television broadcasting capacity - features that are not available at the moment, which would force our national team to play its two home games in a neutral country, as happened a few months ago in the CONCACAF League of Nations.
