The senior team gets off on the» wrong foot».

Cuba got off on the wrong foot on the first day of the CONCACAF Gold Cup 2023 after losing 1-0 to Guatemala on Tuesday, June 27 at the DRV PNK Stadium.

The senior team showed two sides in their debut, one in the first half where they pressed high and had opportunities to reach the opponent’s goal, however, in the second half they were a disorganized team, lost in the field, which cost them the defeat.

In the first 30 minutes of the match, a fighting Cuba was seen, eager to show a different kind of soccer, but the lack of professionalism was noticeable, although Guatemala found it hard to play and create danger in that half hour. However, the Guatemalans gradually found a way to reach the area defended by Raiko Arozarena, who was great under the sticks, never better said, and even managed to save a penalty at the end of the first half.

«I leave with mixed feelings, on the one hand the sadness after the defeat and on the other hand satisfied with my personal performance. Now we have to go out focused against Guadeloupe to get a better game and score points», commented the Pinar del Río goalkeeper in a statement to the digital media JIT.

The Cubans were not even aware of the start of the second half when Guatemala scored a locker room goal, just at the 48th minute, Darwin Lom found a space between Arozarena and the far post, to beat the Cuban goal with a cross shot.

The Cubans’ game disappeared on the field, everything was again more of the same, defending against the constant overflows of the rivals’ flanks seemed impossible and they lost control of the ball in the midfield.

The Leones del Caribe were on the verge of tying the game with a laboratory play, after a corner kick that Yasnier Matos, who came on as a substitute, finished off, but the rival goalkeeper was as accurate as possible and prevented his goal from falling down.

It is fair to say that Guatemala also had more chances, as they seemed to be playing at home in a stadium packed with fans wearing blue and white jerseys, who did not stop supporting the match. It is worth highlighting the work of defender Modesto Méndez as one of the most outstanding players for Cuba.

Guatemala was, a priori, the opponent to beat. However, before the final whistle, Guadeloupe had managed a two-goal draw against Canada, which puts Cuba in a position to recover from this defeat and still have a chance of qualifying.

«We got off to a very good start and then we fizzled out a bit in a game that was far from the tactics we had planned. Obviously it was very important to beat Guatemala, but in view of the result between Guadeloupe and Canada, we still have a chance to advance in this group,» Cuban coach Pablo Elier Sanchez told JIT.

Written by Alejandro López Quintero.