Cuban national soccer team

Havana, May 12 (JIT) - The Cuban national soccer team will play against Chile's senior team as part of the preparation for the CONCACAF Gold Cup 2023.

According to a communication from the Cuban Football Association on Twitter, the match will take place on June 11 at the Ester Roa Rebolledo stadium in the city of Concepción, in the South American country.

"We have worked together with the Chilean Football Federation to materialize the understanding signed recently and we are satisfied with the agreement reached," AFC president Oliet Rodriguez told JIT.

"It will be an unbeatable opportunity to test our athletes against a world-class national team. We think that the match can leave a positive balance in the preparation of the national team for the most important commitment ahead, which is the Gold Cup," he said.

"Obviously we are thinking more about the demands of the opponent than in obtaining a specific result, also taking into account that it will be the first match after the end of the 2022-2023 CONCACAF Nations League," said Miguel Ángel Hernández, secretary general of the soccer organization.

Although the opponent, due to its history and the quality of its players, will demand from the Cuban senior team the maximum of its capabilities and is clearly a strong opponent for any other team in the world, this stands as a luxury opportunity to increase the rigor of the squad led by Pablo Elier Sanchez.

Beyond thinking about a result, the purpose of this match is to increase the competitive rigor to face the high expectations with which the tricolor will travel to the Gold Cup, where they will face the best of the area.

The closest previous clash between the two countries' national teams dates back to 2007, when the Cubans were preparing for that year's Gold Cup.

On that occasion, the Cuban national team played four matches: two with Cuban clubs and two with its B team, according to the notes of statistician Alfonso Moncada.

According to Rodríguez, on this occasion both federations agreed to play their two main teams, which, in addition to being profitable, is a historic event.