Havana, March 3 (RHC) -- Cuba enjoys today its qualification for the Concacaf U-20 Men's World Cup 2024, to be played in Mexico next August, after beating Nicaragua 2-1.

At the national soccer stadium in this capital city, the Cuban team, which finished as group (A) leader, beat the locals last night when in the 50th minute of the second half, Leandro Mena scored the first goal of the Caribbean side in that match.

Then, Cuba'a Maikol Vega, scored another goal for the Cubans in the 63rd minute of the second half, which overcame a late goal by Nicaraguan Juban Uriarte (90'+4), and allowed them to reach the three points needed for qualification.

The technical director of the team from Cuba, Pedro Pablo Pereira, in a press conference after the final match, acknowledged the work of the Nicaraguan team and highlighted its offensive potential.

"That forced us to prepare ourselves, to study them well, how their work was to be able to counteract them and come out in this match", he explained.

Pereira affirmed that beating the Pinolera team represents a great victory for Cuba, and added that since the first challenge of the tournament with the other teams of the A key, the objective of the Cuban team was to obtain the three points of the qualification.

Cuba won its four group A games with a total of 12 goals, even with Guatemala with the same number in its C section.

The Confederation of North, Central American, and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) divided 27 teams into three groups of five and three groups of four in five different Central American and Caribbean countries.

Group A was made up of Nicaragua, Cuba, Belize, British Virgin Islands and Anguilla.Segment B, in ABFA Technical Centre, Piggotts, Antigua and Barbuda, El Salvador did the job and managed to follow, ahead of the locals, Suriname, Guyana and Turks and Caicos Islands.

While D, with all games at Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada was better than hosts St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Dominica.

The Concacaf U-20 Men's Championship 2024 in the cities of Celaya and Irapuato, in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico, will award tickets to the four semifinalists to the World Cup in Chile in 2025.    (Source: Prensa Latina)