HAVANA: Nine of the 24 players on Cuba’s national team at baseball’s U-23 World Cup defected during the tournament in Mexico, the Cuban government confirmed Sunday.
Cuban officials called the players’ actions “vile abandonments” in a note published by the web portal JIT, which is the official organ of the island’s National Sports Institute.
The institute did not identify the players who stayed in Mexico.
The defection of nine players is one of the biggest such losses by a Cuban team playing abroad. Cuban baseball players are often recruited by scouts looking to sign them to play with major league clubs, and the strained relations between the US and Cuba prevents them from a regular hiring process.
In 2018, the Caribbean nation signed an agreement with Major League Baseball on normalizing sports relations, but it was soon annulled by the Trump administration, which took a hard line against Cuba seeking to pressure the island’s Communist government into making political changes.
Cuba wrapped up its part of the U23 tournament Saturday, losing to Colombia in the bronze medal game. The U23 World Cup was held in Mexico’s northern state of Sonora.
9 players on Cuba’s U23 baseball team defect in Mexico
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9 players on Cuba’s U23 baseball team defect in Mexico
- Cuba wrapped up its part of the U23 tournament Saturday, losing to Colombia in the bronze medal game
Al-Ittihad slump to fourth defeat of season in home loss to Al-Ettifaq
- Visitors’ Khalid Al-Ghannam scores only goal of the game as the reigning Saudi Pro League champs drop more points after drawing with Damac on Tuesday
- Earlier, Al-Fateh’s five-game winning streak ends with 1-1 draw against Al-Najma, and Al-Khaleej enjoy comfortable 4-1 victory over Al-Okhdood
RIYADH: Al-Ittihad’s disappointing defense of their Saudi Pro League title continued on Friday with a 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Al-Ettifaq.
Khalid Al-Ghannam scored the decisive goal for the visitors as the hosts dropped more points after their draw with Damac on Tuesday.
In the absence of Fabinho, who was suspended after being sent off late in Tuesday’s match, Mahamadou Doumbia partnered with N’golo Kante in midfield for Al-Ittihad. The Malian showed his composure early on when he shielded the ball under pressure before unleashing a long-range shot in the 10th minute, but it was comfortably saved by Marek Rodak.
The deployment of Al-Ghannam proved pivotal, as he repeatedly tested the hosts. In the 23rd minute he burst down the left flank, beating three defenders with some clever dribbling before testing Predrag Rajkovic in goal, who parried the effort.
Al-Ghannam bothered the defense again just minutes later, threatening the Serbian goalkeeper with another attempt from a similar position. However, the game remained goalless at halftime.
The second half began with Al-Ittihad on the front foot. Within minutes, Roger Fernandes found himself in front of goal and put the ball in the net, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.
Al-Ghannam’s effort and influence eventually paid off for the visitors in the 54th minute. Operating as a left-sided striker during an Al-Ettifaq counterattack, he cut inside to curl a powerful shot into the far corner.
Al-Ittihad’s attacking approach varied as they fought to get back into the game, with Fernandes patrolling the left flank, Muhannad Al-Shanqeeti cutting inside near the byline, and central contributions from the combination of Doumbia and Steven Bergwijn. But the Al-Ettifaq defense remained resolute.
Danilo Pereira, pushing up into an advanced midfield position as Al-Ittihad forced Al-Ettifaq to defend deep, unleashed a long shot in the 67th minute, urged on by the home fans, but his effort went wide.
With time running out, Sergio Conceicao made four substitutions in the space of seven minutes, bringing on Ahmed Al-Julaydan at right-back for his crossing abilities, Abdulaziz Al-Bishi and Ahmed Al-Ghamdi to play between the lines, and Saleh Al-Shehri for added impetus up front.
Despite several chances, Al-Ittihad were unable to grab the equalizer, and in the 85th minute things got even worse for them. Keeper Rajkovic tripped on his way to confront a Mohau Nkota counterattack and stuck out his hand at the edge of the box to push the ball away. A review by the video assistant referee ruled he had handled the ball outside the box and he was shown the red card.
After seven minutes of added time, and one final attempt by Doumbia to salvage something for the hosts through a free-kick, the referee blew the final whistle.
It was the fourth defeat of the season for Al-Ittihad and means they remain in sixth place in the table, three behind Al-Qadsiah who have a game in hand. Al-Ettifaq are seventh, just two points behind the defending champions.
Earlier, Al-Fateh’s five-game winning streak came to an end when they returned from a trip to Qassim to face Al-Najma with only a point. The visitors took the lead in the 12th minute but a goal for the home side by Ali Jasim in the 75th denied them all three points as the game ended 1-1.
In the Eastern Province, Greek duo Giorgos Masouras and Kostas Fortounis proved the main inspirations for Al-Khaleej in a 4-1 victory over Al-Okhdood that temporarily lifted them into seventh place in the table, until Al-Ettifaq reclaimed the spot.
On Saturday, Al-Fayha face Damac, Al-Kholood take on fourth-place Al-Ahli, and second-place Al-Nassr are in action against Al-Shabab.
