Cuban defections gave Canadian soccer team a great opportunity they couldn’t fully exploit

Canada's World Cup qualifying match against Cuba Friday set up as vital, serious business, but it turned into a farce. Cuba only brought 11 players and no substitutes, and there were reportsthat was thanks to the other members of the squadchoosing to defect. That wouldn't exactly be unprecedented, seeing as members of the Cuban women's team did the exact same thing in Vancouver during Olympic qualifying in January, a member of the Cuban men's U-23 team defected in Nashville in March and current MLS star Osvaldo Alonso defected in 2007. Still, the defections set up a bizarre game and a huge opportunity for Canada to claw back some potentially-crucial ground in the goal-differential standings, but it was an opportunity the Canadian team largely squandered, recording just a 3-0 win and a hard-fought one at that.

Very little is actually known about the Cuban defections (if that's what they are) so far, and details may not emerge for some time. What happened with the Cuban women in January didn't become clear until later that week, and Yosmel de Armas, the Cuban U-23 player who left his team in Nashville in March, didn't resurface for weeks. Thus, there may not be any clear indication of what actually happened (and the Cuban team certainly isn't going to clarify things) for a while. Defection seems like the most probable answer here, though, given the past history of Cuban soccer players defecting and the absolute folly only taking an 11-man lineup for a World Cup qualifying game would be, and Jerrad Peters' reports of Cuban players at the Niagara border crossing last night with some saying they were "fleeing for their lives" would certainly seem to substantiate that.

That led to a glorious opportunity for the Canadian team. Yes, they were always going to be favoured against Cuba at home, as the Cuban team hadn't picked up a point in this round yet, but weird things can happen in CONCACAF. A reduced-strength Cuban squad with no subs looked like incredibly easy prey, and not just from a perspective of grabbing a victory. Goal differential is also crucial in this tournament, as it's the first tiebreaker, and Canada was only sitting dead-even heading into this game. Picking up three goals here helps, but they should have had more; the first half in particular was a dreadful display of finishing, and the team never got fully into sync even in the second half. A questionable red card to Olivier Occean, Canada's leading scorer in qualifying, certainly didn't help (and could hurt Canada moving forward), but the Canadians still should have stomped all over this depleted Cuban side. They didn't, and that could cost them.

Canada's at the top of the Group C standings for the moment with 10 points from five games and a +3 goal differential, but that lead isn't safe. Panama has nine points and a +4 differential from four games, while Honduras has seven and a +2 differential from four; those sides face off in a late kickoff Friday (10:05 p.m. Eastern). Canada also still has to play one more match in Honduras Tuesday. As two teams from Group C will advance to the final "hexagonal" (six-team) qualifying group, a win for Panama Friday would leave Canada only needing an away draw (which won't be easy) to advance ahead of Honduras, but there are other scenarios where goal differential could come into play. If that does happen, Canada will regret not notching more goals against this man-limited Cuban team. They'll certainly have to play better Tuesday if they want to have any hope of grabbing even a tie against a good Honduras team.

[Update: Panama and Honduras tied 0-0, meaning that Canada will need a win or a draw against Honduras to advance. A loss and they're out.]