SANTIAGO DE CUBA. - Cuba finished a strong Concacaf Nations League campaign with its fifth victory in Group A of League B, with a 1-0 win over Guadeloupe at the Estadio Antonio Maceo in Santiago de Cuba.
The win sees Cuba earn promotion to League A and a place in the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup, while Guadeloupe will play in the Gold Cup Prelims.
Cuba earned its advantage just before the halftime whistle when Karel Espino got down the right side and put in a cross headed in by Cuba MF Yasnier Matos.
It was hardly all Cuba in the attack, though. Guadeloupe FW Jordan Tell had a chance in the 39th minute that Cuba DF Greibel Palma cleared. In the 56th minute, Guadeloupe FW Gregory Gendrey nearly was able to run onto a chipped ball, but Cuba GK Raiko Arozarena was off his line quickly to keep his clean sheet intact.
Cuba also had chances with FW Luis Paradela getting through but putting a chance wide in the 58th minute.
But Arozarena had to be attentive for the entire rest of the match. As the match went into stoppage time, he tipped a free kick from substitute Matthias Phaeton over the bar.
While only one team can earn promotion, and Cuba celebrated going up, both squads’ showings over the course of this edition of the CNL mean that they’ll play on, with Cuba in the Gold Cup group stage and Guadeloupe in the Prelims.
