Back to the DC United Newsfeed

Cuban soccer player reportedly goes missing before Nations League match in D.C.

A Cuban soccer player has reportedly gone missing ahead of the Nations League match against the United States on Friday night at Audi Field, the latest apparent defection by a player from the men’s national team.

Yonaidis Garcia, a 22-year-old defender, left the delegation shortly after its arrival in Washington on Thursday, according to ADN Cuba, a news website, which cited an anonymous source.

A U.S. spokeswoman handling the Cuban team’s communications deferred to a spokesman for Concacaf, the governing body overseeing the competition. There was no immediate comment.

Garcia played for Cuba’s under-23 squad in Olympic qualifying but did not appear in either of the senior team’s two Nations League matches against Canada.