Travel problems and a defection have depleted Cuba's team ahead of Thursday's Gold Cup opener in Chicago.
You've heard of a soccer team playing a man down. Cuba will take things to another level Thursday night as it takes on powerful Mexico without its head coach and seven players — one of them apparently gone for good.
Forward Keilen Garcia left the team hotel in Chicago on Wednesday and apparently has defected, assistant coach Walter Benitez said, via Goal.com.
While the Cubans can't expect to have him back in their lineup, they had hoped that head coach Raul Gonzalez Triana and six other players who had been held up by visa issues would arrive in time for the Gold Cup opener.