The United States is preparing to travel to Cuba to play its first friendly against the island nation since 1947. The only other visit was for a World Cup Qualifying match ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup; the U.S. won 1-0 on September 6, 2008.
While U.S. Soccer may be promoting this exhibition as an act of international goodwill, the soccer benefit of playing a national team like Cuba is next to none. Aside from Osvaldo Alonso, the best Cuban players have only reached the lower divisions of American soccer after acclimatizing to a professional training regime.