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As USMNT travels to Cuba, soccer is secondary to politics and sponsorships

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.