Two long-time political allies will square off on the football pitch Tuesday when Cuba host Nicaragua at Estadio Antonio Maceo on matchday two of the new CONCACAF Nations League campaign.
On Friday, the Cubans held Jamaica to a 0-0 draw in their opening fixture, while Los Pinoleros scored a late winner, defeating French Guiana 1-0.
Match preview
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Predictably, Cuba's opening match of the new Nations League season saw them employ yet another virtually all-out defensive performance.
Yunielys Castillo's men were reduced to 10 men in the latter stages of the opening half but somehow survived the Jamaican onslaught, with the Reggae Boyz missing plenty of premium scoring opportunities.
While they barely escaped with a single point on matchday one, the Cubans have done a better job defensively in recent outings, posting two clean sheets in their last three competitive fixtures after conceding 12 goals in their two games played before that.
In nine matches played in League A, the Cubans have found the back of the net just once, when they defeated Suriname in Santiago de Cuba last September (1-0).
Four of their six all-time victories in the Nations League have come at Estadio Antonio Maceno, with the Cubans boasting a 100% record in that venue at this tournament.
Los Leones del Caribe are undefeated at home versus the Nicaraguans, winning the previous match against them in Cuba at Estadio Pedro Marrero in 2011 (2-1).
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It took until the 95th minute for Nicaragua to finally solve Donovan Leon, with the French Guiana goalkeeper holding La Azul y Blanco off the scoresheet with several outstanding stops.
In the end, Marco Antonio Figueroa's men came through, finishing off a mad scramble in the French Guiana penalty area to win their first-ever match in League A.
That extended their unbeaten run across all competitions to four matches, with the Nicaraguans posting consecutive clean sheets.
While Nicaragua had the bulk of the scoring opportunities on matchday one, their physical play nearly cost them as they committed 14 fouls while being felled 16 times themselves in a chippy affair.
Tuesday will be their first away fixture in League A, and last year in League B, they had a 100% record as the visitors, winning their three contests by a combined score of 9-0.
Nicaragua have failed to find the back of the net in four of their previous five meetings, with Cuba while losing three of the last four encounters against them.
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Team News
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For this encounter, Cuba will be without Yunior Perez, who was rightfully dismissed for a reckless challenge on Jamaican striker Michail Antonio.
Alejandro Delgado, Karel Perez, Rey Angel Rodriguez and Onel Hernandez were the four newcomers in the starting 11 who did not begin their match against Honduras.
In their dramatic victory on Friday, Jaime Moreno collected his 39th cap for the Nicaraguans, and he can equal Marlon Lopez for sixth all-time on Monday, Josue Quijano is now four away from the century mark and Pablo Rodriguez featured for the third match running, with those appearances being his only ones with the national team.
Widman Talavera scored the winner in the latter stages of their opener, as Miguel Rodriguez only had to make one stop to collect a clean sheet.
Cuba possible starting lineup:
Arozarena; Calvo, Morejon, Casanova, K. Perez, Delgado; D. Reyes, Espino, Matos, O. Hernandez; M. Reyes
Nicaragua possible starting lineup:
M. Rodriguez; Quijano, Fletes, Acevedo, P. Rodriguez, C. Reyes; L. Coronel, Barrera, Arteaga, Medina; Moreno
We say: Cuba 0-0 Nicaragua
These two highly aggressive sides are not afraid to throw in a challenge, so we expect plenty of disciplinary action but few chances on either side.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
