More by this Author
Five Cuban footballers defected following the team's 6-0 thrashing by Canada in the CONCACAF Nations League in Toronto, Cuban television reported on Monday.
Yordan Santa Cruz, Andy Baquero, David Urgelles, Orlendiz Benitez and Alejandro Portal all left the squad in the wake of Saturday's game, a report said, describing the defections as "regrettable".
Santa Cruz is regarded as one of the best players in Cuban soccer and with Baquero had been part of the Cuban team that qualified for the Under-20 World Cup in 2013.
The defections are the latest to hit Cuban football in recent years.
Forty-four players have defected in the past 17 years, including four who walked out on the team during the Gold Cup in the United States in June.
In 2015 several Cuban players also defected during the Gold Cup, despite improving relations between Havana and the then US administration of President Barack Obama.
