Cuba at the FIFA World Cup

This is a record of Cuba's results at the FIFA World Cup. The FIFA World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the first tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946, due to World War II.

The tournament consists of two parts, the qualification phase and the final phase (officially called the World Cup Finals). The qualification phase, which currently take place over the three years preceding the Finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the Finals. The current format of the Finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. The World Cup Finals is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 tournament final.[1]

Cuba has appeared in the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup on one occasion, in 1938.[2]

Record at the FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
1930 Did not enter
1934 Did not qualify
1938 Quarter-finals 8th 3 1 1 1 5 12
1950 Did not qualify
1954 Entry not accepted[3]
1958 Did not enter
1962
1966 Did not qualify
1970 Entry not accepted[3]
1974 Did not enter
1978 Did not qualify
1982
1986 Did not enter
1990 Did not qualify
1994 Withdrew
1998 Did not qualify
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
2026 To be determined
2030
2034
Total Quarter-finals 1/22 3 1 1 1 5 12
*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out

By match

World Cup Round Opponent Score Result Venue Cuba scorers
1938 Round of 16  Romania 3–3 (a.e.t.) D Toulouse H. Socorro (2), J. Magriñá
 Romania 2–1 W Toulouse H. Socorro, T. Fernández
Quarter-finals  Sweden 0–8 L Antibes

Cuba at 1938 FIFA World Cup

Head coach: José Tapia

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Club
- 4FW Juan Alonzo 1911 Fortuna Havana
- 3MF Joaquín Arias (1914-11-12)12 November 1914 (aged 23) Juventud Asturiana
- 1GK Juan Ayra (1911-06-23)23 June 1911 (aged 26) CD Centro Gallego
- 2DF Jacinto Barquín (1915-09-03)3 September 1915 (aged 22) CD Puentes Grandes
- 3MF Pedro Berges 1906 Iberia Havana
- 1GK Benito Carvajales 1913 Juventud Asturiana
- 2DF Manuel Chorens (1916-01-22)22 January 1916 (aged 22) CD Centro Gallego
- 4FW Tomás Fernández 1915 CD Centro Gallego
- 4FW Pedro Ferrer 1908 Iberia Havana
- 3MF Arturo Garcelan Juventud Asturiana
- 4FW José Magriñá (1917-12-14)14 December 1917 (aged 20) CD Centro Gallego
* 4FW Carlos Oliveira Hispano America
- 3MF José Antonio Rodríguez CD Centro Gallego
- 4FW Héctor Socorro (1912-06-26)26 June 1912 (aged 25) CD Puentes Grandes
- 4FW Mario Sosa 1910 Iberia Havana
- 4FW Juan Tuñas (1917-02-01)1 February 1917 (aged 21) Juventud Asturiana

First round

Cuba 3 – 3 (a.e.t.) Romania
Socorro 44'
Fernández 87'
Tuñas 117'
Report Bindea 35'
Baratky 88'
Dobay 105'
Attendance: 7,000
Referee: Giuseppe Scarpi (Italy)

First round replay

Cuba 2–1 Romania
Socorro 51'
Oliveira 57'
Report Dobay 35'
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Alfred Birlem (Germany)

Quarter-final

Sweden 8–0 Cuba
Keller 9', 80', 81'[4][5][6]
Wetterström 32', 37', 44'[7]
Nyberg 84'
H. Andersson 90'[8]
Report

Record players

Eight players were fielded in all three matches in 1938, making them record World Cup players for Cuba.

Rank Player Matches
1 Joaquín Arias 3
Jacinto Barquín 3
Pedro Berges 3
Manuel Chorens 3
Tomás Fernández 3
José Rodríguez 3
Héctor Socorro 3
Juan Tuñas 3

Top goalscorers

Rank Player Goals
1 Héctor Socorro 2
2 Tomás Fernández 1
Carlos Oliveira 1
Juan Tuñas 1

See also

References

  1. ^ 2006 FIFA World Cup TV Coverage Archived June 14, 2007, at the Wayback Machine (PDF), FIFA.com. Retrieved on June 6, 2007.
  2. ^ "World Cup History 1938 World Cup". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
  3. ^ a b "History of the FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition (by year)" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 17, 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
  4. ^ RSSSF credits the goal in the 9th minute to Harry Andersson
  5. ^ RSSSF credits goal in the 80th minute as coming in the 60th minute.
  6. ^ RSSSF credits goal in the 81st minute to Harry Andersson in the 61st minute.
  7. ^ RSSSF credits the goal in the 32nd minute as coming in the 22nd minute.
  8. ^ RSSSF credits this goal as coming in the 89th minute.

Head-to-head record