At soccer quarterfinals, hot scoring by US team cools down Cuba
Football fans (the other kind) took over M&T Bank Stadium Saturday for two CONCACAF Gold Cup match-ups
Above: The U.S. and Cuba show their colors at the opening ceremony of the CONCACAF Gold Cup in Baltimore.
On a steamy July day, while North Baltimore was abuzz with Artscape, the south side celebrated America’s surging interest in soccer with a crowd of pumped-up spectators filling M&T Bank Stadium for the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Fans of the United States’ men’s team dominated the stadium for yesterday’s two CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) quarterfinals between the U.S. and Cuba and between Haiti and Jamaica. But there were plenty of flags and cheering for the Haitian, Jamaican and Cuban players too.
On all sides, spirits were high. During the U.S. team’s 6-0 clobbering of Cuba, we happened to be sitting next to fan who celebrated every U.S. goal by spraying nearby spectators with beer – moderately cooling for us but, at $10-per can, pretty pricey for him.
If there was drama about the possibility of members of the Cuban team defecting to the U.S., it appears to have taken place before Baltimore.
With every U.S. goal, this fan celebrated by showering his seatmates with a spray of beer. (Photo by Greg Krauss)
The Cuban team arrived here undermanned, with four players reportedly disappearing earlier in the tournament.
According to The Washington Post, one of them turned up a week later as a Univision analyst, discussing the Cubans’ first-round match against Guatemala.
Since 1999, according to the Post, about two dozen Cuban soccer players have defected while on assignment in the U.S. or Canada.
The second game went to Jamaica.
Their 1-0 victory over Haiti means they will play the U.S. the defending champion, in the Gold Cup semi-final in Atlanta on Wednesday.
Fans at M&T Bank Stadium cheered their countries and their teams on Saturday. (Photo by Greg Krauss)