Cuban impression

With seven Cubans having defected, Cuba's Under-23 national team is depleted. The squad has just 11 players left and it's likely the team will have to forfeit the rest of its games.

Where does that leave the United States? In a terrible situation, it seems. If Cuba cannot continue, then Honduras and Panama will likely gain three points apiece. Not counting results against the US, Honduras would thus have six points and Panama three.

Now, with wins over Honduras and Panama, the United States would be fine regardless of other results. But it's not as easy as just flicking on the switch and getting wins. If it were, the U.S. would have handled Cuba easily.

Another possibility, though seemingly less likely, is that Cuba is forced to forfeit all of its games and thus the U.S. would have three points now instead of one. In a way, that could balance out the group but that match was already played and it doesn't seem likely that the game would simply be wiped off. If Cuba had used an ineligible player, for instance, that scenario would be more plausible.

As it stands, however, the U.S. is in a terrible situation. The team did not play up to expectations and suddenly their opponents will likely be given three free points apiece.

It's fair to say, though, that the United States' game against Panama now is do-or-die. If Cuba does forfeit its two remaining games and the first result stands, the U.S. needs a win against Panama, plain and simple. Panama essentially has three points. They would eliminate the U.S. with a win but even with a draw they'd force the U.S. to beat Honduras or else.