The U.S. national team plays Cuba at Washington, D.C., on Saturday in a World Cup qualifying match.
A U.S. victory not only would virtually cement the American’s passage into the final round of qualifying, it would keep Cuba on zero points, further decimating the country’s World Cup hopes.
Which means the big questions will be: Who on the Cuban team will defect this time.
Seven Cubans remained in the U.S. during Olympic qualifying in Florida in March.
The U.S. match in Cuba last month was historic, but the return match in the United States was always going to be a big hurdle for the Cubans — on the field and off.
O.J. not such a big star in Europe
O.J. Simpson was convicted in an armed robbery case in Las Vegas over the weekend.
O.J.’s famous freeway chase in the white Bronco happened just as the World Cup soccer tournament was getting started in 1994.
As I was traveling to and from World Cup games, I observed foreigners watching the O.J. news on TV. They seemed bemused as to what the big deal was.
The Europeans apparently knew Simpson more from the silver screen than the gridiron. British media reports referred to O.J. as an American movie star who also played football.
Apparently, a Heisman Trophy and 2,000-yard season gets you nowhere across the pond.