• Submitted by: admin
• Sports
• 11 / 24 / 2006

According to FIFA's latest ratings, for the fist time Cuba appears among the top 50 soccer teams around the world, ranking 46th.

Although baseball is king in Cuba, the island is striving to be a competitive soccer force as well.

The Cuban squad's performance in the Caribbean Cup and its recent string of six wins and two ties without a loss seems to have caught the eye of experts.

Cuba leaped from 100th place in August to 46th in November, erasing the poor impression from previous tournaments, reports Granma newspaper.

In the first round of the Caribbean Cup, Cuba defeated Bahamas (6-0), Turk Islands and Caicos (6-0), Cayman Islands (7-0) and in the second, beat Haiti (2-1), Surinam (3-1) and tied the host team Martinique (0-0).

Starting January 31, the Cubans will play the final round of the Caribbean Cup in Trinidad and Tobago. The tournament will determine four tickets to the Gold Cup to be played in the United States.

Brazil, Italy, Argentina, France, England and Germany top the latest FIFA rankings.

Source: ACN