The Cuban soccer team will have today a crucial match against Canada, for group B of the 2017 CONCACAF U17 Championship, based in Panama's Maracana stadium.

The Caribbean side is almost obliged to win, or at least to draw against the Canadians to stay alive in search of one of the four tickets the tournament grants to the FIFA World Cup of India, next October.

This is because in their debut, last Saturday, they could only draw 1-1 with Suriname, a squad they had already beaten 2-1 in the qualifiers of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU).

Meanwhile, Canada debuted with a 1-2 loss to Costa Rica, without doubt the favorite to reach the first seat of the group, and Cuba´s rival next Friday.

If Rufino Sotolongo, Cuban head coach, opts for the same players he used against Surinam, the goalkeeper would be Danny Echevarria and Miguel Coll, Bruno Rendón, Karel Espino and Pedro Pablo Piñero would play as defenders.

Carlos Ibarra, Carlos Molina and Omar Perez would be the midfielders, while the offensive trident would include Rivaldo Roldan, Brian Savigne and Ronaldo Rossette.

Cuba has attended two U17 World Cups: Scotland 1989 and Italy 1991, both times coached by Manuel Rodriguez.