Cuba's Soccer Team Coach Says 2 Players Are Missing

Pair Here for World Cup Qualifier Skip Practice

Two Cuban soccer players in the region for their country's World Cup qualifying match against the United States disappeared from the team's hotel in Arlington County yesterday, according to their coach, possibly with the intention of defecting to the United States.

Pedro Faife, 24, and Reynier Alcantara, 26, walked away from their team before a scheduled practice at RFK Stadium last night, coach Reinhold Fanz said. "It is always a problem for the Cuba team," Fanz said. "We have security, but you can't handcuff them to their rooms."

Since 2002, 12 Cuban soccer players have defected while in the United States for a competition. The most recent incident was in the spring, when seven players from the under-23 team defected while in Tampa for the Olympic qualifying tournament.

Ernestine Fobbs, a spokeswoman for U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement, said the players were not in ICE custody, which would be a first step toward their legal defection. Like all Cuban nationals who arrive on U.S. soil, the players would be eligible to remain here under the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966. Many high-profile Cuban baseball players have decided to stay in the United States over the years, often to sign major-league contracts, but it is unclear whether the Cuban soccer players are considering offers to play for U.S. teams.

Only one Cuban defector has remained in Major League Soccer: Maykel Galindo, who plays for Chivas USA.

Officials at the Cuban Interests Section, the country's de facto embassy in Washington, would not comment on the incident. But Cuban Soccer Federation President Luis Hernandez contradicted Fanz's account, saying the two players hadn't traveled to the United States and were still in Cuba.

That would leave the Cuban team with only 16 players, rather than the usual squad of 18.

Neil Buethe, a spokesman for the U.S. Soccer Federation, said the incident wouldn't be a distraction for the U.S. team as its prepares for its game against Cuba at 7 tonight.

"All the politics surrounding the game isn't something we concentrate on," Buethe said.

In their previous meeting last month, in Havana, the U.S. team beat Cuba, 1-0.