Cuba Surprises Italy with a Draw in FIFA U-20 World Cup

In a key Group D match of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, Cuba pulled off a surprise on Wednesday by holding Italy to a 2-2 draw, following their opening defeat to Argentina.

The Caribbean squad managed to level the score after going into halftime down by two goals, keeping their hopes alive for advancing to the knockout stage.

Italy opened the scoring in the 14th minute with a goal from Andrea Natali and extended their lead in the 34th minute with a strike from Jamal Iddrissou. However, just before halftime, Iddrissou received a second yellow card and was sent off, leaving Italy with ten men and opening a door that Cuba knew how to exploit.

In the second half, the Cuban team displayed resilience and capitalized on their numerical advantage. In the 70th minute, Michael Camejo converted a penalty kick to narrow the deficit. The same Camejo, again from the penalty spot, leveled the score just three minutes from full time, sealing a historic draw for the Caribbean side.

With this result, Italy still leads Group D with 4 points, followed by Argentina with 3, Cuba with 1, and Australia yet to earn a point. If Argentina defeats Australia in the final group-stage match, they will secure the top spot and advance to the Round of 16. For its part, Cuba keeps its qualification hopes intact and will control its own destiny in the final group match as it dreams of advancing to the next round.