Cuba lost 7 players and their coach, so Mexico thrashed them

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Cuba usually loses a lot of players late in the Gold Cup for political reasons, but they had their squad decimated for a totally different reason on Thursday. They were missing seven players and their coach for their match against Mexico, with just one of those missing players defecting. The other six and the coach were hung up in Cuba because of visa troubles.

The result? A pretty ridiculous noncompetitive game where Mexico won 6-0. The score was only that reasonable due to some combination of Mexico being nice and being bad at finishing. They took an amazing 44 shots. And lucky for Mexico, they get to play their next two games against Trinidad and Tobago and Guatemala, so it doesn't get much harder for them until the knockout rounds.

In the news

Here's how to watch today's USWNT parade.

Crystal Palace have signed Yohan Cabaye from PSG. (CPFC)

PSV have agreed on a fee for Giorgino Wijnaldum with Newcastle. (@PSV)

CAS has granted Albania a win over Serbia for their abandoned match, meaning Serbia now have negative-2 points. (BBC)

Antonio Conte says Serie A doesn't have enough Italians. (Football Italia)

Raheem Sterling decided to show up to training. (Guardian)

Jurgen Klinsmann has told his players they're fighting to stay in squad -- he can make 6 changes after the Gold Cup group stage. (MLS)

Hull's new shirt sponsor is amazing. (Hull City)

You should be reading

Daniel Rivero on the Confederate flag's presence in Europe and European soccer. (Fusion)

Barney Ronay on why Manchester United should hang on to Angel Di Maria. (Guardian)

Maggie Mertens on how going to the Women's World Cup differed from the men's. (Deadspin)

Fun with transfer rumors

The section in which nothing should be taken seriously. It's rumor season, so this section will be expanded, and as the summer rolls on, it will probably be bigger than the actual news section.

Real Madrid are letting Iker Casillas go to Porto. (AS)

Xherdan Shaqiri is close to a Schalke move. (Di Marzio)

Once Robin van Persie is off the books, Manchester United will go after Thomas Müller. (Star)

Chelsea will send Marco van Ginkel to Stoke as part of an Asmir Begovic deal. (Telegraph)

Basically everyone wants Javier Hernandez. (Mail)

Newcastle aren't just signing Wijnaldum, but Aleksander Mitrovic too. (Chronicle)

Didier Drogba is close to an MLS move. (Mirror)

Thursday's games

Mexico and Cuba's group mates Trinidad and Tobago started their tournament with a win. (MLS)

What to watch this weekend (click for listings, all times ET)

Gold Cup; Honduras vs. Panama (Friday, 6 p.m.) - A big must-win for Panama after their opening result.

Gold Cup: USA vs. Haiti (Friday, 8:30 p.m.) - Probably another ugly game, but win for the US.

Gold Cup: Jamaica vs. Canada (Saturday, 6:30 p.m.) - Both will probably feel like they need a victory.

Gold Cup: Costa Rica vs. El Salvador (Saturday, 9 p.m.) - Expect a Costa Rica win.

Gold Cup: T&T vs. Cuba (Sunday 6:30 p.m.) - A T&T win isn't a foregone conclusion if Cuba gets their six players and a coach back.

Gold Cup: Guatemala vs. Mexico (Sunday, 9 p.m.) - Probably an easy El Tri win.

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