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Costa Rica and Cuba in kick off 2011 Gold Cup
The 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup gets underway at the Cowboys Stadium in Texas today featuring the Group A match between Costa Rica and Cuba.
Costa Rica has never won the Gold Cup but is expected to join Mexico in the next phase of the tournament. Leading the Los Ticos are Netherlands-based midfielder Bryan Ruiz and Álvaro Saborío, who is coming off a knee injury.
"I'm good, I'm still recovering and I'm conscious that I have to put in some extra work to keep my knee strong," Saborio told FutbolMLS.com.
The Real Salt Lake striker is also confident that they would do well against Cuba. "We're motivated," he said.
"This is a good team, it's a team full of young players who want to do things the right way and leave the name of our country in the highest esteem. I hope we have a good start and I hope we win."
Other players to watch for the Central American powerhouse are midfielder Celso Borges, Christian Bolaños, Jose Miguel Cubero, Allen Guevara and Marco Uren.
Costa Rica, now under Argentine coach Ricardo La Volpe, is eager to do well in the tournament after barely missing a trip to last year's FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
Cuba, meanwhile, will be extremely happy if it finishes among the two best third-ranked teams that will advance to the knockout stage of the tournament. The team's previous campaigns in the competition were marred by player defections, prompting Cuban officials not to send a squad to the 2009 tournament.
Out to lead the Caribbean side is Villa Clara striker Roberto Linares.
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