• Submitted by: manso
• Sports
• 10 / 23 / 2010

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Since next October 29, the Cuban women team will have its main international engagement of the last two years: the 16th world championship that for second time in a row and third of the last four competitions celebrated will have as venue several Japanese cities.
 
Qualified with great optimism by some specialists as the new "Morenas of the Caribbean", in reference to the continuity of that dream team that won three Olympic gold medals (1992-1996, and 2000) and two World Cups (1994 and 1998), the team directed by Juan Carlos Gala fell in Group C, with venue in Matsumoto city.
 
They will start against Croatia on the opening day, while for the following days they will have on the other side of the net Germany and Kazakhstan. After the rest on November 1, they will finish against Thailand and the United States the preliminary round. The first four of each group will advance to the following phase.
 
Out of the 12 players registered, only four have had experiences in world championships, because they were part of the team that finished seventh in 2006. They are the setter Yanelis Santos, attacker Kenya Carcases, the central attacker Rachel Sanchez and the libero Lisbet Arredondo who will now appeal to their greater experience to contribute to the main objective of the team: to be included among the first eight of the competition.
 
The rest of the girls: Yusidey Silie (captain), Ana Lidia Cleger, Wilma Salas, Giselle de la Caridad Silva, Yoana Palacios, Rossana Giel, Daymara Lescay and Lianne Castañeda, will debut in a competition that will exhibit the format of 24 groups for the third time – until 1998 they were 16 -, although the competition system is much just and less complicated than the recently used in men’s World Championship.

Hours before the departure, the team’s coach declared: "the group looks very difficult not because the teams are very superior, but because we have lowered our level. We hope to attain our objectives with a very young team, willing to show that they can reach the same places achieved by the previous Morenas of the Caribbean."
 
If we take into account the last international results of the six teams in Group C, the United States, Olympic runner-up in 2008, Cuba, fourth in Beijing, and Germany, eleventh in the world in 2006 can be placed on the first line, without neglecting what Croatia can do in its return to a World Championship after the sixth position of 2008 and Kazakhstan, nineteenth in the last version.  
 
Thailand has benefitted greatly with the Grand Prix, but it’s still inferior to dream of a ticket among the first four.
 
The world chance for Cubans will be more complicated in the crossing, since they will be face to face – dragging the first results – against a unique bunch from Group B that could be Brazil, Italy, Holland, and Czech Republic, from which would come out the two semifinalist teams.
 
A place among the first eight seems exact for the current level of our volleyball players. Any result better than this would be a huge surprise and worthy of a similar article written after the world runner-up position attained by their men counterpart in Italy. Let’s wait and see.

Source: Cubasi Translation Staff