Cuba played its first international football match on 16 March 1930 at that year's Central American and Caribbean Games.

Cuba won the first match 3–1 with Mario Lopez opening from a penalty and Hector Socorro scoring the second.

In the final match, Cuba won 6–0 with two Lopez goals, one from Hector Socorro and one from his brother Francisco.

Mexico did not qualify, their 4–2 play-off defeat to the United States was held in Rome during the finals, as the two teams had forgotten to stage it earlier.

Dobay put Romania 1–0 up at half-time with a 35th-minute goal, but in the second half Cuba equalised through Socorro in the 51st minute.

They reached the quarter-finals of the 2003 Gold Cup (where they were beaten by the United States) by defeating Canada 2–0 in the Group stage.

Later in Pedro Marreo, Cuba won 4–1 to advance to the semi-final round of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers.

As well as Cuban athletes in other sports, a number of football players have made the move to the United States in recent years.

During the 2002 Gold Cup in Los Angeles, two Cuban players Rey Ángel Martínez and Alberto Delgado chose to remain in the United States.

In March, seven players from the U-23 national football, including Yeniel Bermúdez, Yordany Álvarez and Yendry Díaz defected during the 2008 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying tournament while the team was based in Tampa, FL.

In October, two days before the country's World Cup Qualifier versus the US, Reynier Alcántara and Pedro Faife walked away from the team's hotel near Washington, D.C. During the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Yosniel Mesa defected while the team was in Charlotte, North Carolina.

[5] During the 2015 Gold Cup, forward Keiler García defected to the United States before the team's first match against Mexico in Chicago.

[7][8] During the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup, four players (Roberney Caballero, Denilson Milanés, Neisser Sandó and Jassael Herrera) defected while the team was preparing to travel from Miami to Houston for their last two group stage matches.

[9][10] Another player, Sandy Sánchez, also defected after the last group stage game against Canada,[11][12] with a member of the medical staff reportedly following suit.

Win Draw Loss Fixture The following players were called up for the 2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League Play-in matches against  Saint Kitts and Nevis on 14 and 18 November 2024.