CRI听力:New York Cosmos to Play Cuba National Team in Friendly Match

Cuba's national team trained on Monday to get ready for a highly anticipated match against the Major League Soccer Team the New York Cosmos later on tonight.

Former Real Madrid star Rual Gonzalez and football legend Pele were in Cuba as ambassadors of the sport.

Rual says he hopes it's the start of a new relationship between Cubans and 'the beautiful game'.

"The sport, I think, in general, brings (people) together and I hope this match will be one more step toward much better relations. I think above all for us, for all my team-mates, this is a great opportunity to be here, to get to know this country a little bit, this culture, and tomorrow we will try to help the fans who go to the match enjoy it with a great game. And I greatly hope this is the first of many more teams from the United States coming to Cuba to play."

The Cosmos will be the first US sports team to play on Cuban soil in 16 years following the normalization of relations between the United States and Cuba.