Haiti last graced the World Cup stage in 1974, losing all three group games in West Germany to Argentina, Italy and Poland. The Caribbean nation did score against Argentina and Italy, yet conceded 14 goals, including seven in a thrashing by the Poles.
Now, 52 years later, Haiti are back at the World Cup and their group stage opponents this time are just as difficult as they were back in 1974.
Les Grenadiers find themselves lumped in Group C alongside Brazil, Morocco and Scotland, and even the most passionate supporters won’t expect the nation to make progress. Still, this hasn’t deterred Les Grenadiers from daring to dream.
“We are not scared of anybody,” said Haiti’s record scorer, Duckens Nazon, ahead of the tournament. “We come humble, but also proud because we are Haitian.”
Haiti are underdogs, no doubt about that, yet this could play right into their hands over the next few weeks.
How they qualified
Haiti was forced to play all of their qualification matches at neutral grounds due to the ongoing humanitarian issues in the country. In fact, armed gangs occupied the national stadium.
They started their bid for a spot at the 2026 World Cup in the second round of CONCACAF qualifying. Placed in a group with Curaçao, Aruba, Barbados and Saint Lucia, Haiti finished second, sealing a place in the third round.
This is where things begin to get fun. Honduras and Costa Rica, both World Cup regulars in recent editions, were opponents in Group C, alongside Nicaragua.
After taking five points from their opening four matches, Haiti knew that two wins were required from the final two qualifiers, while needing other results to go their way.
A 1-0 win over Costa Rica was followed by a victory over Nicaragua in the final game. Thanks to Honduras only taking one point from six over their last two matches, Haiti sealed direct qualification for the tournament.
Key players
Sunderland forward Wilson Isidor will be key if Haiti harbor any hopes of progressing into the knockout stages. Isidor switched allegiances from France to represent the Caribbean nation for the friendlies against Tunisia and Iceland a few months ago and has since earned four caps.
Isidor scored on his second appearance against Iceland, then grabbed an assist during the recent 4-0 victory over New Zealand.
Add in another goal, this time during yesterday’s final warm-up game against Peru, and the striker could prove to be a handful throughout the group stages.
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde is another player who brings Premier League experience to the squad. The midfielder has nine caps to his name and has featured 83 times for Wolves in the English top flight.
He can make things tick for this Haitian side across their three group games this summer.
Coach profile: Sebastien Migne
Incredibly, due to the aforementioned issues occurring in Haiti, Sebastien Migne has never set foot in the country before.
The former midfielder has plenty of international management experience, having coached Congo, Kenya and Equatorial Guinea before taking over the reins at Haiti in 2024.
Migne coached Kenya at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, leading the nation to one victory from their three matches at the tournament.
The 53-year-old will be determined to give Haiti the best chance of making it out of the group in North America. Although perhaps the fans will be happy with three decent performances.
Haiti’s World Cup fixtures
Haiti vs. Scotland – June 13 at 9 pm ET / 6 pm PT
Brazil vs. Haiti – June 19 at 8:30 pm ET / 5:30 pm PT
Morocco vs. Haiti – June 24 at 6 pm ET / 3 pm PT
