Emerging from chaos

Few countries have overcome greater hurdles to reach these World Cup finals than the Caribbean's most populous nation

- Lasana Liburd

Fifty-two years after their first and only previous appearance at the World Cup, in 1974 in West Germany, Haiti are back in the showcase tournament as direct qualifiers. Needless to say, it has been some journey. Haiti did not play a single qualifier on home soil, due to the volatile state of affairs within their borders. In fact, they haven't played at home since 2021, and hosted World Cup qualifiers some 500 miles away in Willemstad, Curacao.

Going into the final two matchdays of qualifying, they sat third in their group behind Honduras and Costa Rica. A close-range finish by forward Frantzdy Pierrot, assisted by left-winger Ruben Providence and supported by a superb performance by goalkeeper and captain Johny Placide, secured a shock 1-0 win over regional heavyweights Costa Rica in their adopted home, and Les Grenadiers never looked back.

Haiti coach Sebastien Migne, a 53-year-old French journeyman, has been keen to bolster his squad with second-generation Haitians, with Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Lugano defender Hannes Delcroix both joining their ranks ahead of CONCACAF's third and final World Cup qualifying round. Sunderland forward Wilson Isidor has pledged allegiance to Haiti since, and they hope to have Braga midfielder Jean-Baptiste Gorby before the finals kick off. Lens striker Odsonne Edouard is eligible too and could yet join the squad, but rumours of Allan Saint-Maximin representing Haiti were shut down by the former Newcastle United winger on social media in November.