THE TEAM WHO CAN'T GO HOME

Curacao hosted some of Haiti's World Cup qualifiers - Scotland's group-stage opponents haven't been able to play games in their own country since 2021

- Chris Flanagan

There were just 88 spectators when Haiti's journey to the World Cup began, against St Lucia two summers ago.

Scheduled to be a home game, instead it was played nearly 1,000 miles away, at a sports complex in Barbados. Haiti came from behind to win 2-1 that day, with little sign of the story about to unfold. This summer, they'll become the first Caribbean country ever to make a second appearance at the World Cup - even though their manager and some of their squad have never been to Haiti in their entire lives. With 11.4 million people, the former French territory is the most populous nation in the Caribbean, and previously reached the 1974 World Cup - breaking Dino Zoff’s record run of 1,142 minutes without conceding an international goal when they took the lead against Italy, before losing 3-1, then being thrashed 7-0 by Poland and 4-1 by Argentina.