Haiti beat Nicaragua 2-0 to qualify for just their second ever FIFA World Cup 2026 in 51 years history.
Haiti have qualified for just their second ever World Cup after beating Nicaragua 2–0 — even though their manager has never been able to visit the country.
Their 52-year-old French coach, Sébastien Migné, has not set foot in Haiti since taking charge 18 months ago. Ongoing conflict has made it too dangerous, forcing the team to play their “home” games 500 miles away in Curaçao, an island near Venezuela.
Haiti has faced severe instability since the 2010 earthquake. Armed gangs now control much of the capital, Port-au-Prince, driving around 1.3 million people from their homes and creating famine-level conditions. Visitors are warned to avoid the country because of kidnappings, violence, terrorism and civil unrest.
“It’s impossible because it’s too dangerous,” Migné said. With no international flights going to Haiti, he has been coaching largely from abroad, relying on phone calls with federation staff for information on local players. The squad is now entirely made up of players based overseas, including Wolves midfielder Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, who was born in France. They also hope to convince Sunderland forward Wilson Isidor, also French-born to Haitian parents, to join the team.
Haiti’s win over Nicaragua sends them to next summer’s World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada — their first appearance since 1974. They join Panama, who beat El Salvador 3–0, and World Cup debutants Curaçao, who qualified after drawing with Jamaica, as Concacaf representatives.
In their only previous World Cup, Haiti were eliminated in the first round after losses to Italy, Poland and Argentina.
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