Resilient Haiti Deserved World Cup Qualification, Says Coach

Squad unity and resilience were the key factors behind Haiti’s unlikely qualification for the World Cup, coach Sebastien Migne said after a 2-0 victory over Nicaragua secured the strife-torn Caribbean nation a place at the 2026 finals.

Haiti overcame considerable odds to qualify for their second World Cup appearance, having made a disastrous debut in 1974, by topping their qualifying group.

This achievement came despite the team being forced to play all their matches away from the country, where armed gangs have taken control of almost all of the capital, Port-au-Prince, amid a conflict that has displaced approximately 1.3 million people and fuelled famine-level hunger.

“It’s fantastic that after 52 years’ absence, Haiti has qualified for the biggest footballing stage,” Migne told a press conference on Tuesday in Curacao, where they hosted their last fixture.

With only a few hundred supporters watching them qualify, Migne addressed a single reporter afterwards in an empty press conference room, a stark contrast to the packed auditoriums where coaches from top teams field media questions.

“I’m happy to make everybody proud and for my players because they deserve it. I sometimes pushed the older players to their limits, but it wasn’t for nothing,” Migne stated.

“We had a roadmap laid out from the beginning. We knew where we were going, but we also knew it would be a steep road. But we didn’t give up; we did it all together.”

Haiti had been trailing in the standings after losing 3-0 to Honduras in October but bounced back to secure first place in Group C with wins over Costa Rica and Nicaragua in their final two fixtures over the past six days.

“We never panicked. I know how to do it because I qualified for the previous World Cup with another country,” the manager added.