Haiti is attending the 2026 World Cup which is only its second of all time. After missing every single edition from 1974 until now, watching Haiti arrive here begs the question: how did the small Caribbean island do it?
Haiti participates in the CONCACAF confederation, which is North America, Central America and the Caribbean nations. Hence, it had the benefit that Mexico, United States, and Canada didn’t participate in the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers due to them being hosts of the tournament. This helped Haiti, that according to its FIFA Ranking, shouldn’t even be in the tournament.
This opened up plenty of hopes for Haiti, and they made sure they took advantage of it. It wasn’t easy, but they still overcame every single roadblock to now be playing in the 2026 World Cup.
Haiti’s World Cup qualifying process
Haiti secured direct qualification for the 2026 World Cup by finishing at the top of Group C in the third round of the CONCACAF Qualifiers. They clinched the historic berth with a 2-0 victory over Nicaragua on the final matchday. Hence, they edged out traditional regional powerhouses like Costa Rica and the always tough Honduras.
Haiti led Group C in CONCACAF
Haiti had incredible results like beating Costa Rica. They also tied them away from home after they started losing the game 0-2. They became the leaders of the group and hence, earned their spot on the 2026 World Cup.
Haiti got a bad draw in the 2026 World Cup
Going to the World Cup means you’ll face the elite of the elite. However, for Haiti to be in a group with perennial contenders Brazil and present-day contender Morocco is just a bad hand. Add that to a very solid team like Scotland, and Haiti needs to keep producing miracles if it wants to make its World Cup stay longer than just three games.
