On a Wednesday morning in July 2021, Haiti President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in his private residence by a group of 26 heavily-armed gangsters
For a Caribbean nation of 12million people, the shooting created a power void filled by violence, political instability and an air of relentless crisis. Armed gangs control 90 per cent of the capital Port-au-Prince and the national football stadium was seized by insurgents in 2024. The national team last played a game there five years ago and, when they walk out for their first World Cup game since 1974, the players will be a beacon of hope for a nation ravaged by natural disasters, a humanitarian crisis and anarchy.
Of the 26 players selected for the World Cup squad, only 10 were actually born there. Twelve were born in France of Haitian parents, one in Canada, one in Switzerland and two in the United States. Just one, Woodensky Pierre, still plays for a Haitian club and Scotland’s opponents will be part of – and playing for – a sprawling diaspora. The parents who fled the country to give them a better life and the 850,000 immigrants who moved to America to establish the 15th largest foreign-born population in the country.
Born in Richmond, Virginia, and raised in New Jersey, Derrick Etienne jnr is the son of former Haitian international and Long Island Rough Riders forward Derrick Etienne and the older brother of Haitian international midfielder Danielle Etienne.
A 29-year-old winger with MLS side Toronto FC, Etienne is proud of his family heritage. Most of Haiti’s overseas workers moved to Florida and the noise at the recent 4-0 win over New Zealand in Fort Lauderdale was so cacophonous you might have thought every single one of them had crammed into the stadium in search of something most had dismissed as an impossible dream in the current climate. Unity.
“We have a great crowd,” said Etienne. “We have a lot of players who haven’t been able to play in Haiti but this is the closest they’ll get to playing there in terms of the support we’ll get.
“The crowd was amazing in Fort Lauderdale with the energy they brought. They were behind the group from the very first minute and they were amazing. That gives us confidence as we go to the big stage.
“We are representing ourselves but also our nation and we want to take a big step in the right direction.
“When our fans show up and when we see that, it puts a pep in our step. You can hear them from the beginning of the game and how into it they are. They are our 12th man and there’s one thing about them – they’re going to have a party in the stands.”
The tragedy of Haiti’s current plight is exacerbated by the knowledge the nation is actually one of the birthplaces of democracy. One of the oldest democracies in the modern world.
The republic of Haiti put a stop to chattel slavery, colonisation and white supremacy in the French colony of Saint-Dominguez during the revolution, and the football team planned to celebrate their history by wearing a World Cup jersey which depicted images of the War of
Independence of 1803 on the front. FIFA put a stop to that on the basis that the jersey was too political – an act of rank hypocrisy from the body which awarded President Donald Trump its inaugural peace prize.
Haiti’s only previous appearance at the tournament came during the brutal dictatorship of François “Papa Doc” Duvalier and his son, Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier.
Read more
I've won the UCL and Premier League, Haiti vs Scotland is biggest of my life Steve Clarke candid on two Euros campaigns ahead of World Cup kick-off
Italy had gone 1,174 minutes without conceding when Manno Sanon rounded the great Dino Zoff to score. The Italians went on to win 3–1, but that goal remains the high water mark for Haitian football in the World Cup. Securing their first ever victory at the World Cup finals by beating Scotland would be their greatest footballing moment ever and place Haiti in the world news for positive reasons for once.
“There are going to be some emotions, for sure,” acknowledges winger Etienne. “But the best way to handle that is to use it as motivation. I don’t think we can be overcome with emotions.
“Obviously, we all understand what’s going on in Haiti. We want to make everyone proud and we also want to try and change the narrative of how people see Haiti. That’s one of thing that’s very important to us.”
Their last World Cup qualifier on home soil was a two-legged play-off against Canada in 2021. Weeks before that game, a bus transporting the Belize national team had been stopped by armed gang members on motorbikes with assault rifles. Allowed a safe passage to their hotel, they chose to train by the pool and only left for the match itself.
“It’s been very difficult for us not to be able to go back home and play in front of our fans,” said Etienne. “But whenever we go, they do an amazing job at supporting us.
“There are always Haitians there. I cannot say it’s been the same as playing in Haiti. That’s something that would bring tears to your eyes. But we have so many fans following us it’s an amazing feeling.”
They were watched by a Scotland coaching delegation in the game against New Zealand. While
Scotland have more players performing at a high level Haiti are an athletic, mobile, carefree team who play counter attacking football completely off the cuff. They dealt well with New Zealand’s press then cut them open. If there is a weakness, it’s set-pieces, with Peru overcoming the loss of the first goal to score twice late in their final warm-up game.
“I expect Scotland to be a very difficult game,” said Etienne. “They are a very compact team and a very disciplined team. They present a lot of difficulties.
“If we are disciplined defensively then I think our athleticism will give them problems. They are a well drilled team.
“They are going to be very difficult to break down. They have so many good players.
“I saw they lost one of their players to injury (Billy Gilmour) before they flew out to the States but Scotty McTominay is going to be a problem because of the top player he is.
Read more
Thomas Partey denied entry to Canada and will miss Ghana v Panama clash Derek McInnes on Rangers' four-man shortlist as Danny Rohl exit moves closer
“We don’t go into any game thinking we’re going to lose. I think that’s very important for the group.
“We are going to be very respectful but the important thing is not to fear anyone. If we have that mentality then we make it difficult for them.
“It’s 90 minutes and a game of football. You saw in the Champions League final how Arsenal defended and nullified a lot of what PSG were doing. I’m not staying we’re going to bunker in. But that’s point to make. It doesn’t really matter what team you’re playing, you have to bring your own game and if we are able to do that, then we will make all our games difficult for the opposition.”
Addressing the suggestion that much of the football world thinks they are lucky to be here – beneficiaries of Gianni Infantino politics – Etienne sums up the Haitian mindset heading into World Cup 2026.
“The rest of the world? We could really care less what the rest of the world thinks. Honestly,” he said.
“We know how much work we have put in. We know what we expect and we know what our standard is. That’s maybe different to what other people think but we’ll change that narrative.
“The rest of the world can say it was an exception, us qualifying for the World Cup. That it was luck. But this group can definitely show it’s more than that.”
