This isn’t just a qualification. It’s a breath of air in a moment when everything feels unbearably heavy.
For years, the team has moved forward as if walking on a tightrope — no stadium, no home crowd, yet a resilience that nothing has been able to break. After the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, the country plunged into darkness, a darkness we’re still struggling to escape. Port-au-Prince is now almost entirely controlled by gangs, and even the national stadium has been taken over. Since July 2021, not a single match has been played at home. Nothing. Absolute silence.
And despite all that, the Grenadiers kept going. They packed their bags, traveled endlessly, and carried the nation on their shoulders as if every match were a promise made to their people.
And that’s where the miracle happened. Haiti didn’t just make it through the rounds — they dominated a group that included Costa Rica, Honduras, and Guatemala. Three teams used to these big battles. Yet this time, it was Haiti leading the way.
What this qualification represents goes far beyond football. It’s a spark of light in a period with none. Proof that even when everything seems lost, there are forces that refuse to bend. Talent, discipline, the will to live… everything aligned.
So yes, Haiti is back in the World Cup. And this return has a special, almost sacred feeling to it.
In the streets, Haitians didn’t wait to celebrate. Bands filled the neighborhoods, and smiles lit up like candles in the dark. Since 1974, the country has been waiting for this moment. And this generation, despite everything it’s facing, has finally received this gift: seeing Haiti qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
A moment of pure joy. A pride that, for once, unites everyone.
Fortune Rochenel
