Haiti HAI

Haiti arrive at the 2026 World Cup as one of CONCACAF's most compelling stories — a nation ranked 82nd in the world that has somehow navigated extraordinary chaos to reach their first World Cup since 1974. The Grenadiers will enter the tournament as group outsiders, but their presence alone represents a remarkable achievement given everything that has surrounded this campaign.

Sébastien Migné has been the architect of that achievement, and his fingerprints are visible in the shape of the side he has assembled. Haiti under Migné are disciplined and organised, built to absorb pressure and hurt opponents on the counter, with Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Wilson Isidor providing the proven quality to make those transitions genuinely dangerous. In a tournament where margins are razor-thin, that combination of structure and individual spark could make Haiti awkward opponents for anyone.

The road to the finals has not been without its turbulence, however, and the instability has carried over into the buildup. Key striker Nazon remains held up in Iran, a logistical and personal situation that has disrupted Migné's planning, while the manager himself has been unable to visit the country he coaches — an extraordinary circumstance that speaks to the wider difficulties surrounding Haitian football right now.

When the squad does take the field, eyes will fall on a group that includes goalkeeper Johny Placide, Ricardo Adé, Martin Expérience, Duke Lacroix, Lenny Joseph, Josué Casimir, Wilguens Paugain, and Dominique Simon alongside the headline names of Bellegarde and Isidor. Whether Migné can mould them into a cohesive unit despite the disruptions will define how far Haiti can go.