World Cup 2026: Haiti’s message of hope in rare appearance at finals
Haiti plays its home games 500 miles away in Curacao.
Sixteen of Haiti’s players were born abroad, in five countries. The 26-man squad includes 25 clubs from 15 countries.
The man who weaves these threads in a consistent outfit is Frenchman Migne, assistant coach of Cameroon at Qatar 2022.
“He’s a magic coach,” Midy said.
“I can’t explain how he does it while watching Haiti play. I asked him, ‘It’s not me, it’s the players. I don’t have any secrets. I just tell them to put their heart into it.'”
This is exactly what Nazon, who was born in France to a Haitian family, did.
According to Midy, despite scoring 44 goals in 80 matches, his passion for his nation earned him hero status.
“We call it the church of Haiti,” he says, referring to the French term of endearment.
“The people of Haiti always see him as an example of someone who feels more Haitian than anyone else who was born and raised in Haiti.”
His teammate Hannes Delcroix, a former Burnley defender, was born there but was adopted by a Belgian family when he was two.
He never returned and only in recent years did he communicate with his mother and sisters.
“I’ve never seen them in real life before, but we call from time to time on the phone,” he said. “Of course, it’s a strange feeling at first because there’s no bond, no connection between you.
“I guess first I wanted to know if he was okay, if he was healthy, if everyone was safe. If there was anything I could help with, that kind of thing.”
Perhaps this reconnection with his biological family is what led him to pledge his international allegiance to Haiti in 2025.
The 27-year-old football player, who played once for Belgium in 2020, said, “You come to a point where you ask yourself, what do you want now and in which country do you want to play? For me, that situation was Haiti.”
The cynical view is that Delcroix may have chosen Haiti because they were on the brink of World Cup qualification, but he says it became a journey of self-discovery.
“Being able to play for Haiti was always in the back of my mind. When we got together for the first time, I felt like I wasn’t alone,” he said.
“When I’m with the Haitian team, it helps me a lot to know more about the culture and the language. I don’t speak Creole, so that’s something I really want to delve into.”
