Overview:
Haiti defeated Anguilla 5-0 in a World Cup qualifier, however considerations amongst followers and analysts grew as Les Grenadières lacked fluidity and relied on their opponent’s defensive errors to attain. Much like the ladies’s workforce, the senior males underperformed early within the 2026 World Cup qualifiers however nonetheless managed to defeat weaker opponents. The workforce was ultimately revitalized by new additions and earned its ticket. Followers hope the ladies’s workforce will observe the identical path of their marketing campaign.
CAP-HAÏTIEN — Haiti’s girls’s nationwide soccer workforce dominated Anquilla Thursday night time 5-0, however the scoreline did little to ease considerations. It was a landslide victory that felt like a loss, followers and analysts mentioned.
Les Grenadières rolled over their Caribbean opponents in a World Cup qualifier at Stade Roger-Zami in Gosier, Guadeloupe. However regardless of the comfy win, they delivered an uneven efficiency that left many unconvinced.
Dealing with a workforce ranked No. 193 within the FIFA standings — in contrast with Haiti at No. 50 — Haiti struggled with fundamental execution, together with ball management, brief passing and general cohesion in midfield and assault. A number of targets got here from defensive lapses and goalkeeping errors by Anguilla fairly than sustained attacking high quality.
The efficiency raised considerations forward of Haiti’s decisive and last group-stage match in opposition to the Dominican Republic on April 17. Ranked No. 102, the Haitian neighbors are anticipated to pose a far better problem to them.
“We received the sport however I’m not happy with the workforce,” Jean Louis-Charles wrote on Facebook. “Let’s be critical, we’re constructing a World Cup workforce, however some stuff is inadmissible. Quite a lot of gamers don’t play like professionals and usually are not that gifted. They’ll’t even do the fundamentals like a brief cross or management a ball within the air.”
Absences spotlight lack of depth
Haiti performed with out key gamers, together with star midfielder Melchie Dumornay, defender Kethna Louis and all-time main scorer Batchéba Louis. Dumornay and Kethna Louis are injured, whereas Batcheba Louis was unavailable for private causes.
Nonetheless, observers mentioned the workforce ought to have carried out higher in opposition to a lower-ranked opponent.
“Sure, we’re on high of the group; we didn’t play with our greatest beginning XI. However this workforce makes folks nervous, particularly contemplating the extent of the opponent,” analyst Merlyne Pierre Louis commented on her Fb web page, Merlyne Haiti Promo.
Regardless of the criticism, Haiti stays atop the group with 9 factors, having received all three matches with out conceding a objective— 9-0 in opposition to Belize in December, 2-0 in opposition to Suriname in March and 5-0 in opposition to Anguilla. The Dominican Republic follows with seven factors. Solely the group winner advances to the subsequent spherical.
With both a win or a draw in opposition to its neighbor on the ‘Island of Hispaniola’, Haiti will safe first place. For the Dominicans, beating Haiti is important to advance.
Targets masks uneven efficiency, echoes of the boys’s path
Darlina Joseph scored twice, whereas Chelsea Domond, Sherly Jeudy and Claire Fixed every added a objective. Fixed’s highly effective header within the 79th minute from a Jeudy’s well-taken free-kick was the standout second of the match.
Nevertheless, the general efficiency lacked rhythm and creativity, persevering with a pattern of inconsistency since Haiti’s post-appearance on the 2023 Ladies’s World Cup.
Head coach Pia Sundhage, employed in February, is tasked with rebuilding the workforce’s construction and elevating its technical stage, in accordance with the Haitian Soccer Federation (FHF). Thursday’s match marked her second in cost, following a 2-0 win over Suriname.
Some followers see parallels with the boys’s nationwide workforce, which additionally struggled early in its qualifying marketing campaign earlier than enhancing with the addition of overseas-based gamers and finally securing a World Cup spot.
The ladies’s workforce has begun an analogous course of, not too long ago including Europe-based gamers born to Haitian dad and mom, equivalent to Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Océanie Toussaint and Sporting CP ahead Brittany Raphino. Neither featured in opposition to Anguilla.
Nevertheless, the highway forward could also be harder. In contrast to the boys’s workforce, which benefited from automated qualification for hosts United States, Canada and Mexico, Haiti’s girls may face regional powerhouses equivalent to the USA, Canada and Mexico in later qualifying rounds for the 2027 FIFA Ladies’s World Cup in Brazil between June 24 and July 25.
For now, the main target stays on April 17.
“If we play like this in opposition to the Dominican Republic, they may homicide us,” fan Evens Exumé wrote on Fb.
At the least, a draw will likely be essential to advance — however for a lot of supporters, not even a win will likely be sufficient. They’re searching for a convincing efficiency to revive confidence in a workforce as soon as recognized for its aptitude and depth.