World Cup 2026: Haiti’s message of hope in rare finals appearance

Haiti played their ‘home’ matches 500 miles away in Curacao.

Sixteen of Haiti’s players were born abroad, in five countries. The 26-member squad represents 25 clubs from 15 countries.

The man who weaves these threads into a coherent outfit is Frenchman Migne, who was Cameroon’s assistant coach in Qatar in 2022.

“He’s a magical coach,” Middy said.

“When I watch Haiti play, I can’t explain how he does it. I asked him, he said, ‘It’s not me, it’s the players. I don’t have any secrets. I just tell them put your heart into it.'”

Najon, born in France to Haitian parents, does just that.

According to Midi, his passion for the nation earned him hero status regardless of his 44 goals in 80 games.

“We call him Haitian chuchu,” he says, referring to the French term of endearment.

“Haitian people always see in him, an example of someone who feels more Haitian than anyone born and raised in Haiti.”

His team-mate Hannes Delcroix, the 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 has established contact with his mother and sisters.

“I’ve never met them before in real life, but over the phone, we call again and again,” he said. “Of course it’s a strange feeling in the beginning because you have no bond, no connection.

“I think the first thing I wanted to do was know if he’s okay, if he’s healthy, if everybody’s safe. If there’s anything I can do to help, things like that.”

Perhaps it was this reconnection with his biological family that inspired him to pledge his international allegiance to Haiti in 2025.

“You come to a point where you ask yourself, what do you want now and what country do you want to play for? And for me, that case was Haiti,” said the 27-year-old, who played once for Belgium in 2020.

The cynical view is that Delcroix may have only chosen Haiti because they were on the brink of World Cup qualification, but he says it has turned out to be a journey of self-discovery.

“It was always in the back of my head that I could play for Haiti. The first time we got together, I felt like I wasn’t alone,” he said.

“When I’m with the Haitian team, it helps a lot to understand more about the culture and the language. I don’t speak Creole so it’s something I really want to dig into.”