Haiti exits WC2026 with heads high after 4-2 Morocco thriller

Haiti's 2026 World Cup campaign ended Wednesday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, a 4-2 defeat to Morocco that nonetheless produced the most stirring 45 minutes in Haitian football history. Les Grenadiers — the lowest-ranked side in the tournament at FIFA No. 87 — finished the group stage with zero points from three matches but departed with their dignity intact and their fans on their feet.

The evening began as a dream. In the 10th minute, Jean-Kévin Duverne drove down the right flank and delivered a cross that Lenny Joseph deflected in with a back-heel finish — Haiti's first goal of the tournament, greeted by a roar from the Atlanta diaspora crowd. Wilson Isidor then added a screamer into the top corner to put Haiti 2-1 ahead at the interval, with captain Johny Placide producing a celebrated double save to preserve the lead deep into the second half.

Morocco's bench ultimately proved decisive. Substitutes Soufiane Rahimi and Gessime Yassine helped orchestrate the Atlas Lions' comeback; Achraf Hakimi bundled in an equaliser after Placide had parried, and Morocco eventually ran out 4-2 winners to finish second in Group C behind Brazil (7 points), with Scotland (3) third and Haiti (0) fourth.

Coach Sébastien Migné had told France Football earlier in the tournament that he has never set foot in Haiti — "it's too dangerous" — yet his squad, 25 of 26 players born in the diaspora, gave the country something to hold onto.