Haiti
Caribbean nation; Les Grenadiers returned to the World Cup in 2026 for the first time since 1974.
Les Grenadiers ended a 52-year World Cup absence on 24 June 2026, scoring twice in a 4-2 loss to Morocco, but no Haitian fan could legally watch: Haiti is one of four nations barred from the US under the travel ban.
Last refreshed: 30 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
How did Haiti qualify for a World Cup when their fans cannot legally attend?
Timeline for Haiti
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2026 FIFA World CupBackground
Haiti is a Caribbean republic of about 12 million people occupying the western third of Hispaniola. It is the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation, still recovering from the 2010 earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people, the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise, and the collapse of state authority that followed, with armed gangs controlling large parts of Port-au-Prince and more than 700,000 people internally displaced by early 2026.
The national football team, Les Grenadiers, made their World Cup debut at West Germany 1974, memorable for Emmanuel Sanon's goal against Italy, which ended goalkeeper Dino Zoff's then-record 1,143-minute international shutout. That remained Haiti's only World Cup appearance for 52 years, a gap ended by qualification for the 2026 tournament with a squad built largely through the Haitian diaspora.
US travel ban locks out Haiti's fans
Haiti's men's team beat their 52-year World Cup drought on 20 June 2026 by reaching the tournament for the first time since 1974, then took a first-half lead over Morocco on 24 June through Lenny Joseph and Wilson Isidor, their first World Cup goals since Emmanuel Sanon's strike against Italy in 1974. Morocco recovered to win 4-2 in Atlanta, eliminating Haiti from Group C alongside Brazil and Scotland .
None of it could be watched at the stadium by a Haitian supporter travelling from home: Haiti is one of four nations, with Libya, Somalia and Yemen, whose nationals the Trump administration's travel ban bars from entering the US, in force since June 2025. The State Department told Congress on 7 April that it holds no estimate of how many fans the ban excludes, leaving Haiti's historic return unwatched by the country it belongs to .
Haiti's comeback ends winless in Group C
Haiti's group-stage campaign opened with a 1-0 loss to Scotland in Foxborough on 13 June, ending Scotland's own 36-year World Cup win drought , and continued with a 3-0 defeat to a Neymar-less Brazil in Philadelphia on 20 June .
The campaign closed with the 4-2 loss to Morocco that produced Haiti's first World Cup goals in 52 years. Three defeats from three matches sent Les Grenadiers out at the group stage, the outcome expected of a debutant squad built largely through the diaspora, but the return itself, not the results, was the point for a country that had not qualified since 1974.