Haiti national football team

Le Nouvelliste (a Haitian newspaper) of 25 March 1925 describing the encounter between Haiti and Jamaica, who played their first official match on 22 March 1925 against their Caribbean neighbors in Haiti. Haiti was defeated 1–2 to the Jamaicans, as the first goal in Haiti's history was scored by Painson in the 86th minute.[13][14] Following the affiliation of the Haitian Football Federation with FIFA in 1933, Haiti was able to register for the qualifiers for the 1934 World Cup in Italy.

Les Grenadiers led by coach Édouard Baker,[15] played three games against Cuba, all at the Parc Leconte in Port-au-Prince, having lost twice (1–3, 0–6) and one resulting in a 1–1 draw.[16][17]

Haiti would then reappear on the international scene almost twenty years later, since the Federation did not enter the national team for the World Cup qualifiers of the 1938 and 1950. For the 1954 edition held in Switzerland, the team under Frenchman Baron Paul found themselves in a qualification pool with the United States and Mexico. Haiti finished in last place, losing all of its matches, with a very heavy defeat conceded to Mexico 8–0.[18] They would again withdraw from the qualifiers for the World Cup until 1970. Regionally, Haiti won in 1957 in their first participation in the CCCF Championship including a blowout victory against Cuba 6–1[19] and debuted in the 1959 Pan American Games. The selection is defeated heavily by the United States 7–2, and Brazil 9–1, and refused to resume play against Argentina after an arbitration decision.[20] Victorious against Cuba 8–2, the team finished fourth in the competition.[21] After a 1960 season without international meetings,[14] Haiti led by Antoine Tassy,[22] made its second appearance in CCCF Cup in 1961. Second in their group stage behind the host country, Costa Rica, the team finished last the final stage with three defeats in three games and twelve goals conceded to zero goals scored and finished fourth. The team suffered a crushing defeat in its last match to Costa Rica 8–0.[23][24]

In 1961, Haiti joined the CONCACAF, born from the merger of the NAFC and the CCCF. In 1965, Haiti took part in the second edition of the CONCACAF Championship, after being eliminated in qualifying for the inaugural edition (1963 CONCACAF Championship). This continental meeting resulted in a last place finish, losing all five of its matches played; coach Antoine Tassy then resigns.[25][26] However, he returned the following year again as the team's head coach, and won the Coupe Duvalier.[27][28] During the 1967 Qualifiers, Haiti finished first and was undefeated atop of its group, ahead of Trinidad and Tobago.[29] On 16 January 1967, marked its first victory in a competitive match against the Trinidadians, beating them 4–2.[30] However, Haiti in the final round consisting of six teams, finished in fifth place, defeating Nicaragua 2–1 to avoid last place.

As part of the qualifiers for the 1970 World Cup hosted by Mexico, Haiti are engaged in group 2, in the company of Guatemala and Trinidad and Tobago. Directed by Antoine Tassy, Haiti was relevant for the first time in qualifying for the World Cup on 23 November 1968, in Port of Spain against Trinidad and Tobago. Haiti will reach rank at the top of the pool with wins against Trinidad and Tobago 4–0 and Guatemala 2–0, one draw against Guatemala 1–1, and one defeat conceded at home against Trinidad and Tobago 2–4 which enabled them to qualify to the second round. They then eliminated the United States before heading to the final round against El Salvador. Haiti lost the opening match at home 1–2, but managed to rebound and win 3–0 in San Salvador before losing again on neutral ground in Kingston in Jamaica, 1–0 in overtime.[31]

At the CONCACAF Championship in 1969, Haiti was disqualified from the final round, when it had qualified in the field by beating the United States (the qualifying round is coupled with the qualifications for the World Cup 1970). Instead, the Federation was unable to register its team for the final round on time to the CONCACAF and therefore could not participate in the final round.[32]

Haiti and their captain Wilner Nazaire against the Italy at the 1974 World Cup.

The 1970s could be considered a golden age for Haitian football, and its status in the region remained very strong, being considered the third strongest team in the CONCACAF after Mexico and arguably Costa Rica. With Antoine Tassy as coach for much of this period, Haiti would emerge as one of the strongest teams in the CONCACAF zone, being pooled with other regionally strong football nations such as Mexico and Costa Rica. By 1965, players like Henri Francillon, Philippe Vorbe, Guy Renold Jean François and Guy Saint-Vil were already playing in the team and would be stalwarts of the side in the coming years.

The team developed sufficiently to reach the final round of the qualifiers for the 1970 World Cup, where they faced El Salvador. After losing the first leg 2–1 at home, the team pulled off a 3–0 win at El Salvador. With each team having one win, the rules of the day dictated a play-off on neutral ground which El Salvador won to secure a place in the 1970 World Cup.[33]

In the 1974 World Cup qualifiers, Haiti once again reached the final round in a qualifying tournament completely played at home. This time, with all odds on their favor, they would top the group and qualify for their first appearance at the 1974 World Cup. In West Germany, they drew an extremely tough group consisting of Italy, Argentina and Poland. The first half of their debut game against Italy ended in a scoreless draw, but the team surprised the football world when star forward Emmanuel Sanon scored shortly after the break to give Haiti a 1–0 lead. Although the Italians eventually came back to win the game 3–1, Sanon's goal ended goal keeper Dino Zoff's record run of 1143 minutes without conceding a goal in international matches.[33] The team went on to lose to Poland (0–7) and Argentina (1–4) to finish last in their group.[34]

Haiti would reach the final rounds of the 1978 and 1982 qualifiers, but failed to make the cut. The years since have seen Haiti's footballing status decline markedly. In recent years, the political situation in the country has led to numerous defections from members of the football team. The team has rebuilt somewhat through the Haitian diaspora in Miami, Florida, and some Haitian home games have been played in Miami in recent years. Haiti as of recently has been rising once again as a footballing power in the CONCACAF.

In the 2010 Haiti earthquake, at least 30 people with ties to Haitian football perished, including players, coaches, referees and administrative and medical representatives. Twenty others with ties to Haitian football were feared to be buried in the ruins.[35][36][37]

In November 2011, Haiti was knocked out of the qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup by Antigua and Barbuda under the leadership of Brazilian coach Edson Tavares. In 2012, Tavares was replaced by Cuban coach Israel Blake Cantero who led the national team through the 2012 Caribbean Championship. Haiti finished third in the Caribbean Championship warranting a spot in the 2013 Gold Cup. The following year, Haiti would have a bad string of defeats against Chile, Bolivia, Oman and the Dominican Republic. In June 2013, Haiti bounced back from these shortcomings with a close 2–1 loss to reigning world champions Spain and an impressive 2–2 draw with footballing powerhouse Italy, with goals in both games scored by Wilde-Donald Guerrier, Olrish Saurel and Jean-Philippe Peguero respectively. The 2018 World Cup qualifiers had Haiti beating Grenada to reach the fourth round, where they fell off with only four points - one for a goalless draw with Panama, three for beating Jamaica in Kingston. In 2019, they made the farthest they ever had in the CONCACAF Gold Cup by going 3-0 in the group stages including a last-minute goal against Costa Rica and coming back from a 2-0 deficit against Canada in the Quarter-Finals, winning the game 3-2. However, it all stopped after Mexico got away with a controversial foul which gave Mexico a penalty shot. They would lose the game 1-0.

The Haiti national team utilizes a two-colour system, composed of red and blue. The team's two colors originate from the national flag of Haiti,[38] known as the bicolore. Although, during the Duvalier administration in Haiti, the country undergone a color change to its flag, swapping out the blue for black[39] and it reflected in its 1974 World Cup kit and federation crest.

Since the team's inception, Haiti's kit has undergone numerous color pattern variations to suit OEMs. The home kit is generally blue, with red shorts and blue socks, while the away kit is usually inversed. Haiti have occasionally had a third kit, which has been traditionally all-white.

Haiti has been provided kits by many OEMs, some of which have been from a few local and less known suppliers, such as Sport Globe (2002),[40] Wanga Neguess (2008, 2010),[40] Plus One (2009),[40] while other more known, such as Uhlsport (1998),[41] Joma (2004), Umbro (2004–2006),[40] Finta (2006; 2007–2008),[40] Diadora (2007),[40] and Adidas (2010–2013).[42] In 2013, a five-year contract was reached with Colombian manufacturer, Saeta for $1 million. Haiti wears the crest of the Federation on its jersey and usually on its shorts as well. In 2018 Saeta renews contract for 5 more years to continue dressing the national team.

CONMEBOL Copa América record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
19931	Not Invited
1995
1997
1999
2001
2004
2007
2011
2015
20162	Group stage	16th	3	0	0	3	1	12
2019	Not Invited
2021
Total	Group stage	1/12	3	0	0	3	1	12

¹ Ecuador 1993 was the first time nations from outside the CONMEBOL were invited.

² United States 2016 was the first time nations from outside the CONMEBOL could qualify and host.

The following players were called up for the 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League A match against Costa Rica on 17 November 2019.
Caps and goals as of 17 November 2019, after the match against Costa Rica.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Johny Placide (C)	(1988-01-29) 29 January 1988	54	0	Tsarsko Selo Sofia
12	1GK	Josué Duverger	(2000-04-27) 27 April 2000	2	0	Vitória Setúbal
2	2DF	Carlens Arcus	(1996-06-28) 28 June 1996	20	1	Auxerre
4	2DF	Ricardo Adé	(1990-05-21) 21 May 1990	16	0	Magallanes
5	2DF	Djimy Alexis	(1997-10-08) 8 October 1997	6	1	Lori
6	2DF	Jems Geffrard	(1994-08-26) 26 August 1994	16	0	HFX Wanderers
16	2DF	Andrew Jean-Baptiste	(1992-06-16) 16 June 1992	14	2	Valour FC
22	2DF	Alex Junior Christian	(1993-12-05) 5 December 1993	30	0	Ararat-Armenia
7	3MF	Hervé Bazile	(1990-03-18) 18 March 1990	10	1	Le Havre
8	3MF	Zachary Herivaux	(1996-01-02) 2 January 1996	17	0	unattached
9	3MF	Duckens Nazon	(1994-04-17) 17 April 1994	42	19	Sint-Truiden
10	3MF	Wilde-Donald Guerrier	(1989-03-31) 31 March 1989	54	11	Qarabağ
15	3MF	Stéphane Lambese	(1995-05-10) 10 May 1995	8	0	Orléans
17	3MF	Soni Mustivar	(1990-02-12) 12 February 1990	20	2	Hermannstadt
19	3MF	Steeven Saba	(1993-02-24) 24 February 1993	13	1	unattached
21	3MF	Bryan Alceus	(1996-02-01) 1 February 1996	20	0	Gaz Metan Mediaș
11	4FW	Derrick Etienne	(1996-11-25) 25 November 1996	24	3	Columbus Crew
15	4FW	Ronaldo Damus	(1999-09-12) 12 September 1999	2	0	Orange County SC
18	4FW	Jonel Désiré	(1997-02-12) 12 February 1997	19	2	Urartu
20	4FW	Frantzdy Pierrot	(1995-03-29) 29 March 1995	17	7	Guingamp

The following players have been called up within the last twelve months.

• ^INJ Withdrew due to an injury.
• ^PRE Preliminary squad.

	Name	Period
1	Édouard Baker	1934[43]
2	Antoine Champagne	1951[44]
3	Paul Baron	1953–1954[43]
4	Dan Georgiádis	1956–1957[45][46]
5	Lucien Barozy	1957[47]
6	Alfredo Obertello	1959[46]
7	Antoine Tassy	1959;[46] 1961;[46] 1965–1973[46][48]
8	Ettore Trevisan	1973[49]
9	Antoine Tassy	1973–1974[46][50]
10	Mladen Kashanine	1975[46]
11	Antoine Tassy	(1976?)
12	Sepp Piontek	1976–1978[46][51]
13	René Vertus	1978–1979 (−1980?)[52]
14	Antoine Tassy	1980–1981
15	Claude Barthélemy	1984–1985
16	Ernst Jean-Baptiste	1991–1992[53][54] 1994
17	Hervé Calixte	1996–1997
18	Jean-Michel Vaval	1997–1999
19	Ernst Jean-Baptiste	1999
20	Bernard Souilliez	1999[55]
21	Emmanuel Sanon	(1999–)2000
22	Elie Jean / Sonche Pierre	2001[56]
23	Jorge Castelli	2001–2002[46]
24	Vicente Cayetano Rodríguez	2002–2003[46][57]
25	Andrés Cruciani	2002–2003
26	Caetano Rodrigues	2003[46][58]
27	Maxime Augusto	2003[58]
28	Carlo Marcelin	2003[59]
29	Fernando Clavijo	2003–2004[60][61]
30	Carlo Marcelin	2004–2006
31	Luis Armelio García	2006–2008[62][63]
32	Interim managerial staff 1	2008[63][64]
33	Wagneau Eloip	2008[64][65]
34	Interim managerial staff 2	2008[66]
35	Jairo Ríos	2008–2010[67]
36	Edson Tavares	2010–2011[68][69]
37	Carlo Marcelin	2011[69]
38	Israel Blake Cantero	2012–2013[70]
39	Pierre Roland Saint-Jean	2013[71]
40	Marc Collat	2014–2015[72][73]
41	Patrice Neveu	2015–2016[10][11]
42	Jean-Claude Josaphat	2016–2017[74][75]
43	Marc Collat	2017–[75]

• Managers with this symbol in the "Name" column are italicized to denote caretaker (interim) appointments
• Managers with this symbol in the "Name" column are italicized to denote caretaker (interim) appointments promoted to full-time manager
• ^p Denotes a player-manager
• ¹ Sonche Pierre, Carlo Marcelin, Wilner Étienne all shared managerial duties for the federation
• ² Wilner Étienne and Sonche Pierre shared managerial duties for the federation