Haiti — 2026 World Cup Squad

Half a century is a long time to wait. Haiti last appeared at a World Cup in 1974, and the squad that ends that drought owes much to a generation raised in Europe and the United States choosing the island of their parents over the flags on their passports. Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, a Wolves midfielder with Premier League legs, is the headline name; behind him Danley Jean Jacques does the quieter shift out of Philadelphia Union, screening, covering, recycling. The pairing balances better than the seeding implies.

Group C and Scotland mean realism is in order. This is a side built to frustrate rather than dominate: two compact banks, Jean-Kévin Duverne and Carlens Arcus minding the box, and Johny Placide bringing veteran calm behind them. The plan is to absorb, then sting on the break. Wilson Isidor, fresh off promotion to Sunderland, is the outlet up top, a forward who attacks channels and drags centre-backs out of shape.

The margins are thin, and Scotland's set-pieces are the first puzzle to solve. But for a nation that has carried real political weight to get here, simply arriving already counts for something.