Haiti at the World Cup
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The Grenadiers achieved their second World Cup qualification in their history after successfully passing the two qualifying rounds they had to play. First of all, they placed second in Group C of the second phase, behind Curaçao, with three wins in four matches and only one defeat coming against the Blue Wave, who also qualified for the World Cup. All of this to then beat Costa Rica and Honduras, two World Cup regulars, and Nicaragua in the second phase, thus finishing first in qualifying Group C. Their first participation dates back to the 1974 World Cup when, placed in a group with Italy, Poland and Argentina, they managed to score a goal against the Azzurri: “For us Haitians, that is the best result ever. We kept the Italians at bay for a while and, even more importantly, we managed to overcome Zoff”, recalls Philippe Vorbe, author of the decisive pass for Sanon’s goal against Italy.