Haiti qualified for the 2026 World Cup under extraordinary circumstances—coach Sébastien Migné was never able to visit Haiti in person due to the security situation and managed the team remotely. The home games were played in Curaçao. Despite all the adversity, Haiti secured its spot in the World Cup. A story of determination and passion.

Coach Sébastien Migné has named three goalkeepers for Les Grenadiers: Johny Placide, Alexandre Pierre, and Josué Duverger. The trio represents a Haitian diaspora scattered across several continents—from France’s Ligue 2 to Germany’s Oberliga. Haiti is participating in a World Cup for the first time since 1974, 52 years after its last attempt.

Placide, 38, is the undisputed leader of this team. Born in Montfermeil, near Paris, to Haitian parents, he chose to represent Haiti despite holding dual French-Haitian citizenship—and has become the face of a national team that has reinvented itself over the decades. With over 79 international caps, he is by far the most experienced player in the entire 26-man squad. His career took him from Le Havre, Stade de Reims, and Guingamp in Ligue 1 to England’s Oldham Athletic and on to Bulgaria’s Tsarsko Selo, before he moved to SC Bastia in Ligue 2 in 2021, where he has since established himself as a club legend. In the 2025/26 season, he appeared in 23 league matches and was described by fans and teammates alike as a “rock in goal.”

The 2026 World Cup is his first major tournament following a career that spans nearly every CONCACAF cycle. At 38 years old, it is very likely to be his last. No player on this roster represents Haiti more than he does.

Pierre, 25, was born in Aubervilliers near Paris and joined FC Sochaux in the French Championnat National (third division) on a free transfer in 2024. Prior to that, he came up through the youth academies of Stade Laval, Angers, and Racing Strasbourg, where he developed in the reserve team. With 14 international appearances for Haiti and appearances in the CONCACAF Nations League as well as the 2023 Gold Cup, he is by far the most internationally experienced backup. This season, he has appeared in 20 league matches for Sochaux, keeping two clean sheets. Pierre embodies the new generation of Haitian goalkeepers—technically trained in France, with national roots in Haiti.

Duverger is arguably the most unlikely World Cup story of the entire tournament: 25 years old and born in Montreal, he currently plays for FC Cosmos Koblenz in the German Oberliga—the fifth division. Trained in Portugal at Belenenses, Sporting, and Vitória Setúbal, he subsequently played in the Campeonato de Portugal and the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol before moving to Koblenz in 2024. His path to the World Cup squad included sporadic international appearances since his debut in 2017, as well as a strong performance in the qualifier against Costa Rica. The fact that Migné nominated him despite his current league situation is a sign of confidence in his character and development—and makes his story one of the most human of the entire tournament.