Steve Clarke is obligated to continue speaking as positively about Haiti as he has all week. If he were to tell the truth and describe them as beatable opponents, he would be shooting himself in the foot—much like those national federations that offer their coaches lucrative four-year contracts even before the first World Cup match.
There will be much more of this in the coming days. The players will confirm Clarke’s statements about the athleticism, physical presence, and quick counter-attacks of the Caribbean team. How many more times will we hear a “difficult game” announced early Sunday morning, proving the old adage that there are no easy games at this level?
Fine. That’s player talk. No big deal. But could the rest of us please get a grip?
After Haiti’s 4-0 friendly win against New Zealand in Miami, a match that could have gone either way thanks to the Kiwis’ disastrous performance, you might think people would be hoping to repeat that defeat against the footballing underachievers that have ruined so many past World Cups.
Yes, we know what happened in the opening match against Costa Rica in 1990. And against Iran in 1978. As if anyone who experienced those games could forget them. But they don’t matter now. They have nothing to do with this team. And the fact is: this team should—and must—defeat Sébastien Migne’s team this weekend in Boston (or Foxborough, to be precise).
Perhaps Haiti’s 1-2 defeat against the truly weak Peruvian team – second-to-last in the CONMEBOL qualifiers with only two wins in 18 games and six goals scored – will finally be a wake-up call.
Steve Clarke emphasized Haiti’s dangerousness, but he should really be hoping for a comfortable victory.
But perhaps it won’t turn out that way. Haiti was the better team in the first half and led 1-0 before numerous substitutions in the final stages led to two horrendous goals conceded from set pieces. Those who are determined to predict doom, who wallow in the chronic disappointment of Scottish teams and the almost mythical tales of glorious failure, can point to mitigating circumstances.
It must be remembered that Haiti has some players who stand out from the crowd. Wilson Isidor’s spectacular goal against Peru was his second in four international appearances since joining the national team, the country of his father’s birth. In Sunderland’s promotion-winning 2024/25 season, he scored 13 goals, and last season he still managed six goals in the English Premier League despite starting only 11 matches.
Midfielder Jean-Ricner Bellegarde joined Wolves from Strasbourg in 2023 for £12.8 million. In his three years in the Premier League – including last year’s relegation – he started roughly half of the games.
Right-back Carlens Arcus was a reliable regular for Angers, who finished 13th in Ligue 1 before an injury sidelined him at the end of last season. Hannes Delcroix plays regularly for Lugano in the top half of the Swiss Super League.
We’re not under the illusion that Haiti’s national team came straight from their homeland, where they juggled coconuts, to the USA. Some of them have certainly built respectable careers, but their top players aren’t in the same league as us. Let’s be honest.
Scott McTominay is one of the best midfielders in Serie A, a champion with Napoli, and was voted the league’s best player in 2025. John McGinn just captained Aston Villa to the Europa League and a fourth-place finish in the Premier League.
Andy Robertson is a Champions League winner and, despite being 32 years old, has just completed a high-profile move to Spurs. Lewis Ferguson was voted Serie A’s best midfielder in 2024 before suffering a serious setback with a cruciate ligament tear.
Furthermore, there is a core group of players with extensive experience at the highest level with top clubs, such as Ryan Christie, Aaron Hickey, and Kieran Tierney. Bournemouth invested £25 million in Ben Gannon-Doak. Che Adams plays in Serie A. Scott McKenna won the double in Croatia.
Haiti led for much of their last friendly against Peru but were overwhelmed in the closing stages and lost 2-1.
Haiti’s resounding 4-0 victory against New Zealand was seen as a warning, but the Kiwis actually played poorly.
In comparison, Haiti: The team that lost to Peru back then is generally considered almost identical to the starting eleven that will face Scotland.
Their 38-year-old goalkeeper, Johny Placide, who is perhaps best described as inconsistent, has just been relegated to the third division of French football with Bastia. Martin Experience alternated between the starting lineup and the bench last season with Nancy in Ligue 2. Ricardo Ade is considered their strongest center-back, but is now 36 years old, and his club, LDU Quito, is far behind in the Ecuadorian league after losing the championship to Independiente del Valle last season.
Louicious Deedson is mostly a substitute for FC Dallas. Jean-Jacques Danley is at the bottom of the MLS table with Philadelphia Union. Winger Ruben Providence plays for Almere City in the Dutch second division.
Alongside Isidor, Frantzdy Pierrot played in attack. The 31-year-old is a national hero, but was loaned from AEK Athens to Turkish mid-table club Rizespor in January and didn’t make an appearance. Of the players who came on as substitutes against Peru, Duckens Nazon, formerly of St. Mirren, last played in Iran.
Lenny Joseph is one of several recently signed French players and scored 16 goals for Hungarian club Ferencváros last season.
In addition to him and Isidor, they also signed Josue Casimir, who made 16 appearances in Ligue 1 for Auxerre, narrowly avoiding relegation; Keeto Thermoncy from the Young Boys Bern youth academy; and Dominique Simon from Slovakian club Tatran Presov.
We’re hardly playing against a world-class team here. Admittedly, the Haitians are entertaining to watch. They attack tirelessly, have good pace, are a strong presence on the pitch, and are not easy to stop.
However, they look vulnerable at the back, and they clearly lack penetration in key positions. Sure, they won their CONCACAF third-round qualifying group with three wins out of six against Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras, but overall, they remain lightweights at this level.
They also lost 1-5 to Curaçao and finished second in their previous group.
A win could secure Scotland’s first-ever qualification for the knockout stage, thanks to the general absurdity of modern tournaments. Morocco and Brazil will present entirely different challenges later in Group C, so Clarke and his players must seize this opportunity.
Steve Clarke has too many renowned players in his squad to consider anything other than victory.
They must beat Haiti, who lack both talent and tournament experience—and by a significant margin. They know this internally, of course, regardless of what’s said publicly.
The rest of us desperately need a reality check.
Clarke warned midweek about the Scottish tendency to underestimate smaller nations. But Haiti isn’t particularly good. Their starting players generally don’t perform at the same level as ours.
Saying that isn’t ignorant or derogatory. We also have problems in goal and with the optimal combination of attack and central defense, but we have better players than Haiti, who earn significantly more at much bigger clubs. It’s absurd to suggest we shouldn’t beat them thrashing.
So, that had to be said. What needs to be said after days of panicked blather from a nation that feels like it’s waiting for disaster. Famous last words and all that.
