Haiti
Today's Talking Points
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1Haiti's World Cup ended in the group stage without a single point — but that was never really the story. This was Haiti's first World Cup in 52 years, since 1974, and they finished it having actually scored, which is more than a lot of people expected from a team that hadn't been near the tournament since disco.
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2The high point came in their last match, against 2022 semi-finalists Morocco. Haiti led twice — through a Yassine Bounou own goal and a brilliant strike from Wilson Isidor, their first World Cup goals in over five decades — before Morocco eventually won 4-2. For a team already eliminated, going toe-to-toe with one of the tournament's stronger sides was the moment that mattered.
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3The tougher stretch came earlier: a 0-1 opening loss to Scotland and a 0-3 defeat to Brazil left Haiti out of the tournament with a game still to play, and with no goals to their name yet. It set up the Morocco match as their one shot at leaving a mark, which they took.
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4Wilson Isidor was the man who delivered it — his strike against Morocco was the kind of finish that gets replayed regardless of the scoreline, and gave Haiti their first World Cup goal since before most of the current squad's parents were born.
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5Haiti leave with no points, no wins, and a first World Cup appearance in 52 years that ended with real goals and real belief on the pitch, however briefly. However long the wait for the next one is, this squad gave their country something to genuinely look back on.
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Top thing to say down the pub
Haiti waited 52 years to come back to a World Cup, then spent their last group game leading Morocco twice before running out of legs — that's not a bad way to finally break a five-decade duck.
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Avoid saying
Don't say "they were just happy to be there" — it sounds like you're handing out a participation medal to a team that led a 2022 semi-finalist twice in their final game; give them the actual credit.