Haiti Qualifies for World Cup for the First Time in 52 years

Haiti’s national team has qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 52 years. They beat Nicaragua 2-0 to top Group C in the Concacaf region with 11 points. Haiti qualified for the World Cup without having played a single home game in Haiti due to the gang violence in Port-au-Prince and lack of FIFA-regulated fields. Also, the tiny Caribbean island of Curacao has made history as the smallest nation to ever qualify for the FIFA World Cup after holding the Reggae Boys of Jamaica to a draw. The previous record was set by Iceland, who reached the 2018 finals, but their country is far bigger than Curacao, which has a population of just over 150,000 and a land area of 171 square miles, smaller than the Isle of Man. Jamaica’s coach Steve McClaren resigned after his side, who needed a win in Kingston to qualify for their first World Cup since 1998, were held to a goalless draw, including having an injury-time penalty overruled by VAR.