Island Nation Closing In On First World Cup In 52 Years After Shock Win

An island nation is closing in on their first World Cup appearance in 52 years next summer after a shock victory on Thursday night.

The 2026 World Cup will see an expanded field of 48 teams, up from 32 at the previous 2022 edition.

That has given some of the more unfancied nations a stronger chance of reaching the finals, with Jordan, Uzbekistan and Cape Verde already confirmed as World Cup debutants.

In the CONCACAF section, the field has been thrown wide open due to United States, Canada and Mexico earning automatic qualification as co-hosts.

And on Thursday, it was island nation Haiti who took a huge step towards qualifying for the World Cup with a 1-0 victory over 2014 quarter-finalists Costa Rica.

Costa Rica still have 2014 heroes Keylor Navas and Joel Campbell among their ranks and, while they are not quite the force they once were, they were still favourites to progress through a group which also contains Honduras and Nicaragua.

But a 44th-minute goal from AEK Athens forward Frantzdy Pierrot secured one of the biggest victories in Haiti's footballing history.

They are now level on points with group leaders Honduras, with the group winner automatically qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.

Honduras now must travel to Costa Rica for a daunting encounter on the final matchday, while Haiti face a trip to Nicaragua, who are already eliminated.

Nicaragua did, however, beat Honduras 2-0 at home early in the campaign, so will still pose a threat to Haiti's qualification chances.

But if Haiti do manage to pick up all three points, Honduras would have to match their result in Costa Rica to avoid slipping into the play-off places or potentially be eliminated completely, as only the top two teams across the three groups reach the play-off phase.

The CONCACAF play-off is played over two legs, with the winner progressing to the inter-confederation play-offs.

There, six teams compete across two semi-finals and a final - the two highest-ranked teams are seeded and instantly progress to the final - to seal the final two qualifying spots for the 2026 World Cup.

Though Haiti has only ever qualified for the World Cup once before - back in 1974, when they lost all three group matches - it is part of the second-largest Caribbean island in terms of size.

It is part of the Hispaniola island, which is occupied by over 22 million people and divided into two sovereign countries - Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

In 2010, the nation was struck by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake which caused up to $8.5 billion in estimated damage. According to a study from the University of Michigan, around 160,000 people were killed.