Haiti played Chile at North Harbour Stadium, Auckland on Wednesday, 22 February 2023. Photo credit: FIFA via website.
Haiti made history by qualifying for their first-ever senior Women’s World Cup after beating Chile in a play-off. As one of the lower-ranked teams in the competition, they face stiff competition, but with youth and ambition on their side the team will not shy away from the challenge.
Team History
Known as ‘Les Grenadières’, these women have made history by becoming the first Haitian women’s team to qualify for the FIFA Senior Women’s World Cup. They will be one of the youngest teams in the competition, having an average age of just twenty-two years and a half. It will be the first Haitian presence in a senior world cup since the men’s team competed in 1974 in Germany.
The team has been labeled as Haiti’s Golden Generation. Nine of the women who ensured qualification had already made history as the first Haitian U20 Women’s National Team to qualify for the 2018 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup. It was the first time any women’s team had reached a World Cup of any age level. They achieved that by finishing third place in the CONCACAF Women’s U20 championship.
The nine players were goalkeeper Kerly Theus, defenders Betina Petit-Frere, Tabita Joseph, Ruthny Mathurin, midfielders Danielle Etienne, Sherly Jeudy, and forwards Roseline Eloissant, Nerilia Mondesir and Melchie Dumornay. All of these players have been included in the squad that will embark on Haiti’s maiden performance in a Women’s World Cup this July.
Haiti’s manager, Frenchman Nicolas Delepine, took over last year and he balances the international team against the club Grenoble Foot 38, whom he also coaches in the Division 2 Femenine in France. His selections have often favoured youth, whilst the squad is often set up with agility in mind.
Road to the FIFA Women’s World Cup
Haiti booked a place in the World Cup Inter-Confederation playoffs by beating Mexico 3-0 to secure third in their group during the CONCACAF W Championship.
The first play-off set them up against Senegal, which was a fixture that saw them breeze past the Senegalese by a whopping score of 4-0. Kethna Louis got things going on the stroke of half-time before captain Nerilia Mondesir chipped in with a goal ten minutes later. Veteran Roselord Borghella scored a brace in a span of two minutes to put the victory beyond doubt.
It was then wonder-kid Melchie Dumornay who stole the headlines in the deciding play-off as her brace ensured that Haiti qualified by beating Chile, by 2-1 in the World Cup Inter-Confederation Playoffs. Her goals came at the dying moments of either half. The team’s captain Nerilia Mondesir almost got on the scoresheet from the penalty spot, but Christiane Endler denied her to give Chile a chance of a comeback. Though Maria Jose Rojas got one back for Chile, Haiti had secured their moment in history.
Form Since Qualification
Friendlies played since then have been a mixed bag. They suffered a 2-1 defeat to Nigeria (ranked 40 and also a world cup qualifier) but bounced back with a 3-1 victory against the lower-ranked Moldova (ranked 111).
The team just came off the back of a training camp in Switzerland, which they capped off with a 5-0 victory against Malta (ranked 86) on the first of July. Kethna Louis opened the score by heading in Sherly Jeudy’s corner. Batcheba Louis doubled the lead by skipping past three defenders on the right wing before blasting a shot into the net from a tight angle. Captain Nerilia Mondesir whipped in a cross for Roselord Borghella to tap in just shy of the 40th minute before Mondesir herself converted a low shot just on the stroke of half-time. Dayana Pierre-Louis completed the fifth goal in the 75th minute. The side was missing Melchie Dumornay who according to the Federation was rested as a precaution, whilst Malta’s team was also missing a number of key players in various areas, including Inter Milan’s latest signing Haley Bugeja.
The team then played a friendly match against South Korea on the 8th of July, in which they suffered a 2-1 defeat. They will next embark on a final friendly which will be played against a selection of players plying their trade in Australia on the 15th of July, before commencing their maiden Women’s World Cup challenge.
WWC Group D
There is no doubt that Haiti is a young team with a lot of ambition. They will not shy away from a challenge and bring plenty of pace to trouble defences with balls launched behind. On the other hand, they lack the experience of a tournament of this magnitude.
They have been dealt a tough hand in Group D, where they face England, Denmark and China. England are European Champions and despite their injury woes are still considered one of the favourites in the competition. They will also be facing 2017 Euro Runner-ups Denmark, and China, both of whom are in the top 20 of the FIFA World Rankings. Looking at those teams on paper, one would say that getting a point would be historic for Haiti, but this team has already shown that it is not one to shy away from an upset. Make no mistake, given the chance, their forwards will make defences pay.
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