Brad Evans
USA v Haiti July 2015 Gold Cup

Group B

Schedule:  Peru (6/4 Century Link Field  Seattle, WA), Brazil (6/8 Orange Bowl, Orlando), and Ecuador (6/12 Metlife Stadium East Rutherford)

Head Coach: Patrice Neveu

Best previous finish in Copa America: First Appearance

Players to keep an eye on: GK Johnny Placide (Reims,) DEF Judelin Aveska (Atletico Uruguay,) MID Soni Mustivar (Sporting Kansas City,) MID Sony Norde (Mohun Began,) and Duckens Nazon (Laval).

Outlook:  Like Panama Haiti is a debutante in this year’s Copa America having never made an appearance in the tournament. While that may sound like a slight it has been a long, difficult rebuilding process for the Carribean nation. Remember: this was the same national team who saw their entire football infrastructure crumble after the terrible 2010 earthquake.

Haiti’s improvement in recent seasons can be directly attributed to the football association’s scouting efforts in France and the United States. Of Haiti’s 23 man roster just five were actually born in Haiti.

Despite having an eclectic group of players Haiti showed in the 2015 Gold Cup that they can play as a unit. Between shock results against Panama and Honduras (1-1 draw and 1-0 win respectively) Haiti played regional giants United States closely in a 1-0 loss. Their tremendous form during group play gave them the opportunity to play in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2009. Although they were unable to advance past Jamaica Haiti showed that they can play with some of the region’s giants. But how will they fare against South America?

What made Haiti such a difficult team to play against during the Gold Cup was their speed on the counter-attack. Midfielder Soni Mustivar tore through defenses with his precision passes from the center-mid position. With the speed of Duckens Nazon and Jeff Louis Haiti can put even the best defenses on their backheels. Nazon in particular has a deft right foot and makes excellent off of his first touch. With Mustivar getting ample minutes for Sporting Kansas City and both Louis and Nazon now cemented as starters for Haiti they should be  able to replicate some of their success in the Copa America.

Look for Haiti also to not be a pushover in defense. An experienced line led by Reginald Goreux of Standard Haiti has both size and speed in their arsenal. Although their World Cup Qualification record thus far leaves a bit to be desired their defensive form has been stellar. Haiti has not allowed more than two goals in a match since a 2-2 draw with China in March of 2015.

Although the match against Brazil in Orlando will certainly get the Haitian supporters excited, it is the game against Peru that will determine their fates in this tournament. Haiti has the players and the skills to be a dark horse in this tournament as far as making it out of the group. But much like in World Cup Qualification they have yet to really to make themselves into a consistent side.

Did you know? Haitians traditionally eat only two meals a day: a light breakfast and a large afternoon meal.