Haiti 3

 

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vs. USA (0:3) | CONCACAF W Championship | 2022 in Mexico

I got a new Haiti shirt. As both my other Haiti shirts are mental in their own way, it is the most boring one I own now. Yet, it is nice. And it is made by Saeta, adding a new manufacturer to my ever grown list of dubious kit makers.

But let's talk about the Haitian women's national team and their incredible journey to the Women's World Cup 2022. After not even qualifying for the last CONCACAF tournament, they did lose to both, the US and Jamaica (0:3 and 0:4, respectively) in the 2021 edition, but thrashed host Mexico 3:0 for some reason. That one upset already got them the third place in the group, which qualified them for the intercontinental playoffs for the World Cup. So they just flew out to New Zealand, beating Senegal and Chile to ultimately qualify for the World Cup. An absolutely incredible first for the team.

At the World Cup, they then lost all three matches - but in the least lucky way possible. They lost 0:1 to England, thanks to a single penalty. Then they lost 0:1 to China, thanks to a penalty again. Only to finally lose to Denmark, which went ahead by penalty and then netted a second one in the 90+10' minute. Every single of these results were a penalty away from being absolute miracles. The Haitians just have been slightly unlucky (and apparently a tiny bit unfair in the box).