MIAMI — With the 2026 World Cup draw taking place Friday, Haiti learned which opponents it will face in next summer’s tournament.

It marks Haiti’s first World Cup appearance since 1974. The team was placed in Group C alongside fifth-ranked Brazil, 11th-ranked Morocco and 36th-ranked Scotland.

Haiti’s road to the World Cup was anything but easy. The team was unable to play a single home qualifier on Haitian soil because of the country’s ongoing humanitarian and security crisis. Armed gangs now control large portions of Port-au-Prince, where violence, kidnappings and shortages of food, electricity and medical supplies have intensified in recent years.

In March 2024, Haiti’s national stadium, Stade Sylvio Cator, was overtaken by gangs. The Haitian Football Federation later confirmed it had lost control of the facility and reported widespread vandalism. With no functional home venue, Haiti played its “home” matches in in Willemstad, Curaçao at the Stadion Ergilio Hato.

Despite the turmoil and the dangers players and staff faced back home, the Haitian national team pushed forward, securing results and ultimately booking its first World Cup ticket in more than 50 years.

Group C offers no shortage of talent. Brazil boasts Real Madrid star Vinícius Júnior. Morocco reached the semifinals of the 2022 World Cup, becoming the first African nation to do so. Scotland enters with Premier League experience, led by Liverpool defender Andy Robertson.

Although Haiti faces a challenging path, the team expects to compete to the best of its abilities. For a country enduring one of the deepest crises in its history, simply qualifying for the World Cup stands as a monumental achievement — and a source of pride for millions of Haitians at home and abroad.