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Hundreds of supporters welcomed Striker Duckens Nazon, defender Martin Exp\u00e9rience and goalkeeper Josu\u00e9 Duverger, three members of Haiti’s 2026 FIFA World Cup squad, to Cap-Ha\u00eftien, celebrating Les Grenadiers’ return to soccer’s biggest stage after 52 years. Their homecoming highlighted the bond between Haiti and a national team built almost entirely from the diaspora that qualified without playing a single World Cup qualifier at home because of the country’s security crisis.<\/p>\n
CAP-HA\u00cfTIEN \u2014<\/strong> Hundreds of supporters lined the streets of Cap-Ha\u00eftien over the weekend to welcome three members of Haiti\u2019s 2026 FIFA World Cup squad, celebrating a team that ended the country\u2019s 52-year absence from soccer\u2019s biggest tournament despite never playing a World Cup qualifier on home soil.\u00a0<\/p>\n Forward Duckens Nazon, defender Martin Exp\u00e9rience and goalkeeper Josu\u00e9 Duverger arrived at Cap-Ha\u00eftien International Airport to cheers from fans waving Haitian flags as rara bands and marching bands filled the airport grounds with music.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cCap-Ha\u00eftien has a special place in my heart,\u201d Nazon said. \u201cThank you to everyone for this incredible welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n For Exp\u00e9rience, who was born in France to a father from Saint-Marc in the Artibonite, the visit carried another first.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is my fourth visit to Haiti, but my first time in Cap-Ha\u00eftien,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m deeply moved by the welcome we\u2019ve received. Seeing so many people come out to support us means a great deal.\u201d<\/p>\n The celebration carried special significance because it brought home players from a national team built almost entirely by the Haitian diaspora. Security concerns forced Les Grenadiers to play every match of their World Cup qualifying campaign abroad, leaving supporters in Haiti unable to watch the team compete at home before it reached the tournament for the first time since 1974.<\/p>\n The homecoming also reunited the three Europe-based players with Woodensky Pierre of Violette Athletic Club, the only Haiti-based player selected to the World Cup roster. Pierre had returned to the country earlier alongside fellow midfielder Danley Jean-Jacques, who plies his trade with the Philadelphia Union in Major League Soccer (MLS). Together, the four players spent time in northern Haiti visiting residents, touring historical landmarks\u2014including the Citadelle Laferri\u00e8re\u2014and relaxing at nearby beaches before continuing a broader nationwide tour.<\/p>\n The visit marked one of the first official celebrations held in Haiti since the national team\u2019s return from the World Cup.<\/p>\n