Grenadye, alaso! Haiti demolish New Zealand 4-0 in World Cup rehearsal
📷 Miami Herald
Haiti's men's national football team beat New Zealand 4-0 in a World Cup warm-up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, delivering a statement performance in front of what local reports described as more than 16,000 passionate fans as Les Grenadiers build momentum for their first men's FIFA World Cup appearance since 1974.
Haiti's men's national football team delivered a commanding 4-0 victory over New Zealand in an international friendly at Chase Stadium (Inter Miami CF Stadium) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Tuesday, June 3, 2026 — a result that sent more than 16,000 predominantly Haitian supporters into rapture ahead of Les Grenadiers' first FIFA World Cup appearance since 1974.
Ruben Providence opened the scoring in the 12th minute, and Haiti led 1-0 at the break despite a roughly 30-minute pre-kick-off delay caused by lightning. Substitute Lenny Joseph doubled the advantage just six minutes into the second half, before Frantzdy Pierrot headed in a third after the hour mark. Markhus Lacroix sealed the demolition with a long-range rocket late on.
New Zealand — the lowest-ranked nation at the 2026 World Cup — struggled throughout. Goalkeeper Alex Paulsen endured a difficult first half and was replaced by Max Crocombe at the interval as coach Darren Bazeley made wholesale changes. All Whites captain Chris Wood, earning a record 89th cap, had a bicycle kick cleared off the line by Jhony Placide, but that was as close as New Zealand came.
Hydration breaks were taken at the 35th and 77th minutes due to the near-30°C Fort Lauderdale heat. Off the pitch, Haiti's build-up was complicated by visa delays that prevented midfielder Woodensky Pierre — the squad's only Haiti-based player — from featuring; he landed at Miami airport around half-time.
For an earlier story on Haiti in the World Cup, read: Haiti's Wordl Cup miracle
• Haiti beat New Zealand 4-0 at Chase Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida on June 3, 2026 • Attendance: more than 16,000 fans, predominantly Haitian supporters • Scorers: Ruben Providence (12'), Lenny Joseph (51'), Frantzdy Pierrot (60+'), Markhus Lacroix (late) • Kick-off delayed approximately 30 minutes due to lightning • Hydration breaks at 35th and 77th minutes due to near-30°C heat • New Zealand goalkeeper Alex Paulsen replaced by Max Crocombe at half-time • Chris Wood earned a record 89th New Zealand cap • Midfielder Woodensky Pierre was visa-delayed and missed the match; arrived at Miami airport at half-time • Haiti's first World Cup since 1974 — a 52-year absence • New Zealand is the lowest-ranked nation at the 2026 World Cup
Grenadye, Alaso! Haiti 4–0 New Zealand By The Numbers
Haiti's commanding 4-0 victory is significant well beyond the scoreline. It signals that Les Grenadiers are arriving at their first World Cup in 52 years with genuine confidence, cohesion and — crucially — the emotional fuel of a united diaspora behind them. The result will also put Scotland, Brazil and Morocco on notice that Haiti is not merely making up the numbers in the group stage.
"Haiti's first men's World Cup appearance since 1974 — a 52-year absence — confirmed by multiple independent reports including Reuters and BBC Sport."
— Reuters / BBC Sport
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Haiti camp: Pride, momentum and a rare sense of home: Haiti's coaching staff and players expressed deep satisfaction — not just at the scoreline but at the emotional experience of performing before a passionate diaspora crowd. Coach Migné said the players 'deserved' the reception and that the night rewarded their dedication. For striker Wilson Isidor, the atmosphere was genuinely unprecedented in his international career.
New Zealand camp: A harsh lesson with the World Cup days away: All Whites coach Darren Bazeley did not hide his concern, describing the defeat as 'a very harsh lesson' given the difficult matches New Zealand face at the World Cup. The result exposed defensive vulnerabilities and goalkeeping uncertainty that Bazeley must resolve before their opening tournament fixture against Iran on June 16.
Diaspora and cultural perspective: Football as a lifeline for Haiti: For many in the South Florida Haitian community, the match transcended sport. Celebrities and fans alike framed Haiti's World Cup participation as a source of collective pride amid the country's ongoing crisis — a rare moment of joy and unity for a nation and its diaspora under enormous strain.
"It's a very harsh lesson for us, especially with tough games coming up."
— Darren Bazeley, New Zealand head coach, via Reuters
Haiti's 4-0 demolition of New Zealand at Chase Stadium on Tuesday was not a warm-up match. For the 16,000 people who turned a Fort Lauderdale stadium blue and red, it was something closer to a reckoning.
Les Grenadiers qualified for this World Cup without playing a single match on home soil. The security crisis in Port-au-Prince has locked the national team out of Haiti since March 2021, forcing the entire qualifying campaign to be played in Willemstad, Curaçao. They qualified in exile — then arrived in South Florida and dismantled New Zealand with a composure that belied everything the outside world assumes about Haitian football.
Providence scored inside 12 minutes. Lenny Joseph doubled the lead early in the second half. Pierrot headed in a third, Lacroix sealed it with a long-range strike, and the crowd — already delirious — will be talking about that last goal for years. "The noise when we scored," said striker Wilson Isidor, "I've never experienced that in my life." From a player representing a team that has spent years performing without a proper home, that is not a throwaway quote.
Haiti is the only truly independent Caribbean nation at this World Cup. Curaçao — the other Caribbean qualifier — remains a constituent country of the Netherlands. Haiti's independence, proclaimed in 1804 after the only successful slave revolt in history, has always carried a weight that makes the rest of the region's relationship with it complicated. Too often, that complexity slides into distance. Caricom solidarity with Haiti has been inconsistent; the instinct to treat the country as a problem to manage rather than a partner to stand beside has never fully disappeared.
Tuesday offered a different frame. They face Brazil, Morocco and Scotland — none of them a gift. But this is not a team that came to make up the numbers, and the group stage will make that clear soon enough.
The wider Caribbean should be watching, and not just neutrally. The diaspora in Fort Lauderdale understood that instinctively. The question is whether the rest of the region will meet them there.
Grenadye, alaso!
Editor's note: For an earlier story on Haiti in the World Cup, read: Haiti's Wordl Cup miracle
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