Overview:
Haiti’s under-17 boys team cruised past Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) 5-0 in its World Cup qualifying opening game. The team looked in form, unlike the previous youth teams, hinting at a possible return of a Haitian youth soccer team in the World Cup.
Prior to Haiti’s under-17 Concacaf’s World Cup qualifiers debut, head coach Eddy Cesar bragged to FIFA about having a talented roster and said his two top players are left winger Emerson Laissé, 15, and attacking midfielder Franco Celestin, 16.
Indeed, Laissé and Celestin looked like men playing against boys as they carried Les Grenadiers to a 5-0 victory against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the opening round of the Concacaf’s FIFA U-17 World Cup qualifiers at Estadio Cementos Progreso in Guatemala City, Guatemala on Tuesday night, Feb. 11.
Laissé netted the game’s opening goal and contributed to another one with a second assist. Meanwhile, Celestin scored a stunner in the second half. Laissé and Celestin were both born in Haiti but they are already playing overseas in Jamaica for Mount Pleasant FA after wowing scouts during the Caribbean Football Union Under-14 Challenge in 2022. Although they are still in the early stages of their career, the two are a glitter of hope for Haitian soccer during a rough time for young players’ development because Centre FIFA Goal in Croix-des-Bouquets, which had once been instrumental to this project, has been inactive since the latest escalating gang violence in the Haitian capital and its surrounding areas. Abandoned due to rampant gang-fueled insecurity in the Cul-de-Sac Plain, the facility was taken over by the 400 Mawozo gang on Feb. 9.
Nicknamed Ranch in Creole, the Centre FIFA Goal produced the most successful Haitian players plying their trade overseas now — particularly in the women’s teams — more notably world-class midfielder Melchie Daëlle “Corventina” Dumornay. Many of the players developed at the housing training center were part of the last Haitian teams that played in World Cups, the women’s team in 2023 and the under-20 women’s team in 2017.
No Ranch, no problem on Tuesday night
After the Centre FIFA Goal stopped operating, Haiti’s youth teams mainly went overseas for players and struggled. The teams lacked togetherness and hunger, two traits the Ranch players were known for. For instance, the U-20 men’s teams put up substandard performances in the last stage of the World Cup qualifiers, failing to qualify for the tournament in July 2024. The U-17 girls’ team also failed to qualify for the World Cup in the 2024 qualifiers.
The teenage Grenadiers’ commanding performance against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines brought back the old glory days of Haitian youth teams’ dominance in the Caribbean. However, they were playing against a much weaker team on Tuesday night. The young Haitians were confident as they were explosive and clinical when they had the ball at their feet. They did not lack chemistry as seen in the previous youth Haitian sides. The players knew exactly where to find their teammates and as a result, moved the ball well.
Defensively, the players were disciplined as they remained in their positions and delivered hard but clean tackles when needed.
Goals upon goals combined with individual masterpieces
Wearing the heavy Haiti number 10 on his back, Laissé looked like a rising star from the second the ball touched his feet. The 15-year-old effortlessly brought a long pass down amid a couple of Saint Vincent defenders as if he was practicing alone at a training ground early in the game. He then dribbled past them as if he was dribbling between cones. Laissé terrorized Saint Vincent’s right flank on Tuesday night, even when he lost the ball, he easily won it back and dribbled again. But as mentioned, Saint Vincent was a much weaker opponent.
A moment of brilliance from Laissé drew the opener in the 12th minute. He finessed his way past three Saint Vincent players down the left wing and slotted a shot to the near post. The Saint Vincent & Grenadines players were too slow to react and the opposing goalkeeper should not have gotten beaten near the post, nevertheless, it was an alluring individual play from Laissé. Eight minutes later, Laissé dazzled down the left flank again past Saint Vincent players and found Djouby Jean Philippe in the box with a ground box. Jean Philippe pushed the ball to an unmarked Nikolaï Pierre, who did not fail to find the net.
Pierre, Haiti’s big Number 9, was on target again when he headed Medinel Zamor’s cross into the net in the 42nd minute. Later in the second half, Zamor delivered another pinpoint cross in the box, which Théo Lacombe headed into the net in the 46th minute.
So, to add to Laissé and Celestin’s individual glories, Zamor and Pierre also shined on Tuesday night as they collected a combination of two assists and two goals.
For the last goal, Celestin wiggled his way past a sea of yellow Saint Vincent players before banging a shot to the top far left corner of the net.
Haiti sits in first place after the first round with three points. The winner of the group will qualify directly for the World Cup.

Up next, Haiti will face another team that is weaker on paper, Antigua and Barbuda, on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. ET at Estadio Cementos Progreso, again in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
After this game, Haiti will clash against a rather strong side, Guatemala, on Sunday at 8:00 p.m. ET at the same venue. Guatemala defeated Antigua 2-1 on Tuesday night. Sunday’s clash between Guatemala, who might have an advantage because it will play at home, could decide which team in Group B will make it to the World Cup.