ATLANTA, GA — Haiti finally scored their first goals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and their fan base almost blew the roof off of the Atlanta Stadium. Morocco defeated Haiti 4-2 in their third and final match of group play on Wednesday, June 24.
Haiti and Morocco met in Atlanta, Georgia for their final matches in Group C. Morocco entered the match needing a win to maintain their second place standings in Group C and to secure their spot in the round of 32. Haiti entered Wednesday’s contest playing for pride because their World Cup would be coming to an end after group play.
The game started out just like everyone probably assumed with Haiti playing like they had nothing to lose and Morocco playing as if the Haiti players would just lay down. Haiti were the aggressors early on and were the first ones to strike. Yassine Bounou wasted no time of breaking the Haitian scoring drought and he scored at the 10-minute mark in the first half to give Haiti a 1-0 lead. The goal also broke a 52-year drought for Haiti and it had Haiti fans jumping for joy in Atlanta Stadium. The chants and emotions filled the stadium that you could probably hear it in the Carolinas.
The momentum from the fans spilled onto the field, especially on defense. Haiti’s goalkeeper Johny Placide left it all on the field and stood strong against the Morocco attack early on. He had five of his eight total saves in the first half. including a stretch where he had to make to incredible back-to-back saves at the 28-minute mark.
Morocco would not be denied as Achraf Hakimi would tie the game 1-1 with a goal at the 39’ minute of the first half. Haiti would come right back to answer with a long distance shot at the 43’ minute by Wilson Isidor to give the lead back to Haiti, 2-1. It seem like Haiti would be able to ride the momentum into halftime and lead for the first time at the half in the World Cup, but Morocco had other plans.
Ismael Saibari would score during the stoppage time added at the end of the first half and he tied at 2-2 for Morocco right before the halftime break. The goal stunned the Haitian fans and seemingly took all the air out of the building. The sold out crowd knew they were in for a treat in the second half and not many people left their seats during the break.
The players returned to the field after halftime to a loud crowd and every seat filled. The intensity in the crowd was matched on the field too. Both teams received a yellow card each to start the half, but neither team could convert their free kicks. Then, Morocco was able to break the tie with a goal from Soufian Rahimi at the 78’ minute to make it a 3-2 score.
Haiti seem to be deflated after the goal and went from attacking to playing conservative. Their all out mentality went out of the window from the first half and they could never get any clean looks in the second half.
Morocco would add a late goal for security in the 89’ minute mark. Gessime Yassine scored to extend the Morocco lead to 4-2 and secure them the victory. They finished group play with a record of 2-0-1 and Haiti finished with a 0-3 record.
Despite the two losses in their previous games that eliminated the Haiti national team from advancing, their head coach knew what it meant to the fans to continue to fight in their final match.
“We do not have a right to give up,” said Haiti’s head coach Sébastien Migné. “Yes we have suffered two defeats, but true failure would be to stop fighting.”
Haiti will return back home as their 2026 FIFA World Cup run is over. Morocco will turn their attention to Netherlands for their round of 32 match up. The two teams are set to play on Monday, June 29 at Monterrey Stadium in Guadalupe, Mexico. The match will start at 9:00 p.m. local time. This will be the first time the two clubs have met since they played each other in an international friendly match in 2017.