Haiti's Head coach Nicolas Delepine
With the 2023 staging of the FIFA Women's World Cup set to kick off in a few days, Sportsmax.tv will be featuring Player Profiles and Team Guides for three of the CONCACAF nations set to represent at the global showpiece in Australia and New Zealand. Today, we start with Haiti.
Written by Pierre Richard Midy
Overview
“There’s a lot of unhappiness in the country and football is the joy.” This quote from midfielder Danielle Etienne says everything about what qualifying for the World Cup means to the people of Haiti. There is no doubt that Les Grenadières have written a new page in their history by reaching this stage.
Nicolas Delépine’s side have finally matched the men’s achievement of qualifying for the World Cup in 1974 after coming close on several occasions. With a fulcrum based around several members of the squad that made it to the U-20 World Cup in 2018, including star player Melchie Dumornay - known as Corventina - Haiti defied expectations by beating Chile 2-1 in the inter-confederation playoff.
The Caribbean nation has been hit with a raft of crises, with the assassination of the president Jovenel Moïse in 2021 adding to the country’s insecurity amid a series of natural disasters.
The country was also shaken by the sexual abuse scandals that have stained Haitian football, particularly those involving the then president of the football federation, Yves Jean-Bart. Fifa’s ethics committee handed Jean-Bart a lifetime bans in November 2020 for alleged harassment and sexual abuse against female footballers after a series of investigations by the Guardian. That sentence was overturned by the court of arbitration for sport in March 2022, but Fifa has since appealed that decision. Jean-Bart denies any wrongdoing.
A normalisation committee has been in charge of Haitian football since December 2020 when Jean-Bart was first accused but Etienne, who is the daughter of former Haiti striker Derrick Etienne and was born in the United States, is hoping the World Cup can be the start of a brighter future. “We want that for the country as a whole, to have a breath of fresh air and kind of step aside from anything going on,” says the player.
The coach
A native of Nantes, Nicolas Delépine has more than 20 years of experience in French football, particularly with Nantes, Montpellier, Guingamp and more recently as coach of the Grenoble women's team. Having taken over Haiti in February 2022, Delépine has achieved an unprecedented feat: qualifying for the Women's World Cup. “We had to get to know the players first, find out what drives them, their strengths and their culture, so we could get the best out of them,” he said. “That’s how you get players to play to their potential: when you go out looking for the positive points but especially when you learn to get to know each other. We didn’t want to impose things but to build together."
The 43-year-old structures his teams according to the opponent and does not seem attached to a particular setup. In their last five matches, Haiti have fielded five different formations and Delépine is confident of causing a few shocks in a group containing England, China and Denmark. “We’re going there as outsiders and we’ve said that the bigger the mountains and the bigger the challenges, the more beautiful the success,” he said. “You might think we’re a bit crazy or out of our minds, but we want to go and spring a surprise, maybe a couple and, why not, make the last 16.”
Star player
Despite her tender age, 19-year-old Melchie Dumornay will arrive at the World Cup with the dreams of a nation on her shoulders. Solid, fast, technical, an excellent goalscorer and a very good passer, Dumornay participated in the adventure of the U-20 World Cup in 2018 when she was not even 15 years old. With a new contract already agreed at one of the biggest clubs in Europe, Lyon, after shining at Reims last season, the stage is set for Corventina to become an even bigger superstar.
Rising star
At 24, Nérilia Mondésir has accumulated a lot of experience but is still improving. Known as Nerigol, the captain of Haiti scored all three goals for her country at the U-20 World Cup and was instrumental in helping the senior side to qualify for this World Cup having scored against Senegal in the playoff semi-finals before setting up Dumornay for a goal against Chile in the final. “We trust our group, we do everything together,” she says.
Did you know?
Midfielder Etienne actively participated in Haiti's qualification for the 2023 Women's World Cup less than three months after giving birth to a baby. Her great talent, love and dedication to the national team has earned Etienne huge admiration from the press and the public in Haiti.
Standing of women’s football in Haiti
Media and TV coverage of women’s football in Haiti is very low. But Dumornay's breakthrough and the senior women's team's first World Cup qualification is turning the tide. Currently Haitian people shiver with passion at the approach of the tournament in Australia and New Zealand. The hope is that participation in the World Cup can serve to boost women's football in the country.
Realistic aim at the World Cup?
“When you take a step back and look at the women’s world ranking, we’ve got the hardest group in the tournament,” said Delépine. “We’re up against England, who are fourth, as well as China who are 14th and Denmark who are 18th [now 13th]. But we will certainly give it our best shot.”
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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