Former Harambee Stars Coach on Why Haiti Should Be Proud of World Cup Performance Despite Loss to Scotland

Haiti's head coach, Sebastien Migne, believes his team should hold their heads high after a narrow 1-0 defeat to Scotland in their World Cup opener on Saturday.

Despite the loss, the former Harambee Stars coach urged his players to maintain their belief that they can still advance to the knockout stages.

In their first World Cup appearance since 1974, Haiti was undone by a first-half goal from John McGinn. However, the Caribbean side mounted a spirited late challenge, coming close to an equaliser when Frantzdy Pierrot's header went just wide in the 85th minute, and he threatened again in stoppage time.

With formidable opponents Brazil and Morocco remaining in Group C, Haiti faces a tough road ahead. Migne, however, emphasised that his team is accustomed to overcoming adversity.

"When you play a match, what you're trying to do is win," Migne told reporters after the match. "On one hand, I'm very proud of what the boys showed tonight. It was a very good showing, with some good football. When we know where we're coming from, we rose to the challenge, but it makes it that much more frustrating that we came up slightly short."

Migne called for resilience, drawing a comparison to their qualification journey where they had to wait until after their final match against Nicaragua to confirm their spot in the tournament.

"With Haiti, nothing is ever easy," he added. "If we are to qualify, it will be a struggle, and maybe it will happen in the last few minutes of the third game."

Next, Haiti will face five-time world champions Brazil before their final group match against Morocco.

"We saw some fairly interesting things, but we're playing at an extremely high level, and just one oversight is enough," the 53-year-old coach noted. "You can get punished for that."

"We lacked that bit of spontaneity in our movement, in our combinations, and also had some poor decision-making at times," he said. "We'll have to score some goals if we want to have a chance to qualify."