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Haiti beat Nicaragua 2-0 to qualify for their second World Cup ever, despite their coach having never visited the Caribbean island before.
The French team’s coach, Sebastien Mini, 52, has not been able to set foot in Haiti since his appointment 18 months ago because conflict in the country forces them to play their home matches 500 miles away in Curacao – an island nation located off the coast of the South American country Venezuela.
Since the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010, the country has been in turmoil. Armed gangs have taken control of almost all of the capital, Port-au-Prince, in a conflict that has forced some 1.3 million people from their homes and increased hunger to famine level.
Travelers are warned against visiting the country of 12 million people due to the risk of kidnappings, crimes, terrorist activities and civil unrest.
“It’s impossible because it’s too dangerous,” Meaney said.
“I usually live in the countries where I work, but I can’t here. There are no international flights landing there anymore,” he told France Football magazine.
Mene, who was an assistant to Cameroon in the last World Cup, relied on information about local players from Haitian Football Federation officials over the phone. “They gave me the information, and I managed the team remotely.”
Their squad now includes a foreign player and includes French-born Wolves midfielder Jean Reckner Bellegarde. They are also hoping to persuade Sunderland striker Wilson Isidore, who was born in France to Haitian parents, to join them.
Haiti’s victory over Nicaragua secured its place in the summer World Cup finals being held in the United States, Mexico and Canada for the first time since 1974.
They will be joined by Panama, which beat El Salvador 3-0, and Curacao, which made its first World Cup appearance after drawing with Jamaica in CONCACAF qualifiers.
In Haiti’s only other World Cup appearance, they lost to Italy, Poland and Argentina and were eliminated in the first round.
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