BY ONZ CHÉRY
The Haiti’s men soccer team, Les Grenadiers, qualifies for the 2023 Gold Cup after defeating Montserrat 4-0 at Blakes Estate Stadium in a CONCACAF Nations League game on Saturday evening.
Haiti made it to the Gold Cup because it has booked a first place finish in the CONCACAF Nations League B with a game to go.
Les Grenadiers racked 13 points after winning four games and drawing one. Since Haiti will finish first, it will also jump to League A next season.
Haiti’s star striker Duckens Nazon, forwards Frantzdy Pierrot and Mondy Prunier, and midfielder Derrick Etienne were on target for The Red and Blue, another moniker for Les Grenadiers.
After a scoreless first half, Nazon opened the scoring, dribbling past two Montserrat defenders in the box before steering a low shot to the right corner of the net in the 50th minute.
Nazon, 28, was making his return to the national team after a year and eight months absence because he was protesting against the new head coach, Jean-Jacques Pierre, who Nazon believed was unqualified for the job.
Pierrot gave Haiti a 2-0 lead in the 61st minute as he headed Alex Junior Christian’s cross to the bottom right corner of the net.
Later in the 70th minute, Pierrot attempted to dribble past Montserrat’s keeper in the box but the opposing keeper palmed the ball away. Etienne lobbed the rebound in the net to put Les Grenadiers up 3-0.
Prunier netted Haiti’s fourth goal in the 84th minute.
Haiti will play in the Gold Cup for the 16th time. The competition runs from June 24 to July 16 and will take place in the United States. Other teams that also qualified for the Gold Cup so far are the United States, Mexico, Qatar, Panama, Jamaica and El Slavador.
Haiti historically finished third in the Gold Cup in 2019, but could not get out of the group stage in 2021.
Les Grenadiers will close their 2022-23 CONCACAF Nations League season with a home game versus Bermuda on Tuesday at San Cristóbal Panamerican Stadium in the Dominican Republic.
