Scotland begin their first World Cup campaign in 28 years when they face Haiti in the early hours of Sunday morning UK time — a nation that has only previously qualified once, in 1974, and now fields an almost entirely foreign-based squad.
Leading the Haiti attack is Sunderland forward Wilson Isidor, a former France Under-21 international who switched allegiance after encouragement from fans on social media. The 25-year-old scored on his first start in a 1-1 draw with Iceland in March and has netted four goals in his past nine games for club and country. “It’s been 52 years since Haiti were at the last World Cup and the first goalscorer [Emmanuel Sanon] is a big, big legend there,” Isidor said. “I hope to be the second one.”
“Scotland face Haiti in their first World Cup match in 28 years, with Sunderland's Wilson Isidor a key threat.”
Isidor’s father and grandfather are both from the Caribbean nation, and his form — six Premier League goals for Sunderland in 2025-26 — makes him a vital component of Haiti’s counter-attacking gameplan.
In midfield, Wolves’ Jean-Ricner Bellegarde has made a big impact since being recruited by head coach Sebastien Migne last year. Bellegarde started all six games in the final round of qualifying as Haiti won three and drew two to reach the World Cup for just a second time. The 27-year-old joined Wolves from Strasbourg for £12.8m in 2023 and has made 83 Premier League appearances since.
The heartbeat of the team is 38-year-old captain and goalkeeper Johny Placide, who plays for Bastia in the French second tier and once featured for Oldham Athletic in League One. His participation in the tournament was briefly in doubt after knee surgery in March, but he returned to play 45 minutes of a 4-0 warm-up win against New Zealand on 2 June.
At the back, former Burnley defender Hannes Delcroix — who made his senior international debut for Belgium in 2020 before switching allegiance to Haiti last year — has formed a resilient partnership with Ricardo Ade. That pairing helped earn two wins that secured Haiti’s passage to the tournament.
Steve Clarke’s Scotland side will need to break down a defence that has grown in confidence during qualifying, while containing a forward line inspired by Isidor’s quest to become the nation’s second World Cup goalscorer.