The Haitian Women’s National Team has earned its first berth in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup after beating Chile 2-1 on February 21.
Teenage midfielder Melchie Dumornay scored two goals during Wednesday’s match, guaranteeing Haiti a place in Group D of the 2023 Women’s World Cup. The history-maing squad will compete against England, China and Denmark in July.
Haiti hit the griddy! ?
We’ll see you at the #FIFAWWC! ?@fhfhaiti | #FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/YfJJFBAXJJ
— FIFA Women's World Cup (@FIFAWWC) February 22, 2023
“There’s a lot of unhappiness in the country, and football the joy,” Danielle Etienne, another Haiti team’s midfielder, mentioned to ESPN, ahead of the play-in tournament.
“Being able to qualify for the World Cup would be major,” Etienne said. “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.”
Haiti has been dealing with a number of crises over the past several years, including the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021 and an alarming amount of natural disasters, food and resource insecurities.
“We beat the hell out of them, 2 to 1,” Delva Backer, a Haitian-American woman from South Florida mentioned to Local 10 while reflecting on her thoughts after the game.
“I’m very happy for the Haitian community, everybody’s happy,” Haitian-American Delva Backer said. “You can’t underestimate any women, whether it’s a Haitian woman or American woman.”
Haïti ConcacafW: Qualification historique des Grenadières pour le mondial féminin Australie-Nouvelle-Zélande qui se tiendra du 20 juillet au 20 août de cette année.
Une soirée inoubliable pour nos Grenadières à Auckland après un long match.#Grenadyealaso pic.twitter.com/Wq4pbueR4e
— Fédération Haïtienne de Football (@fhfhaiti) February 22, 2023
