Haiti’s struggle in U-20 WC qualifiers continues in 3-1 loss to Panama

CAP-HAITIEN — Haiti’s under-20 men’s soccer team put up a second straight mediocre performance in the 2025 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, falling to Panama 3-1 at Estadio Sergio León Chávez in Irapuato, a central city in Mexico.

Panamanian forward Gustavo Herrera looped the ball over Haitian goalkeeper Jonah Mednard from outside of the box to open the scoring in the 16th minute. Winger Kairo Walters increased Panama’s lead to two goals when he steered a shot past Mednard from an acute angle inside the box in the 32nd minute. Rafael Mosquera gave Los Canaleros a 3-0 lead in the 52nd minute through a penalty kick.

Haiti’s star striker Bryan Destin netted his side consolitary goal after cutting inside the 18-yard box to fire a low shot in the net in the 85th minute.

With a 2-0-2-0 record and only one game left to play in the group stage, it is now extremely unlikely for Haiti to advance to the knockout phase of the Concacaf U-20 Championship. Les Grenadiers can not finish among the two top teams in Group C since Mexico and Panama already racked six points. Thus, Haiti’s only chance to advance from the group stage is to win its third game and hope for a miracle.

In the end, Les Grenadiers must be among the top two third-placed teams. A feat that they may not be able to achieve even if they win their next game against Guatemala Saturday. The two current third-place teams, Cuba and El Salvador, have one and three points respectively while Haiti sits in fourth position with zero.

Before Wednesday’s night loss, Haiti bowed down to Mexico 4-0 in another uninspired and sloppy performance. After those first two games, Haiti is the second worst team in the Concacaf U-20 Championship, conceding seven goals and only scoring one.

Although head coach Angelo Jean-Baptiste replaced four players from the starting line-up of the lackluster 4-0 loss to Mexico, Les Grenadiers did not improve much. Among the players Jean-Baptiste replaced were Mendell Francois and Jordy Monclair, who overwhelmingly underperformed against Mexico. 

At the beginning of the game, it appeared as if the Haitian players were strongly motivated to put Sunday’s loss behind as the defenders swiftly combined well for multiple series of passes — something they rarely did against Mexico. However, the players lost the ball too often in the midfield hence could not get into the attacking third.

Later in the 16th minute, one of the defenders made an amateurish mistake that led to the first goal, similarly in the game against Mexico. Shaun Brun, a 16-year-old Seattle FC Academy center back, allowed a long pass from the opposing goalkeeper to bounce over him. Herrera, an 18-year-old Sporting San Miguelito II striker, exquisitely looped the ball into the net from outside the box. 

Local players’ absence is haunting Haiti

Brun, who is only 16 as mentioned, possibly started both games because nine local players could not travel to Mexico partially due to lack of flights. Colo Myson, one of the top defenders in the Haitian League last season, is among those nine absent players. Myson won the league with Real Hope Football Academy.

Throughout the match, Haiti’s midfield was nearly absent. The midfielders did not move well into space or create lanes to receive passes from the defenders. When they finally touched the ball they often dribbled into opposing players or made bad passes. 

On the defensive end, the midfielders often left opposing players open, allowing Panama to easily transition from defense to midfield and then to offense.

Indeed, in the second goal, Panama easily pierced through Haiti’s midfield before Brun allowed Walters to shoot the ball from the 18-yard box and into the net.

One of the most promising young Haitian central midfielders is among the nine absent local players, Schneilorens Lebrun. Lebrun, an 18-year-old Exafoot product, was a valuable if not indispensable component for Haiti in the first phase of the qualifiers in February.

Panama yet again easily made its way past Haiti’s midfield in the 47th minute of the first half, consequently Anel Ryce was galloping toward the box. Jaylen-Andre Vilsaint, who was caught off position, paced behind Ryce and slide tackled him from behind in the penalty box. The referee was left with no other choice but to reward Panama with a penalty kick, which Mosquero buried home in the 52nd minute.

Les Grenadiers ended the game on a rather positive note as their passes started to connect. It was during this stint that Destin showed individual brilliance by cutting inside the box with the ball before whipping a shot into the net in the 85th minute.

Up next for Haiti is a clash  on Sautrday against Guatemala, the other winless team in Group C. Even a win might not be enough for Haiti to make it out of the group stage since mathematically speaking it is almost impossible for Les Grenadiers to be one of the best two third placed teams. 

Needless to say, it will take a miracle for Haiti to qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup to be played in Chile.

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