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After blowing off the cobwebs with a 4-1 victory over Curacao at Hampden last weekend, Steve Clarke and his Scotland players have been training in Florida this week as they acclimatise to life in America.
Getting themselves up to speed for their first crack at a World Cup in 28 years, Clarke’s side will travel to New Jersey for their final warm-up match against Bolivia on Saturday night.
It is then all systems go as they face matches against Haiti, Morocco and Brazil in Group C, aiming to make history by becoming the first Scotland team ever to reach the knockout stages of a major finals.
When the draw was made back in December, the opening match against Haiti looked like it might offer a fairly gentle start to the World Cup.
Up against one of the lowest-ranked teams in the whole tournament, the consensus was that Haiti represented an ideal chance to kick things off with a victory.
That may well still be the prevailing feeling among the majority of supporters. Certainly, if Scotland are to get out of the group, it is imperative that they take three points.
Haiti forward Ruben Prividence celebrates after scoring the opening goal in Florida
Yet, for all that Haiti go into the World Cup very much in the minnows bracket, nobody should be naive enough to believe Scotland will simply cruise along and enjoy an easy night’s work in Boston next weekend.
Any such theory already looks to be misguided on the basis of what Haiti produced in a thumping 4-0 victory over New Zealand in Miami on Tuesday night.
Context is always important with these things. New Zealand are hardly world-beaters themselves, ranked three places below Haiti in the world rankings [82 to 85]. Curacao are sandwiched in between them both at 83.
This was no meaningless run-out for New Zealand. They are preparing for their own World Cup campaign which will see them go up against Belgium, Egypt and Iran in Group G.
The Kiwis had Motherwell playmaker Elijah Just and Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood in their starting line-up. But they were put to the sword in impressive fashion by a Haiti side who had four different goalscorers and looked like a real danger going forward.
They took the lead on 12 minutes when Ruben Providence jinked his way through and clipped a lovely finish over the goalkeeper.
Sunderland striker Wilson Isidor looked a class act and a clear danger throughout
That goal came courtesy of some excellent striker play from Sunderland’s Wilson Isidor, who was strong and physical throughout, as well as showing some nice touches and lay-offs.
New Zealand certainly had chances, particularly towards the end of the first half, with Wood and Just both featuring prominently. They were also helped by some dodgy goalkeeping from Haiti veteran Johny Placide. The 38-year-old keeper, who plays for Bastia in the French second-tier, looked wholly unconvincing.
Placide flapped at several crosses and, even when he did make some saves, they were extremely theatrical. On this evidence, the likes of Ryan Christie, John McGinn and Scott McTominay should be shooting on sight.
Haiti’s defence as a whole looked fairly ropey. For all they kept a clean sheet, that was more down to New Zealand’s profligacy than anything else.
At the other end of the pitch, however, they looked very sharp indeed. It was similar to how Curacao troubled Scotland last weekend prior to going down to ten men.
Haiti went 2-0 up shortly after half-time when another incisive move saw Ferencvaros forward Lenny Joseph shrug off a couple of defenders before slotting a confident finish into the bottom corner.
Motherwell forward Elijah Just played for the Kiwis but his side were worryingly outclassed
Frantzdy Pierrot scored with a header for 3-0, before Markhus Duke Lacroix curled in a great finish from the edge of the box to complete an emphatic victory with only five minutes remaining.
Watching on from the stands, Clarke and his coaching staff will have plenty to chew over as they try to formulate a plan to beat Haiti next weekend.
This is a team who, for all they are among the lowest-ranked nations in the World Cup, should not be viewed as the whipping boys of Group C.
Whilst the defence and goalkeeper may have been unconvincing, Haiti are slick and dangerous in attack. The quality of their finishing, in particular, was excellent. Write them off at your peril.
They are also determined to put up a fight and defy the odds. In an interview earlier this year, defender Ricardo Ade said: ‘One of the characteristics of a Haitian is knowing that life itself is a fight.
‘That’s the life of my people. Haiti has always had to fight and it won’t be any different at the World Cup. The most important thing was getting to the World Cup.
Frantzdy Pierrot leads the celebrations after putting his side three goals clear of the Kiwis
‘Once you’re there, any group is going to be difficult — we’re talking about a World Cup. We’re in a very tough group, but we have ways of inflicting damage. It’s a process, and we’ll take it step by step.
‘Things have never been easy. You have the hope that they will change and you fight for it. We played the entire qualification campaign away from home, but we still felt the positive energy of our people.
‘It will be the same at the World Cup. It’s great to know that we can bring them happiness. It’s a huge responsibility, but one that we carry with great affection and respect.’
Scotland will have a fight on their hands in Boston next weekend, be under no illusions about that. They will be favourites to win, of course, but they will have to work for it and earn it against a Haiti side who have enough skill and flair in attack to cause a shock.
