Haiti advances to second round in World Cup qualifying

Haiti will play either the Group B winner, Canada or Suriname, in a two-match, total-goal series on Saturday and June 15 for a spot in the eight-nation regional finals.

Derrick Etienne in action. (File Photo)

Derrick Etienne scored in the 63rd minute, and No. 83 Haiti (3-0) won 1-0 over visiting No. 147 Nicaragua (2-1) at Port-au-Prince on Tuesday to win Group E of the first round of World Cup qualifying in North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Haiti will play either the Group B winner, Canada or Suriname, in a two-match, total-goal series on Saturday and June 15 for a spot in the eight-nation regional finals along with the 20th-ranked United States, No. 11 Mexico, No. 45 Jamaica, No. 50 Costa Rica and No. 67 Honduras.

 

No. 70 Canada played Suriname later Tuesday at Bridgeview, Illinois.

No. 135 St. Kitts and Nevis clinched Group F last weekend and will play a second-round matchup against the Group A winner — El Salvador, Antigua and Barbuda, or Montserrat. No. 69 El Salvador hosted Antigua and Barbuda later Tuesday and Grenada was home against Montserrat.

 

The Group C winner, Curaçao or Guatemala, will play the Group D winner, Panama or the Dominican Republic. Curaçao hosted Guatemala, and Panama hosted the Dominican Republic.

The eight-nation regional finals start from September 2 and run through March 30. The top three nations qualify for the World Cup and the No. 4 team advances to a playoff against another confederation.