A lot of issues from Les Grenadiers first game of the tournament, did still remain at the start of their match against Brazil.
Once again though, they still continued to compete right up until when the final whistle was blown.
Knowing that the five-time world champions would come out fighting from the start, Haiti head coach, Sébastien Migné, made the bold decision to bench star player Sunderland striker Wilson Isidor in favour of a defensive line up.
This choice would unfortunately soon prove not to be enough against the football giants that are Brazil.
So, although this result does now mean that Haiti’s final group game match against Morocco will be their last of the competition, what did we learn from the Brazil game?
Play to your strengths
It has been evident from the start that Haiti’s strength lies at the attacking end of the pitch.
The starting line up for the Scotland game was a balance of attack and defence which showed the world that Haiti was here to challenge teams, however this shifted going into the Brazil game.
Haiti’s fear of conceding a large number of goals became the main priority and so the talent they have in attack was asked to sit on the sideline instead of doing what they do best and creating opportunities to score.
When you look at the stats at the end of the game, Brazil only had one more shot at goal than Haiti did. All three of Brazil’s goals were scored in the first half of the game.
Isidor was substituted on at half time and after that Haiti gave themselves a chance of getting back into the game but it would prove to be too much too ask so late in the match.
Take opportunities when they are given to you
The first time the ball went in the back of the net, it was ruled offside. Haiti in many respects should have seen this as warning of what the Brazilian side was capable of.
If Haiti had adapted and learned after this, they should have been able to anticipate what the opposition was going to do and found a way to prevent the goals they scored.
Throughout the second half more chances for Les Grenadiers to score were created but yet again they just could not take them.
There were of course some impressive saves from Liverpool goalkeeper, Alisson Becker, but even with that Isidor should have been able to find the back of the net.
In the 63rd minute of the game, a close chance came from a corner but once again Haiti could not convert.
It seems as though Haiti will feel this competition has been a lot of missed chances.
This is not the end of Haiti
Even though Haiti will be returning home after the Morocco game, they will be back in the future.
It is not that they have a bad team, it is that the team is not fully established yet.
They do not go out because of lack of effort but the lack of defensive strength.
Heading into the tournament this team was the second lowest ranked and had not appeared at a World Cup since 1974.
Neither Scotland nor Brazil dominated the whole game and took Haiti completely out of the game.
In both matches they rose to the occasion and proved that they deserved their place as one of the 48 teams at the tournament.
Yes they are one of the first teams to exit but they should not need to wait another 52 years to have the chance to compete on the world stage once again.
The nation now has four years to grow together and come back stronger in the future.
