Scotland's World Cup opponents downed as Celtic man scores milestone goal and EPL star makes debut

Tounekti, 23, bagged the first international goal of his career after just seven minutes, latching onto a defence-splitting pass from Ismael Gharbi pass to fire the Tunisia into an lead early at BMO Field. The only goal of the game, Haiti had Danley Jean Jacques sent off in the fourth minute of injury time as Haiti suffered a narrow friendly defeat.

“We didn’t start the game well,” admitted Haiti boss Sebastien Migne. “At this level, against a team around the top 40 in FIFA’s rankings, it can get complicated. I’m satisfied with how the team reacted in the second half. We weren’t far from equalizing. It’s a good lesson. It’s better that it happens to us now rather than in June.”

One of the lowest-ranked sides at the tournament, Migne’s side is playing at the World Cup for just the second time in their history, and will face Scotland in their opening game at the 63,815-capacity Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on June 13. They will then take on Brazil in Philadelphia six days later, before Haiti complete their group fixtures with a clash against Morocco in Atlanta on June 24.

Deemed to be Scotland’s best chance of victory as they aim to make history by making the group stages of a major tournament for the first time, Steve Clarke’s men are ranked 45 places above Haiti in the FIFA rankings heading into the tournament in North America.

Meanwhile, Sunderland striker Wilson Isidor made his international debut for Haiti as a half-time substitute for Frantzdy Pierrot after opting to switch allegiances from France earlier. Handed a huge pre-tournament, the Stadium of Light marksman confirmed his decision to represent the Les Grenadiers after “receiving an avalanche of messages” from the nation’s supporters earlier this month.

Moving to Wearside for £3million from Zenit last summer, Isidor scored 13 goals as Sunderland secured promotion to the top flight via the EFL Championship playoffs. He has bagged a further four goals in 11 starts this term following their return to the English Premier League.

The 25-year-old is one of two English Premier League players expected to be included in the Haiti squad for the tournament after Wolverhampton Wanderers’ midfielder Jean‐Ricner Bellegarde also switched his international allegiance last September.

Haiti manager Migne recently revealed that he had also attempted to convince ex-Celtic and current RC Lens forward Odsonne Edouard to switch his international allegiance from France to Haiti for the 2026 World Cup. Eligible via his parents, the 53-year-old boss admitted he had been unable to change his mind, with Edouard still holding out for a senior call-up from France.

Haiti continue their preparations with a friendly against Iceland on Tuesday afternoon, at the BMO Field, where they are likely to come up against Celtic goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo and Rangers winger Oliver Antman, with both teams still searching for their first victory of the new year.

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