Costa Rica Faces Haiti in Key World Cup Qualifier Matchup

MIAMI – Costa Rica is set to host Haiti in a Group C World Cup Qualifier on Tuesday at Estadio Nacional in San Jose, Costa Rica. This matchup follows Costa Rica’s recent 1-1 draw against Nicaragua, where Alexis Gamboa scored the team’s only goal.

Haiti earned its first point in the competition with a scoreless draw against Honduras. Goalkeeper Alexandre Pierre made three crucial saves to secure the clean sheet.

This will mark the 16th match between the two nations, with Costa Rica leading the all-time series with eight wins, six draws, and just one loss. Haiti’s only victory over Costa Rica occurred in the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup, where they won 2-1.

Costa Rica has been dominant in their four previous encounters in World Cup Qualifiers, winning all four matches. Their last meeting was during the Russia 2018 qualifiers, where Costa Rica claimed a narrow 1-0 victory thanks to a goal from Randall Azofeifa.

Historically, the two teams first met during the leadup to the 2010 World Cup. Costa Rica won that match 2-0, with goals from Junior “El Zancudo” Díaz and Víctor “Mambo” Núñez.

In their last three matches across all competitions, Haiti has managed one win and two draws. Their last victory was a 2-1 result against Nicaragua in the 2019 Gold Cup group stage at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, USA. Duckens Nazon scored from the penalty spot, while Djimy Alexis added another goal for Haiti.

As for individual performances, Bryan Ruíz leads Costa Rica in qualifiers against Haiti with two goals, while Alain Vubert holds the record for Haiti with one goal against Costa Rica.