Jean-Ricner Bellegarde is one of several players out on international duty – and there was delight yesterday for the Wolves midfielder.
With Rob Edwards now taking training sessions back at Compton Park, there have still been some players featuring for their national teams, with Jorgen Strand Larsen and Tolu Arokodare both playing on Tuesday.
Last night there were a couple more involvements for Wolves players as Hwang Hee-chan played for South Korea against Ghana, while Bellegarde took to the field as Haiti faced Nicaragua.
And there was elation for Bellegarde, who is now all set to go to the World Cup in 2026 following a big win for Haiti.
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde is World Cup-bound as Haiti secure qualification
Several Wolves players already stand to go to next year’s World Cup.
Emmanuel Agbadou, Jorgen Strand Larsen, David Moller Wolfe, Jose Sa and Hwang Hee-chan, are all set to go to North America next year, presuming they are all still in their managers’ thoughts for selection.
Andre and Joao Gomes will also hope to be going to the tournament with Brazil, although they may have work to do to convince Carlo Ancelotti to pick them.
But one man who is now all but certain to be playing at next year’s tournament is Bellegarde, who is Haiti’s talisman.
Last night, Haiti ran out 2-0 winners over Nicaragua, meaning they topped their qualifying group edging out Honduras and Costa Rica.
It is a big deal for Haiti, who have only ever been to one other World Cup. That was all the way back in 1974.
Panama and Curacao were the two other CONCACAF nations to seal qualification last night.
Accompanying Bellegarde will be Duckens Nazon, who once spent a season-and-a-half at Wolves without making a first-team appearance and now plays for Persian Gulf Pro League club Esteghlal.
A proud moment for Bellegarde
This is a great moment for Bellegarde, who only made his debut for Haiti back in September after declaring his allegiance.
The former French youth international, along with his teammates, will now hope to prepare well for the tournament and pull off a shock or two once there.
Haiti are ranked 88th in the world by FIFA, and so, people are not expecting much from them.
But regardless, it’s still a fantastic achievement to make it to the finals and they’ll surely do their level best to make an unlikely push out of their group.