Preview:Haiti vs Costa Rica - prediction, team news, lineups

Haiti can overtake Costa Rica in the Group C table with a victory on Thursday at Ergilio Hato Stadium in Curacao on matchday five in the third round of CONCACAF World Cup 2026 qualifying.

After four matches, the Haitians sit third in the standings with five points, losing 3-0 at Honduras the last time around, putting them a point behind Los Ticos, who defeated Nicaragua 4-1.

Match preview

With two matches remaining, Haiti are as close as they have ever been to a berth in the World Cup finals, but they have more work to do if they are to get over that line.

Two wins this month would give Sebastien Migne’s side a decent chance at an automatic place in next summer’s tournament, though they would still need the Hondurans to drop points on at least one occasion.

The Haitians have yet to lose a 2026 World Cup qualifier as the home team, posting a clean sheet in their opening third round fixture in Curacao against Honduras in September (0-0 draw).

Three of their four qualifying triumphs in the second and third rounds of this cycle came when they scored an opening-half goal, something they have only done once in this current phase (a 3-0 win against Nicaragua).

Haiti are winless in their last three matches played as the home team and were outscored by a combined margin of 6-1 over that stretch.

Les Grenadiers are unbeaten in their previous four meetings versus Costa Rica across all competitions, with their only triumph over that stretch against them coming at the 2019 Gold Cup in the United States (2-1).

At last, Costa Rica got their first victory in this round of World Cup qualifying, though it was not as easy as the final score may have indicated.

After being pegged back to 1-1, Miguel Herrera’s team answered with a goal two minutes later and eventually prevailed to stay within range of Honduras at the top of the table.

One win after four matchdays in round three is not what many had expected from this team, however, by winning their final two qualifiers, they would assure themselves a spot at the World Cup for a fourth successive occasion.

Heading into this match the Central Americans have not lost any of their previous 12 competitive fixtures in normal time and have yet to lose a World Cup 2026 qualification affair.

While winning has not come easy for them in qualifying, particularly in round three, scoring goals has, as this team have netted a combined 25 times in their eight qualifiers.

Los Ticos are undefeated versus Caribbean opposition this year, having won all four of their World Cup qualifiers this century against the Haitians, conceding just one goal in that time.

Haiti World Cup Qualifying - North Central America form:

Haiti form (all competitions):

Costa Rica World Cup Qualifying - North Central America form:

Costa Rica form (all competitions):

Team News

The most notable omission for Haiti in this window was Fabrice Picault, while Duckens Nazon is two appearances away from equaling goalkeeper Johny Placide and Frantz Gilles for third in all-time caps.

Woobens Pacius and Hannes Delcroix collected their first senior international caps in the defeats to Honduras, while Carlens Arcus can reach the half-century mark for international appearances on Thursday.

The only Costa Rican player selected for this window without a senior international appearance is Alexander Lezcano Veliz, while Keylor Navas, Francisco Calvo and Joel Campbell are their most experienced players chosen, each with over 100 caps.

Alonso Martinez will be counted upon to remain in strong form, with the New York City FC striker netting twice against the Nicaraguans, while assisting on Manfred Ugalde’s goal, with Calvo also scoring in that match.

Haiti possible starting lineup:

Placide; Arcus, Metusala, Thermoncy, Experience; Casimir, Jean Jacques, Bellegarde, Etienne; Pierrot, Nazon

Costa Rica possible starting lineup:

Navas; Quiros, Calvo, J. Vargas, Waston, Mitchell; K. Vargas, Alcocer; Galo; Ugalde, Martinez

We say: Haiti 0-2 Costa Rica

In crunch time, the Costa Ricans know what it takes to win these qualification fixtures, and we trust that they will find the quality needed to fend off an experienced Haitian squad.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.