Haiti routs New Zealand (and Tim Payne) 4-0 to delight crowd in World Cup tuneup
The Haitian national team, which reached the World Cup for the first time in 52 years despite gang violence preventing a single home qualifying match, finally got the exuberant home crowd it so craved on Tuesday night in Fort Lauderdale.
More than 16,000 proud Haitian fans decked head to toe in red and blue, Haitian flags draped around their shoulders, packed the three sides of Inter Miami Stadium that were open for the pre-World Cup friendly game against New Zealand.
It wasn’t Port-au-Prince, but it sure looked and sounded like it as they celebrated an emphatic 4-0 victory. The Haitian players danced on the field after the game and sprayed each other with water bottles.
Fans waited out a pre-game weather delay and long lines to get into parking lots for a chance to see their beloved Grenadiers. They belted out their national anthem. Haitian music blared through the loudspeakers. When Ruben Providence scored to give the Haitians a 1-0 lead at the 12-minute mark, the stadium erupted.
The crowd got even louder when Lenny Joseph doubled the lead in the 51st minute and the cheers were deafening when Frantzdy Pierrot made it 3-0 in the 62nd minute. By the time Duke Lacroix scored the fourth goal, the Haitian fans were in full party mode.
New Zealand defender Tim Payne had become a social media sensation in the days leading up to the match after an Argentine influencer got his followers to boost Payne’s profile as the World Cup’s “least known player”. Payne’s Instagram following splurged from under 5,000 to 4.6 million, and a few fans carried “Team Payne” posters at the stadium Tuesday night.
But there was no question who the majority of fans were there to see on this night, and they got the result they hoped for.
Haitian singer Rutshelle Guillaume, who lives in West Palm Beach, and actress/influencer Blondedy Ferdinand, a Miami resident, watched the game from a field suite and were giddy from the moment they arrived.
“This means everything for us, with everything that’s going on back home, and to be here today, it’s like a win-win situation for us,” Ferdinand said. “The flag. The people. It means the world to us to be here and for Haiti to be in the World Cup.”
Guillaume said: “We are so happy to be here after 52 years, making history. We are here to witness history and we are here to cheer them up, no matter what happens. We’re part of his historic moment, lucky to live in this generation and to be able to see this live.”
Also watching proudly were six Haitian American teenagers from South Florida who play youth soccer and have been invited to Haiti youth national team camps. All but one were born in Haiti. They all feel a deep connection with the island and this World Cup team.
Matthew Delivrance, 15, plays for Inter Miami’s youth academy. Nohe Chevry, 16, plays for FC Cincinnati’s youth academy. Chevry’s brother, Liam, 14, plays for Springs. Fifteen-year-olds Noah Cianciulli and Gabriel Benjamin play for Fort Lauderdale United and Didier Gabriel, 16, plays for Wolves.
“It’s my dream to one day be part of the Haitian national team, so it makes me so proud to be here seeing them,” said Benjamin.
Delivrance added: “I’m very proud of what this team has done, to get through the tough times. It’s great for the culture and people of Haiti. I’m really proud to be Haitian and to be wearing this shirt and having a chance to see them play here.”
But the match was disorganized. Fans complained about tickets not scanning and others were unable to enter. A marketer for the Haitian Football Federation, former national team coach Wagneau Eloi, and journalists were among those unable to get in. Though he was eventually gifted a ticket, Eloi left in frustration and declined to comment.
Inside the stadium, however, it was konpa and horns as fans celebrated the team’s goals. When not stomping their feet or waving Haitian flags in excitement, they offered play-by-play commentary.
Albert Molayem, who is with Sport Global Management, SGM, the company that organized the match, says they’ve been working with the Federation for the past four years and they called them back to promote the friendlies.
“It’s a beautiful environment,” he said as the crowd roared.
Miami is home to the largest Haitian community outside of the country and this wasn’t lost of Molayem -- not the history making moment of the team’s arrival for the World Cup after 52 years.
“We are so happy, because from now on we’re going to work with the Federation more,” he said. Singling out the fans, he said, “You can hear that; everyone is happy.”
“On Friday, we’ll do the other match and you know it will go even bigger than this,” he added, referring to the friendly vs. Peru at Nu Stadium, Inter Miami’s new home. Tickets for that match are available through TicketMaster.
Haiti opens its World Cup campaign against Scotland in Boston on June 13, then plays Brazil June 19 in Philadelphia and Morocco June 24 in Atlanta.
This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 10:37 PM.