Above: Les Grenadiers (FP)
By the Caribbean Journal staff
Haiti’s footballers are for real.
That was the message on Tuesday following a miraculous comeback by Les Grenadiers in Brazil, when Jean-Philippe Peguero scored in the 90th minute of play to give Haiti a 2-2 tie with Italy.
Peguero’s goal was one of two in the final five minutes of play by Haiti that shocked Italy and gave the Caribbean nation another strong international showing.
Peguero’s score came after Olrish Suarel scored in the 85th minute on a penalty kick.
Despite a pair of yellow cards in the next four minutes, Haiti stayed tough, with Desmarets putting one through for a shocking 2-2 score.
The game, which was being held at Brazil’s Estadio Sao Januario in part to raise money for Haiti, got off to a quick start when Italy’s Emanuele Giaccherini put one home in the first minute of play.
It remained quiet until the 72nd minute, when Italy’s Claudio Marchisio scored the Azzurri’s second goal of the match.
Les Grenadiers were coming off an emotional high, after a hard-fought 2-1 loss in Miami on Saturday to Spain, currently the world’s best national team and ranked number one in the world, a game which said a lot about the progress Haiti’s football squad has made.
And Tuesday’s tie said quite a bit more.
Note: Yves Desmarets was initially given credit for the tying goal.