PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti held its breath for nearly two hours as its troubles seemed to fade with the promise of its first World Cup qualification since 1974.

Forgotten ever so briefly was the violence, hunger and homelessness after Louicius Deedson scored nine minutes into Tuesday’s game against Nicaragua, and Ruben Providence followed up with a header just before halftime in a 2-0 win to send Haiti to the World Cup for just the second time in the country’s history.

Shouts in Haitian Creole of “Grenadye, alaso!” filled the country’s streets, homes and makeshift shelters as fans urged their team, the Grenadiers, to attack.

Haiti didn’t just need a win over Nicaragua; it wanted to prove that despite the multiple crises weighing the country down, it could still pull through and

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