PORT-AU-PRINCE — Fireworks and dancing erupted across Haiti in a reprieve from gang violence as people came together to celebrate their national team punching its ticket to the 2026 World Cup.

Haiti, the poorest nation in the Americas, will be making its first appearance on international football’s biggest stage in more than 50 years, and only its second overall, after qualifying for the tournament on Tuesday night.

“We need a national holiday to celebrate it, with schools closed. We need pleasure and joy. Unlock the country and eradicate the gangs,” an ecstatic fan in Port-au-Prince told AFP.

But even the gangs joined in on the celebrations that stretched into Wednesday in the capital and other cities such as Cap-Haitien and Miragoane.

Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherisier, the UN-sanctioned lea

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