SAN DIEGO -- Saudi Arabia fought off a relentless Haitian side Sunday evening, claiming a 1-0 result in its first Gold Cup appearance. The Falcons now sit in second behind the United States in Group D, while Haiti sits in third above Trinidad and Tobago.
Coming into the Sunday matchup, the two nations had yet to play each other, leaving a strong air of ambiguity for the ensuing game. Saudi Arabia — the sole “invited” team in this year’s Gold Cup edition — has been a worthy competitor in Asia, having nabbed a notable scoreless tie against top AFC nation Japan in March. Under French manager Hervé Renard, the team has taken impressive strides, climbing to No. 58 in the FIFA rankings.
No. 83 Haiti poses a similar threat in the American soccer scene. Over the past year, the team recorded 5-0 and 3-0 wins over Aruba and Puerto Rico, respectively.
Despite the seeming success, both sides suffered World Cup qualifier losses heading into this competition. Saudi Arabia fell to Australia 2-1 in a match that secured the victor’s place in the global competition, while Haiti took a 5-1 loss to Curaçao. No matter, both sides advanced to the final rounds of qualifying, taking place later this year.
Haiti picked up the slack on Sunday, controlling the opening minutes of the match. Duckens Nazon notched a pair of shots, a cross-goal shot just shy of the left post and a bottom left corner slice that had to be cleared by a Falcon defender.
Devoid of eight key players due to Club World Cup duties with Al Hilal, Saudi Arabia struggled to settle into the game early on. The Falcons would not need to find this footing to strike first, however, as an overly-aggressive pull in the box gave the Falcons a penalty in the 21st minute. Saleh Alshehri made no mistake, nestling a bottom left corner shot past Johny Placide’s outstretched fingers.
The cushion enlivened a previously sleepy Saudi side, who linked snappy sequences down the left flank. The team almost doubled the lead soon after, but an overzealous offside pass kept the one-score cushion.
Haiti’s physicality and kickball tactics regained the momentum and nearly leveled the score midway through the half after Nazon received a box-to-box clearance from Placide. It would be Haiti’s own Frantzdy Pierrot who squandered the chance after taking too many touches looking for a perfect shooting lane; Haiti finished the half with three shots on goal on 10 strikes compared to Saudi Arabia’s one.
A Saudi offside trap in the final minutes of the half spoiled a splendid Haitian link-up sequence at the top of the 18-yard box.
Haiti continued to dominate possession in the second half while sending more blue shirts into the final third. Nazon sent several promising airbound crosses; unfortunately, continued pedantic play in front of the goal ensured no changes to the score. Another Nezon-Pierrot connection sent onto the left side of the six-yard box nearly tied the game, had it not been for a twitchy shot from Pierrot.
Tireless stamina kept the Haitians in contention throughout the second half. Tactical corners put persistent pressure on the Falcon defense. Haiti nearly equalized in the 80th minute with a quick break down the right side. Pierrot received and finished a well-weighted through ball that put him one-on-one with goalkeeper Nawaf Alaqidi. However, a disciplined Falcon back line caught the forward offside; Saudi Arabia caught Haiti offside seven times by the end of the match.
Placide was an unsung hero for Haiti in the final 15 minutes, saving a trio of promising shots, including a low driven strike toward the right corner. On the other end, Pierrot received one more superb opportunity in added time with a ball over the top. It would take a miraculous tackle from Abdulelah Al-Amri to prevent Pierrot from getting off the potential game-tying shot.
Both sides continue Gold Cup play on June 19. Saudi Arabia takes on a waning United States side, which went on a historically poor four-game losing streak before its 5-0 masterclass over Trinidad and Tobago to open Group D play. The Falcons and Eagles have a light rivalry stemming primarily from the 1990s. Most recently, the two sides fought to a scoreless draw in preparation for the 2022 World Cup.
Haiti takes on a volatile Trinidad and Tobago, which has similarly won and lost its recent matches by great scores. Prior to its loss to the U.S., the island nation suffered a 4-0 loss to Ghana before recording a 6-2 WC triumph over Saint Kitts and Nevis. Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago have a storied history, dating back to the 1967 CONCACAF Championship. Their most recent meeting in 2017 finished in a nail-biting 4-3 Haitian victory.