Just hours ahead of their highly anticipated 2026-2027 CONCACAF Nations League quarter-final first leg fixture, Haiti’s men’s national football team, nicknamed the Grenadiers, completed their final official training session on November 13 at Miami’s NU Stadium, under the guidance of Spanish head coach David Badia. Ranked 84th in FIFA’s global standings, the Haitian side is set to go head-to-head with the 16th-ranked United States men’s national team, colloquially referred to as the “Yankees” in regional football circles, in a pivotal two-legged knockout tie that kicks off the following day. The final training session unfolded in a focused, high-energy environment, with the technical staff prioritizing tactical refinement and smooth, coordinated ball circulation to iron out the last kinks ahead of the opening match, as the team aims to stand firm against the higher-ranked American squad in the first leg. Adding a key defensive boost to the roster, Violette AC defender Fernando Cicero arrived at the team camp on Friday to join the squad, bringing valuable top-flight match experience and extra solidity to Haiti’s backline. During a pre-match press conference held the same day as the final training, head coach David Badia acknowledged that the upcoming first leg would pose a significant challenge for his side, noting that three key starting players — midfielder Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, defender Jean-Kévin Duverne, and striker Frandtzdy Pierrot, nicknamed the “three mapous” (a Haitian Creole term for iconic, foundational team members) — had been ruled out of the tie due to injuries. Despite this notable setback, Badia emphasized that his squad would not adopt a passive, defensive “underdog victim” mindset, and instead would take an aggressive, proactive approach to seize scoring opportunities and compete for a positive result. Match officials have confirmed the kit assignments for the first leg: Haiti will take the field in their signature all-blue uniform, while the United States will wear their traditional red and white home kit. The first leg is scheduled to kick off at 4:30 PM local time on November 14 at NU Stadium in Miami, Florida. The two teams will then reconvene for the decisive return leg on November 17 at Cincinnati’s TQL Stadium, with a 7:00 PM local time kickoff scheduled to determine which side advances to the next stage of the CONCACAF Nations League competition.