Hours before the ball rolled for Brazil x Haiti on Friday night (19), the atmosphere was one of trust among the Haitian community gathered in the Glicério neighborhood, in São Paulo.
Around 200 people went to the headquarters of Missão Paz, a philanthropic institution dedicated to supporting immigrants and refugees in the capital of São Paulo, in the Parish of Nossa Senhora da Paz, to watch the game together.
There were people of other nationalities, including Brazilian volunteers from the organization, but the majority were Haitians who celebrated the “Grenadiers’ second participation in the World Cup.
The first was in 1974, in West Germany, with three defeats in three matches.
“I love Brazil very much, but today it will be Haiti, 2-1, with a lot of emotion,” said actor and DJ Jefferson Casmir, 34, before the start of the match.
Minutes after the final whistle, with the score 3-0 for the Brazilian team, the fans were divided between the disappointed, the resigned and a few still hopeful of a third place finish in Group C.
In the last round of the first phase, Haiti faces Morocco on the 24th, in Atlanta. But they no longer have a chance of advancing because, even if they win, they will be behind Scotland based on the tiebreaker (direct confrontation).
“There’s nothing I can do, I’m going to support Argentina [a partir de agora]. I love Brazil, but Brazil made me cry today”, said the artist.
During halftime of the game, he received a call from his brothers, Haitians living in the United States, who supported the Brazilian team. “They made fun of me by saying ‘you already knew how it was going to end, you just didn’t want to accept it’.”
Jefferson’s preference was an exception among the people gathered in the space, but it is not so uncommon in Haiti, according to seller Gregory Jean-Pierre, 26.
“There are two groups there,” he said. “One who supports the Argentine team and the other for the Brazilian team. One makes fun of the other, but after Argentina became champion [no Qatar, em 2022] It was bad for us.”
“What Argentina! I support Brazil [no restante da Copa]”, said Daphlyne Mondelice, 21. The HR assistant’s unarranged meeting with her friend Gregory prevented the salesman from going home during the break.
Brazil’s pressure at the beginning of the second half almost made them both leave the space. “One more goal and we’ll be gone,” promised Daphlyne.
The fourth goal didn’t come —Endrick even scored, but the play ended up being canceled for offside, as was Raphinha’s goal 11 minutes into the opening half—, and they stayed until the end.
Gregory was rooting for his country but wasn’t too disappointed with the defeat.
“Do you know when you find yourself in a dilemma? If Brazil scores today, I’m not going to go out there shouting, celebrating, but somehow, I’m going to be a little happy,” he said in an interview before the game.
The passion for the Brazilian team comes from the most prestigious times, until winning the fifth championship in 2002.
Two years later, the team of Ronaldo Fenômeno and Ronaldinho Gaúcho played a friendly against Haiti in Port-au-Prince that became known as the peace game, because its objective was to bring a truce to the civil war that was taking place in the country.
“These guys are legends, we have respect for them,” said Gregory when the Ronaldos appeared on the broadcast of this Friday’s match, in the box at the Lincoln Financial Field stadium, in Philadelphia. For the seller, the current team has good players, but not like they used to.
The love for football comes from playing it since I was a child. “It’s one of the most practiced sports in the country, it’s a passion that even we can’t figure out how it came about.”
Expectations regarding Brazil are not high, but this does not influence the fans. “Football isn’t just about winning titles. Of course it’s always good to win, but those who support their hearts don’t care if the team is winning or not, they’ll always be supporting.”
Real estate agent Daniel Estima, 37, was heartbroken. “I was rooting for Haiti because I’m Haitian. If we won we would make a profit, but if Brazil won we would also make a profit, you know?”
The parish hall, packed at the start, sang the national anthem in unison and cheered with each pass made by the Haitian team at the start of the game.
At half-time, when the Brazilians had already built a 3-0 lead, it was empty. The number of people fell by half, but those who stayed continued to believe in a goal.
One of them was Edlyne Jean, 48, who clapped almost incessantly at the end of the game, calling on everyone else to cheer.
It almost worked; At least there was a shot from midfielder Simon in stoppage time of the second half that forced Alisson to palm the ball for a corner, drawing screams from those who watched the match until the end.
“I was patiently waiting for a victory, but it didn’t come. But thank God Haiti participated in a World Cup after 52 years,” said the saleswoman.
