:quality(85)//cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/N4STD2BM2V5EOS7HEOADWFQWKE.jpg "Haiti defeats Chile to qualify for the Women’s World Cup")
AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Haiti beat Chile 2-1 on Wednesday to qualify for the Women’s World Cup for the first time, bringing cheer and “fresh air” to its fans in a country plagued by calamities.
Melchie Dumornay scored twice for the Haitian team, located in 55th place in the FIFA rankings, to guarantee that they will return to the southern hemisphere in July, in order to play the World Cup in group D, alongside England, China and Denmark.
Haiti is the first of three teams to qualify for the World Cup since this intercontinental qualifier that 10 teams are playing in New Zealand. Portugal then took on Cameroon in Group A, while Paraguay took on Panama on Thursday to decide the final tickets among the 32 teams that will contest the tournament which New Zealand and Australia will co-host.
Dumornay was recently signed by seven-time Champions League champions Lyon. And within a day it became clear why.
He provided two excellent definitions. He won the race on a forward pass from Roselord Borgella in first-half stoppage time, as the Haitians led 1-0 at halftime.
And in the eighth of the extra 11 minutes, Dumornay extended the lead. Earlier, Chilean captain Christiane Endler saved a penalty from Nerilia Mondesir.
But María José Rojas scored in the 11th minute of added time to keep Chile’s hopes alive. The last moments of the game were tense, before Les Grenadiers ensured victory.
The Haitian players cried and hugged after the final whistle. Some have pondered success amid a series of adversities.
Haiti had to win two games in New Zealand to qualify for its first World Cup. They beat Senegal 4-0 in their first game and now they have beaten world No. 38 Chile.
Never before have the Haitians defeated a South American rival.
Ahead of the tournament, midfielder Danielle Etienne told ESPN: “There is a lot of discontent in the country, and football is joy.”
“We want the country in general to have a breath of fresh air and be able to get away from everything that’s going on,” he said.