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By Tyler Erzberger
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Haiti came into the World Cup as a nation that had little fanfare around their games, but they are leaving as one of the most entertaining squads in the group stage.
Although they didn't get a win, they're going home with a lot more from their summer trip to North America.
What is their final grade, though?
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Let's dig in.
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Expectation
I had Haiti as the second-worst team coming into the World Cup.
Coming into Group C, I had them as gigantic underdogs against Brazil, Morocco, and even Scotland, which was supposed to be their "easiest" game of the three.
If they scored a goal coming in, I would have been impressed.
Reality
If you were to only look at the results, you would think that Haiti were the same No. 47 team that I ranked pre-World Cup. But after watching them play all three games, I have nothing but praise for Haiti.
They played attacking, impassioned soccer in all three games, regardless of how skilled their opponent was. They could have hunkered down, been chippy with fouling, and tried to steal a point here or there with a draw, but they truly believed they had the talent to go toe-to-toe with Brazil.
In the end, they lost all three games, but they outplayed Scotland (in my opinion), gave a bit of a scare to Brazil, and truly pushed Morocco to the limit.
Haiti played with zero fear and were never boring for a second this tournament. That won't get them to the Round of 32, but it will get them a top grade in my classroom.
Final Grade: A
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