Haitians are fervent soccer fans and deeply patriotic toward their nation — the world’s first Black-led republic and the second independent republic in the Americas after the U.S. But for decades, they’ve rooted for Brazil.

Haitians are fervent soccer fans and deeply patriotic toward their nation — the world’s first Black-led republic and the second independent republic in the Americas after the U.S. But for decades, they’ve rooted for Brazil.