Donald Trump desperately urged to change rules for Scotland World Cup clash | Football | Sport

Haiti manager Sebastien Migne has pleaded with US President Donald Trump to suspend his travel ban on their nation ahead of their World Cup opener against Scotland. The Caribbean underdogs will compete at their first World Cup Finals since 1974 when they meet Steve Clarke’s team in the USA.

Haiti have been unable to stage a home fixture for five years due to ongoing upheaval and civil conflict in their homeland, with manager Migne and several squad members having never actually visited Haiti. Furthermore, they remain among 12 nations whose citizens the US government currently prohibits from entering as either immigrants or non-immigrants. This means presently, none of their supporters can journey from Haiti to the tournament, with only their substantial diaspora community in America able to attend.

Their French manager Migne, who has previously coached Congo, Kenya and Equatorial Guinea, is hopeful Trump – who recently claimed the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize – will permit an exemption for their travelling supporters.

He commented: “It all depends on Mr Trump. Maybe he will continue with that spirit that won him that prize and he will open the possibility for our fans to come here. I know we have a lot of Haitians in the States. So maybe it would be interesting for us. We will find a solution and adapt.

“But my players are used to playing away from Haiti for a few years now anyway and we qualified by playing all our games away from our home. It will be a fantastic opportunity and huge visibility for Haitian people to play with the cream of the cream against Brazil.

“For my players, it is great, not only now but also for the future. You cannot have more exposure than playing in the World Cup against a big team. It’s an incredible reward for my players to be in a group with three famous teams like Brazil, Morocco and Scotland.

“Now the challenge is to work even harder for the next seven months so we are ready for the first game against Scotland.”

Meanwhile, Morocco manager Walid Regragui believes his team can demolish Scotland at the World Cup once again – precisely as they achieved 28 years ago. Scotland will encounter a repeat fixture against two of the nations they previously met during their last World Cup in France in 1998.

A devastating 3-0 thrashing by Morocco in Saint-Etienne was the final match Scotland contested at the tournament. And Regragui – who steered the African side to the semi-finals in Qatar in 2022 – remains intent on creating further history in the USA.

He declared: “All Moroccans are thinking about the 1998 World Cup. We have Brazil and Scotland in our group, which is almost the same group as back then. We hope for the same outcome as the last time we played Scotland.

“We are participating in the World Cup for the third time in a row and we have the experience, but we have the utmost respect for all competitors and we must work to make our fans happy. Why not make history again?”