Haiti’s Josue Duverger gives up awful own goal vs. Canada

Every athlete knows that an own goal is one of the cruelest moments in sports. However, Haiti goalkeeper Josue Duverger’s own goal took the ominous gaffe to another level.

Haiti and Canada were battling for a chance to advance to the finals of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers. With Canada already leading 1-0 on aggregate, Haiti needed a comeback to secure its place in the finals.

Canada failed to expand on its lead with the score still tied at 0-0 in the match. Haiti still had a shot at moving on, until Duverger’s disastrous mistake.

Duverger received a simple pass from teammate Kevin LaFrance. What should have been an easy settle for him turned into the biggest blunder of his career.

Duverger misjudged the trap, which led to him getting nutmegged. His attempts to clear the ball from the goal line were epic whiffs and he tapped the ball into the net with his other foot. Duverger stood motionless on the field with his hands on his head completely in shock at what had transpired.

“I mean it’s heart-wrenching in a way. Again, Canada barely celebrating,” the announcer said of the goal. “They know what this goal means, but instead this goal will be talked about for all the wrong reasons. Cue the blooper reel.”

The own goal was the demise of Haiti’s World Cup chances. The floodgates opened up for Canada as it was able to score two more goals to secure a 3-0 win. For Canada, it marks the first time in 24 years that it was able to advance to the CONCACAF finals.

The loss was especially painful to Duverger. Not only did he allow an own goal for the ages, but the loss was against his former national team. Duverger, originally from Montreal, was a member of Canada’s U17 team in 2016 before choosing to play for Haiti due to his Haitian descent.