FOXBOROUGH - On Saturday, Frantdzy Pierrot not only got to represent Haiti in its first World Cup since 1974, he got to do it in the same state he grew up in.
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“It was amazing playing here in Boston, with the academy I used to play at this stadium against the New England Revolution,” Pierrot said. “And also seeing all my family in the stadium and fans. Seeing all the Haitians coming out here to support us, it was amazing.”
Born in Haiti, Pierrot moved to Massachusetts and eventually attended Melrose High School.
After starring for the Red Raiders, Pierrot went on to play collegiate soccer at Northeastern University and Coastal Carolina before starting his professional career.
Now playing internationally for Haiti, the striker gets to represent his nation on the sport’s grandest stage.
“We can see that the whole country is part of us, the whole country is looking at us, in a positive way because we represent them all over the world,” Pierrot said. “As you can see a lot of people were at the stadium today, a lot of people were watching the game.
“It’s an honor to be part of this history, hopefully we can do more in this tournament and make them really happy.”
Scenes from the 2026 World Cup opener between Scotland and Haiti on June 13 at Gillette Stadium.(Sebastian Restrepo/MassLive)In the 1-0 loss to Scotland on Saturday, Pierrot was Haiti’s best attacking force, causing problems with his size and strength.
Entering the match, Scotland knew he was the one to look out for.
“I thought we did pretty well, he’s a big lad, he’s physical, he puts himself about,” Scotland midfielder Lewis Ferguson said. “He’s always a threat. When you have a forward that’s that big, that strong, quick, good finisher in and around the box, he’s a really dangerous player. I thought the two center backs, Jack (Hendry) and Grant (Daley) dealt with him really well because it’s a tough task.”
Despite the focus Scotland kept on Pierrot, the striker still found chances on net.
In the 84th and 94th minutes, Pierrot nearly tied the contest for Haiti. One header missed just wide and another shot was stopped by Scotland’s keeper Angus Gunn.
“You can see they did their homework, a lot of time I was doubled and they put one in front of me so I couldn’t get the 1v1 battle that I wanted in the beginning of the game,” Pierrot said. “... I want to do better because I know that it’s only little things that I need to fix.
“But it’s step by step, this was the first game. All of us obviously want to do better and I want to do better so tonight I got a lot of homework to do.”
While he tries to navigate his first World Cup, Pierrot has also had to try to find time to see his friends and family in the area and from Haiti.
Though it’s been challenging, he knows he wouldn’t even be on this stage without them.
“I’m trying to have a conversation with them and thank them for showing up and coming to see me because they’ve all been there since the beginning,” Pierrot said. “I’m really happy everyone showed their support, the whole city. I can see that they’re really happy that I’m representing not only Haiti but the whole of Massachusetts.
“I can only say thank you to everyone.”
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