Wilguens Paugain
Squad number 24 · Zulte Waregem
Their 2026 World Cup
Wilguens Paugain travelled to the 2026 World Cup with Haiti, wearing number 24, without ever getting on the pitch. His side played 3 matches (3 defeats) and bowed out in the group stage (Group C), beaten by Morocco 4-2.
Defence went to H. Delcroix (3 matches, 270′) and Ricardo Ade (3 matches, 270′).
Another 6 players in the Haiti squad ended up the same way, without a single minute. The full run is on the Haiti team page.
Biography
Wilguens Raphael Polynice Paugain (born 24 August 2001) is a Haitian professional football player who plays as right-back for Zulte Waregem. A former youth international for France, he plays for the Haiti national team.
Club career Paugain is a youth product of AS Nomexy Vincey and Épinal, before moving to Nancy's academy in 2015 where he finished his development. He debuted with their reserves in the Championnat National 3 in 2019. On 22 July 2022, he transferred to the Cypriot club Akritas Chlorakas. In 2023, he moved to the Latvian club FK Auda. On 31 July 2024, he transferred to the Belgian club Zulte Waregem until 2026. On 1 February 2025, he joined Zulte Waregem on loan for the second half of the 2024–25 season.
International career Born in Haiti, Paugain moved to France at a young age and is a dual-citizen. He played for the France U18s in friendlies in 2018. In March 2025, he was called up to the Haiti national team for a set of friendlies. On 15 May 2026, he was included in Haiti head coach Sébastien Migné's 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) · text adapted from the article.
See all the tournament stats on the World Cup data hub.