No matter whether the player had never been to Haiti, such as Lecroix, was born in Haiti, such as Louicius Deedson and Carl Fred Sainte, or just visited Haiti, such as Derrick Etienne, their patriotism was undeniable.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think sports is a great unifier, and even though I haven\u2019t been to the country, the country is its people, and I\u2019ve spent a lot of time growing up around Haitians, and then in recent months and weeks feeling the support from the Haitian fans everywhere we\u2019ve been, even though we haven\u2019t been able to play any of our home matches on Haitian soil,\u201d said Lecroix, a four-time All-Ivy League honoree at Penn who now plays for the USL team Colorado Springs Switchbacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI even saw some Haitian flags at my games in Colorado.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"May](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/aol_miami_herald_mcclatchy_670\/af0cf85978e2f4029d550ae79ff33246.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
May 16, 2026; Colorado Springs, CO, USA; Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC defender Duke Lacroix (14) in the first half against New Mexico United at Weidner Field. Credit: Isaiah J. Downing\/Switchbacks FC<\/p>\n
(Isaiah J. Downing\/Isaiah J. Downing)<\/p>\n
Deedson, a 25-year-old winger for FC Dallas, was born in Port-au-Prince and got his start in youth academies in Haiti before leaving for the United States as a teenager. He says although most of the World Cup roster comes from the Haitian diaspora, the dedication to the national badge is fervent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no difference, to be honest, because once we\u2019re together, we\u2019re all united, and we know we represent one country,\u201d Deedson said. \u201cThe guys who come from out of Haiti love the country as much as I do, and once we\u2019re on the field, they\u2019re willing to push just as much as I am for the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce they put on the jersey, they give everything for the country because they know what the country is going through and what we can bring them, to represent them well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like Lecroix, Etienne was raised in New Jersey, but his connection with Haitian soccer runs deep. His father, Derrick Etienne Sr., and his uncle, Derrick Sr.\u2019s twin brother, Darrell, both played professionally and on the Haitian national team. His grandfather, Fritz, also played, and Etienne feels he is honoring his grandfather\u2019s legacy every time he plays for Haiti.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy family definitely takes pride in representing Haiti because our grandfather came here at 18, people talked about how good a player he was and what he could have accomplished, but he gave that all up to come to the States, so I take pride in honoring his sacrifice by representing Haiti,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Etienne, 29, recounted the emotional moment when Haiti qualified for the World Cup.<\/p>\n
Haiti entered the final round of qualifying matches needing a victory and Honduras to lose or draw to qualify automatically as the first-place finisher in Group C of Concacaf World Cup qualifying.<\/p>\n
Deedson opened the scoring for Haiti in the ninth minute with a spectacular solo effort and Ruben Providence doubled the lead late in the first half. Meanwhile, in the other side of the group, Costa Rica held Honduras to a scoreless draw, which was enough to push Haiti into the World Cup field.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was an intense rush of emotions,\u201d said Etienne, who plays for Toronto FC. \u201cHaving our fate depend on what happened in the other game, sitting there on pins and needles, waiting on that, but once that final whistle blew, we were able to celebrate, and it was an amazing feeling, because of the fact of what the team had had to go through, not playing in Haiti, being on the road the whole time.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople were saying that basically that there\u2019s a very little chance of us winning the group and going through, so the fact that we were able to beat all those odds was extremely gratifying.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Haitian team\u2019s challenges brought players together, Lecroix said, and reinforced their can-do attitude.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an unfortunate situation that we can\u2019t play in front of our fans and have a home game atmosphere, but at the same time I think reflecting and looking back, it kind of encapsulates the Haitian spirit that we\u2019re going to fight regardless of circumstances, that we\u2019re going to come together, that community will follow us wherever we go, and that we\u2019ll have supporters, regardless of where we\u2019re playing our matches,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Etienne agreed that the obstacles the team faced made them stronger.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew what it meant to Haitians all around the world, and it gave us extra fuel, because we were doing more than just playing for our families and for ourselves, we\u2019re playing for the ability to bring joy to a whole country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Carl Fred Sainte, a 23-year-old midfielder for USL club El Paso Locomotive, was born in Grand-Goave, Haiti. He joined the AGE Foot youth team at 6 years old and at 12 he was invited to the Haitian U15 team. He later played in the U17 World Cup in 2019 in Brazil.<\/p>\n
He eventually signed with Violette FC. When he turned 18, he moved to the United States and joined New Mexico United. He said he will never forget that November night they qualified for the World Cup.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat night was crazy for me because I was thinking about the people back in Haiti, including my mother, my brother and my sister,\u201d Sainte said. \u201cIt meant more to them than to us players because they are struggling on a daily basis. As soon as I found out we made it, I Face Timed my Mom and there were people gathered in front of her house congratulating her. It was very emotional for me to see.\u201d<\/p>\n