Report: Derrick Etienne still open to USA call-up

Big Apple Soccer's Kristian Dyer caught up with the New York Red Bulls' Derrick Etienne on the player's return from his recent stint with Haiti's national team. The piece is worth a read just for the revealing anecdote about how Etienne was informed he had made Les Grenadiers' provisional roster for Copa America.

Still, the big summer tournament will kick off without Etienne, who remains uncapped at the senior international level by Haiti. Dyer got Etienne to confirm the news the Haitian Football Federation broke earlier this week: the RBNY player has effectively been promised he will get a cap for Les Grenadiers later this year.

But for now, Etienne is not irrevocably tied to any national team. He has played competitive games for Haiti's youth national teams, but he could still represent the USA (where he was born, raised, and developed into a very promising professional soccer player) at youth or senior level if selected.

That fact does not call into question his commitment to Haiti, it is simply a fact of FIFA's national team eligibility rules and Etienne's good fortune to have dual nationality.

And, like any sensible young player with an uncertain career ahead, Etienne is not going to say no to something that hasn't happened yet but also isn't impossible. Per BAS:

But is he open to a call-up to one of the United States national team programs, such as the Under-20 squad or the U-23 team?

"Yeah," Etienne said with a slight head nod.