The Union’s Danley Jean Jacques officially makes Haiti’s World Cup team
He could become the first active Union player to play in the tournament. Penn product Duke Lacroix also made the 26-player squad, which will face Brazil in Philadelphia.
After months of anticipation, the news finally became official on Friday that the Union’s Danley Jean Jacques is going to the World Cup. The 25-year-old defensive midfielder was named to Haiti’s 26-player squad for the nation’s first trip to a men’s World Cup since 1974.
He is the second active player in Union history to earn the honor, after Olivier Mbaizo with Cameroon four years ago. But Mbaizo never got on the field in that tournament, stuck on the bench through all three group games.
Despite upsetting Brazil in the finale, other results meant Cameroon didn’t advance. Ironically, if it had, he’d likely have played the round of 16 game because of a teammate’s suspension for yellow card accumulation.
In 2014, Carlos Valdés played for Colombia while on loan away from the Union — a move he wanted because his country’s coach at the time looked down on MLS.
So Jean Jacques is on course to become the first active Union player to actually play in a World Cup. He is a regular starter for Haiti, with 28 caps and six goals since his senior debut in 2023. That includes nine of Les Grenadiers’ 10 World Cup qualifiers and all three games at last year’s Concacaf Gold Cup.
He will play his last game in Chester before the tournament on Saturday, when the Union host the Columbus Crew (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). The club’s finale before the World Cup break is Sunday of the following weekend, May 24, at Inter Miami.
» READ MORE: Haiti and the Union will make World Cup history in Philadelphia. Here’s how.
Jean Jacques will be joined on the big stage by Penn product Duke Lacroix. The 32-year-old defender from New Egypt, N.J., in Ocean County, played for the Quakers from 2011-14, and since graduating in spring 2015 has forged a solid career in the second-tier USL Championship. He started playing for Haiti at the 2023 Gold Cup, and now has 14 caps.
At the World Cup, Haiti will face Scotland in Foxborough, Mass. on June 13 (9 p.m., FS1, Telemundo 62); Brazil here in Philadelphia on June 19 (8:30 p.m., Fox29, Telemundo 62); and Morocco in Atlanta on June 24 (6 p.m., FS1, Universo).
The Union’s World Cup history
Nine Union players were in World Cups before joining the club: Chris Albright (United States, 2006), Tranquilo Barnetta (Switzerland, 2006 and ‘10), Alejandro Bedoya (U.S., 2014), Maurice Edu (U.S., 2010), Marco Fabián (Mexico, 2014 and ‘18), Kléberson (Brazil, 2002 and ‘10), Raïs M’Bolhi (Algeria, 2006 and ‘10), Haris Medunjanin (Bosnia & Herzegovina, 2014), Faryd Mondragón (Colombia, 1998), and Oguchi Onyewu (U.S., 2006 and ‘10).
Five players have made World Cup teams after playing for the Union: Mondragón (Colombia, 2014), Brenden Aaronson (U.S., 2022), Gabriel Gómez (Panama, 2018), David Myrie (Costa Rica, 2014), Steven Vitória (Canada, 2022).
» READ MORE: The story of Haris Medunjanin's rise from being a child refugee of the Bosnian War to making a World Cup
That list will grow soon, perhaps by a lot. Aaronson, Matt Freese, Jack McGlynn, Mark McKenzie, and Auston Trusty are all in contention to make the U.S. team; Jamiro Monteiro is on track to make Cape Verde’s squad for the Blue Sharks’ tournament debut; and Carlos Coronel has an outside shot at Paraguay’s roster.
Philadelphia native CJ dos Santos could also be on Cape Verde’s team. The former Union youth academy prospect, now with San Diego FC, switched his FIFA nationality from the U.S. to Cape Verde this month. The 25-year-old goalkeeper played for U.S. youth teams in the past, and was a backup on the 2017 under-17 World Cup and 2019 under-20 World Cup squads.
Nine nations will compete in five group stage matches this summer, plus two more in a knockout game on July 4. Here’s what you need to know about those countries — and what those fans need to know about Philly. Click here for more.
