Haiti's Lenny Joseph Scored Twice at San Siro With Pulisic on the Field. Next: the USMNT

Two days before Haiti named him for the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal against the United States, Lenny Joseph scored twice at San Siro. Both goals in Ferencváros' 2-0 Europa League win over AC Milan on Nov. 5 came after Christian Pulisic had entered at halftime, and now the forward gets a two-leg shot at Pulisic's national team.

Milan's own match report is blunt about it. In the 52nd minute, Kristoffer Zachariassen pressed young goalkeeper Torriani after a back pass and won the ball, leaving Joseph to tap into an empty net. In the 66th, a ricochet in midfield started a counterattack and Zachariassen set him up again.

Joseph had already tested Torriani several times before the break. Pulisic came on for Alfa Cisse at halftime, while Yunus Musah, another American left off Mauricio Pochettino's roster, was taken off at the break.

The brace came at the right moment for Haiti. Joseph missed the group stage with an injury, Haitian outlet Station509 reported, and he is back in coach David Badia's 25-man list.

The first leg on Saturday, Nov. 14 (4:30 p.m. ET) is technically Haiti's home game, but it will be played at Inter Miami's Nu Stadium because of ongoing security concerns in Haiti, according to MLSsoccer.com. The second leg is Tuesday, Nov. 17 at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, where the U.S. has never lost.

The stakes go beyond a semifinal. The aggregate winner reaches the 2027 Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in March and qualifies directly for the 2027 Gold Cup, while the loser has to go through a playoff.

Haiti also arrive with a new coach. Badia, a Spaniard, replaced Sébastien Migné after the Grenadiers went out in the group stage at the 2026 World Cup, their first since 1974. Their roster includes Sunderland's Wilson Isidor, Wolves midfielder Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Philadelphia Union's Danley Jean-Jacques.

According to U.S. Soccer, the teams have met 19 times, with the U.S. leading 8-6-5. The USMNT has not lost to Haiti since a 1-0 defeat in Port-au-Prince on Nov. 5, 1973, a 10-game unbeaten run.

Those results have been tight lately. The last five meetings were a 1-1 friendly in 2004, a 2-2 Gold Cup draw in 2009 and three one-goal U.S. wins in the Gold Cup: 1-0 in 2015, 1-0 in 2021 and 2-1 in 2025. The U.S. has not beaten Haiti by more than a goal since a 3-0 win in Miami in 2000.

The U.S. comes in after a 4-0 September-October window that included wins over Mexico and Canada. This series is the first official competition of the 2030 cycle, and after watching Joseph at San Siro, Pulisic knows better than anyone that Haiti will not be a walkover.