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Orlando City SC forward Antoine Griezmann (7) scores a goal against FC Dallas defense Osaze Urhoghide (3) during the first half of a summer friendly match at Texas Health Mansfield Stadium, Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in Mansfield.<\/p>\n
Chitose Suzuki\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Soccer fans in D-FW\u00a0said goodbye to the FIFA World Cup after Tuesday’s semifinal match between France and Spain<\/a>.<\/p>\n After nine matches in the area, the tournament created a hunger for the world\u2019s game that FC Dallas<\/a> is ready to fill.<\/p>\n The club returns to\u00a0MLS action for the first time in nearly two months next week. Before returning to competitive play, FCD played a friendly match against Orlando City SC and French superstar Antoine Griezmann at Texas Health Mansfield Stadium on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n A meeting with a legend<\/p>\n Griezmann\u2019s four goals and two assists led France to World Cup glory in 2018. He spent the first 16 seasons of his career playing in La Liga \u2014 the first division of Spanish soccer \u2014 before transferring to Orlando in July.<\/p>\n Fans watched as\u00a0Griezmann needed only nine minutes to score, leading Orlando to a 2-1 win over host FCD. He spent time after the final whistle\u00a0signing jerseys for the dozens of fans who attended the match for a chance to see him play.<\/a><\/p>\n FCD also played closed-door scrimmages against the San Jose Earthquakes and Oakland Roots SC, a club in the USL Championship. Wednesday\u2019s match against Orlando was the club\u2019s first taste of action in front of fans since May.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWe gave up two childish goals,\u201d FCD head coach Eric Quill said. \u201cGriezmann is Griezmann for a reason, one chance, one goal. That\u2019s what players of that caliber do. \u2026 The mistakes you saw us make maybe were nerves that tend to happen when people are watching. We play ourselves in intrasquad games, and nobody is watching. We look like Barcelona.\u201d<\/p>\n From the World Cup back to\u00a0MLS<\/p>\n Three FC Dallas players were named to FIFA World Cup squads this summer: forward and MLS All-Star Petar Musa of Croatia<\/a>, defender Louicius Deedson of Haiti and defender Herman Johansson of Sweden.<\/p>\n Musa made club history during Croatia\u2019s opening match against England at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. With his second-half goal in the 4-2 defeat, Musa became the first FC Dallas player to score in a World Cup.<\/p>\n Deedson played in all three group-stage matches for Haiti, starting in the opening match against Scotland. Haiti went on to lose all three games in the group stage.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Johansson did not appear in a match for Sweden, but his experience was unusual because the Swedish national team\u2019s base camp during the group stage was in\u00a0Frisco<\/a>. That allowed him to train at the same FC Dallas facilities he uses every day.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was nice being here and being able to show the guys around,\u201d Johansson said following\u00a0FC Dallas’ practice on Tuesday. \u201cI just feel happy to achieve being at the World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n Summer break review<\/p>\n Following the club\u2019s last match on May 22, the players and coaches took a three-week break from team activities. Quill watched from the stands at Dallas Stadium as\u00a0Musa scored the goal for Croatia.\u00a0<\/p>\n Although Quill enjoyed the time away from club activities, he couldn\u2019t wait to get back to work.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cYou miss what you don\u2019t have,\u201d Quill said. \u201cThe guys love each other. You kind of miss your family members when you go away and do your thing. Then they come back, and now it\u2019s about being a family again and getting back after it.\u201d<\/p>\n Players also had the opportunity to recharge. Forward Sam\u00a0Sarver has scored three goals in 10\u00a0MLS matches this season. The 23-year-old Cleveland native took a trip to New York during the break. Unfortunately for him, the trip came just after the New York Knicks swept his Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals.<\/p>\n “You do miss the game, but it\u2019s also important to enjoy life outside of it as well,\u201d Sarver said. \u201cIt can be very consuming, so it was nice to have time off, but I\u2019m ready to get back.\u201d<\/p>\n For\u00a0Sarver and the other FC Dallas players, watching the World Cup sweep through North Texas motivated them to think about the future of their careers.<\/p>\n \u201cSome of the guys [who played] for the U.S., I also grew up playing with,\u201d\u00a0Sarver said. \u201cHopefully, by the next World Cup, I\u2019ll be integrated with the U.S. national team. That\u2019s one of my goals.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Although representing their nation at the World Cup is a dream for professional soccer players, the break provided essential rest before the remainder of the season.<\/p>\n FCD trained five or six days a week from the latter half of June into July. For players like defender Bernard Kamungo \u2014 who played six games in 2026 before sustaining an injury \u2014 the chance to rest and recover was appreciated.<\/p>\n \u201cFor someone like me who has been out for a few months, I think it\u2019s really good,\u201d\u00a0Kamungo said. \u201cI get to share the field with my teammates before we play a real game. By the time the games start, everybody\u2019s going to be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n Kamungo came on as a substitute against Orlando. He plans to be available for FC Dallas\u2019 match against Portland on Wednesday.<\/p>\n FC Dallas midfield Chris Cappis (12) controls the ball against Orlando City SC defender Robin Jansson (6) during the second half of a summer friendly match at Texas Health Mansfield Stadium, Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in Mansfield.<\/p>\n Chitose Suzuki\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n The rest of the season<\/p>\n FCD has 22 games left on its schedule, including 19 MLS matches and three in the Leagues Cup \u2014 a competition featuring clubs from Major League Soccer and Liga MX, Mexico\u2019s first division.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Fans have reason to be excited about how\u00a0FC Dallas ended the first portion of the season. The club won four of its final five MLS matches before the break, <\/a>climbing to fourth in the Western Conference standings.<\/p>\n Its first game back is July 22 against the Portland Timbers.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a little unfortunate that we had a bunch of momentum and, obviously, the break came,\u201d\u00a0Sarver said. \u201cBut it\u2019s important that we start off on the right foot against Portland because that could be another momentum swing, or vice versa. If we don\u2019t show up and we go into a slump, all of a sudden all the hard work we did during the first half of the season is gone.\u201d<\/p>\n Quill\u2019s side faces a tall task because of its upcoming schedule.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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