In their first game of the 2026 Leagues Cup, FC Dallas defeated Querétaro FC, 2-0, at Texas Health Mansfield Stadium. Jonathan Sirois recorded his second consecutive game with 9 saves, and Joaquín Valiente earned his first goal of the season across all competitions.
Lineups and Tactics
For their opening Leagues Cup match, Dallas held a 3-4-3 formation with Sirois earning his 2nd consecutive start of the season in goal. The backline trio consisted of Sebastien Ibeagha (LCB), Nolan Norris (CB), and Osaze Urhoghide (RCB).
Herman Johansson (LWB) and Bernie Kamungo (RWB) both started out wide at wingback. Recent signing Clay Holstad earned his first start of the season at CM, alongside Christian Cappis (CM).
Up top, Santi Moreno and Valiente started at LW and RW, respectively. Anderson Julio started as the team’s lone striker. Most notably absent in the starting XI was Petar Musa, who leads the team in goals so far this season.
Queretaro held a 4-2-3-1 formation, with 16-year-old Mono Martínez playing the 10. Up top, Alí Ávila started at ST, with Paulo Victor at LW. and Enzo Giménez at RW. In goal, Guillermo Allison earned the start ahead of José Hernández, who was available off the bench.
The Gallos Blancos opted for 4 defenders on the back line, which consisted of Daniel Parra (LB), Lucas Abascia (CB), Diego Reyes (CB), and Bayron Duarte (RB). Santiago Homenchenko and Carlo García started as the team’s defensive-midfield duo.
Most notably absent from the starting lineup was winger Mateo Coronel, who is one of three players to have scored for Queretaro so far this season in Liga MX. The other two are Ávila (3) and Homenchenko (1).
The Game
The first 45 minutes of action was action-packed, as both teams combined for a total of 7 shots on target. Dallas controlled 59% of the possession, despite Queretaro having more shots overall through the first half.
“Yeah, proud of the result; however, our first half wasn’t to our standard,” Head Coach Eric Quill said, “and we looked a little nervous in the first 45 minutes. We were playing backwards, and we’re not a backwards-playing team.”
The second half is when things really started to heat up.
In the 47th minute, Petar Musa – who came on in the 20th minute for an injured Anderson Julio – started the break and worked the ball out wide to Kamungo. After receiving the pass, Kamungo took a shot from the top of the box that was saved. The ball bounced out to Moreno, who volleyed it home for the game’s opening goal.
Dallas doubled their lead in the 81st minute. The Burn capitalized off the break, once again. This time, Valiente worked the ball out wide to Shaq Moore, who played it back to Valiente. After cutting it back onto his left foot, he curled it around the keeper for the 2-0 lead.
That goal ultimately sealed their fate as Queretaro could not manage to get past the Dallas defense, which resulted in a number of weak shots from the top of the box, thus giving Dallas the win and opening match 3 points.
“I’m proud of the fight and the resilience in the second half to get the result we needed,” coach Quill said. “We weren’t perfect tonight. We have stuff to work on, but I’m really proud of the collective group.”
Although I typically stray away from giving out Man of the Match in back-to-back games, when you make 9 saves and walk home with another clean sheet, it’s hard to find everyone else who’s more deserving than that. So, congratulations, Mr. Sirois. Another solid performance.
Up next, FC Dallas travel to PayPal Park to continue their Leagues Cup run against Chivas Guadalajara on Saturday, August 8th at 8:00 pm CT.
“Chivas is a great opponent,” coach Quill said. “That is a top-performing club. There’s always a mentality and quality to them. I expect California to have a heavy Chivas fan base, and it should be fun. It should be electric to get the opportunity for our guys to see where we match up against one of the best Mexican teams in the history of that league.”
