“We are a big team, tomorrow we have to play and win”
El Turco
This will be one of the toughest games in club history, right up there with the Concacaf Champions League Semi-Final Leg 2 at Pachuca.
6th in the West of MLS, FC Dallas (27 points, 7-5-6), travels down to Mexico to face 3rd in Liga MX Toluca (6 points, 2-0-1) on Wednesday, down in Toluca. Kickoff is scheduled for 9 pm CT at the Nemesio Diez. As far as we can determine, this is the first meeting between these two clubs.
Toluca is 6th in the Liga MX bracket of Leagues Cup, with a 1-1 record. They need a win, maybe with a good goal margin, or possibly some help to advance. The Red Devils’ best LC finish is the Quarterfinals in 2025, and they are 9-3 all-time in this tourney.
FC Dallas currently sits 7th but has a game in hand. FCD is 4-4 in Leagues Cup all-time and has advanced out of the group once, back in 2023.
This year, no MLS team has won all three games in the first phase. It’s simple for FC Dallas from here as they advance with…
- A win.
- A tie and some help.
Win, and you’re in.
Weather
It’s going to be storming and cool all day in Toluca, but should clear up right about game time with a predicted temp of 58 degrees.
Broadcast Info
TV: Apple TV
– Apple TV English: Chris Wittyngham and Lori Lindsey
– Apple TV Spanish: Pablo Ramirez and Jesus Bracamontes
– Dallas Audio: Ryan Figer, Steve Davis, and Sam Hale
MLS Injury/Player Availability Report
FC Dallas
Daniel – Lower Body (Out)
Anderson Julio – muscle injury (Out) – reported
Toluca
Paulinho (injury)
Marcel Ruiz (injury)
Oswaldo Virgen (injury)
FC Dallas Lineup Prediction
This is an all-in game. Are we surprised FCD rotated and went 2-0? Sure. But Quill’s team is built with the warrior mentality, which works well in Cups, and here we are. So all in.
Osaze Urhoghide back in. Peta Musa goes again. Ramiro leadership in a tough environment. Cooler weather, so Herman Johannson stays on. Joaquín Valiente over Patrickson Delgado. Santiago Moreno over Logan Farrington.
Bench Prediction
Michael Collodi
Lalas Abubakar
Christian Cappis
Caleb Swann
Ran Binyamin
Sam Sarver
Patrickson Delgado
Sebastien Ibeagha
Clay Holstad
Logan Farrington
Nic Simmonds
Ricky Louis
Since FCD didn’t put any “kids” on the bench last game, I’ll follow that lead and go all FCD primary rotation players. Teams are allowed up to 12 on the bench.
Leagues Cup Kit Assignments
Officials
REFEREE: Walter López Castellanos
ASSISTANT REFEREES: Keytzel Corrales Mojica, Jose Da Silva
4TH OFFICIAL: Sergio Reyna
VAR: Erick Yair Miranda Galindo
AVAR: Guillermo Pacheco Larios
More Game Info
In MLS, Dallas is 4-0-1 when leading at halftime and 7-1-3 when scoring first. Conversely, they are 0-4-1 when conceding first.
Petar Musa leads MLS in goals scored with 13 and is third in MLS in xG with 10.42
Versus Liga MX teams, Dallas is 6-3-2.
Any reason why Delgado is not in the match day squad for the game tonight? Seems pretty unusual to me.