FC Dallas & North Texas SC Roster Rankings – July 2023

For the fifth time in 2023, let’s delve into the power ranking all 45 players contracted to FC Dallas and North Texas SC.

There is nothing scientific about this, we’re just looking at who has played well over the past month, who has played at all, who we and our colleagues in the media are talking about, and who the fans have been lifting up or slamming down. At the end of the day, it’s all just a bit of fun.

Starting XI

Rank				Trending	Comments
1	Jesus Ferreira FCD (F)	High: 1	Low: 1	— 0	A strong month for Jesus, starting off with a second hat-trick at the Gold Cup and rounding out with the third goal against Necaxa. He seems to have avoided that post-Gold Cup slow-down that a few FCD players have suffered in the past. – Dan
2	Maarten Paes FCD (G)	High: 2	Low: 6	— 0	Had an assist vs LAFC and was finally rested vs Necaxa after carrying the load over the last month. The best defender on the team. – Buzz
3	Alan Velasco FCD (F)	High: 2	Low: 5	▲ 2	The move to a free-8/10/inside winger has really brought Velasco back to life and seems to be elevating the players around him. – Dan
4	Nkosi Tafari FCD (D)	High: 3	Low: 9	▼ 1	Had an assist vs LAFC and was finally rested vs Necaxa after carrying the load over the last month. Best defender on the team. – Buzz
5	Marco Farfan FCD (D)	High: 4	Low: 7	▼ 1	Farfan is back firing on all cylinders but will he need to be managed better going forward? – Dan
6	Facundo Quignon FCD (M)	High: 6	Low: 17	▲ 1	Facu was Captain in Jesus and Paul’s absences. Started all 5 prior to Necaxa and is clearly ahead of Cerrillo at this point in the season. – Buzz
7	Sebastien Ibeagha FCD (D)	High: 7	Low: 15	▲ 2	With Martinez injured, Ibeagha put in some strong performances alongside Tafari. – Dan
8	Sebastian Lletget FCD (M)	High: 4	Low: 14	▲ 5	Lletget has finally woken up with two Leagues Cup goals and an assist to Ansah. Even though he missed time with injury his rebirth is vital to FCD. – Buzz
9	Jader Obrian FCD (F)	High: 6	Low: 23	▼ 3	Ah good Jader, we will miss you. Suspended in the first game since our last ranking, he’s been a bit crap since. – Dan
10	Paul Arriola FCD (F)	High: 2	Low: 10	— 0	Returned v Necaxa but looks like a guy coming back from a long layoff. He’s a ways from being 100% but it’s not from lack of effort. – Buzz
11	Bernard Kamungo FCD (F)	High: 11	Low: 24	▲ 10	Started all of the last six since our last ranking, contributing with three goals and two assists. Nico has a tough choice to make as he welcomes players back because Bernie didn’t just stand up when needed, he broke out. – Dan

In The Mix

Rank				Trending	Comments
12	Edwin Cerrillo FCD (M)	High: 8	Low: 15	— 0	He’s fallen behind Facu for starts but had a redeeming performance against Necaxa after a disaster of a sub-showing against Charlotte. He’s gonna have to really do something to supplant the top-form Facu. – Buzz
13	Paxton Pomykal FCD (M)	High: 4	Low: 13	▼ 5	A sub appearance vs Necaxa hopefully puts an end to the injuries for 2023. – Dan
14	Sam Junqua FCD (D)	High: 14	Low: 20	▲ 3	He’s become the new Hollingshead doing a job all over the pitch. Scored a banger vs LAFC and got another in Colorado. Unlucky with the OG in Seattle. He’s gonna struggle to supplant Farfan at left back but he prefers the right anyway. – Buzz
15	Tsiki Ntsabeleng FCD (M)	High: 10	Low: 15	▼ 4	Tsiki has subbed on regularly, but between Alan’s run as an 8, and the returns of Seba and Paxton, his minutes may dry up. A really costly mistake to blaze a shot over rather than pass to an open Ansah in the last seconds against Charlotte cost Dallas the game and potentially some level of trust. – Dan
16	Geovane Jesus FCD (D)	High: 10	Low: 16	▼ 2	Geovane made his return from injury but he’s being shown up defensively by forwards at this point. – Dan
17	Eugene Ansah FCD (F)	High: 17	Low: 25	▲ 8	Looking promising in his contributions and should’ve had a goal on his debut. Nice run and finish against Necaxa. Will we see him start over Obrian soon? – Buzz
18	Ema Twumasi FCD (D)	High: 11	Low: 18	▼ 3	Back in training and made a couple of benches. With Geovane struggling, Ema could be primed to swipe the start back. – Dan
19	Jose Martínez FCD (D)	High: 8	Low: 19	▼ 3	He’s back healthy’ish and has gotten minutes but it’s just about the same as always. Seems to be 3rd choice at this point. – Buzz
20	Herbert Endeley FCD (D/F)	High: 18	Low: 34	▼ 2	Endeley is losing out to players returning from injury but did lead off North Texas’ first win in a while, grabbing the opening goal against T2. – Dan

Second Team

Rank				Trending	Comments
21	Nolan Norris FCD (D)	High: 18	Low: 23	▼ 2	Playing for North Texas again but seems to have been shifted back to center back again. I hope there’s a concrete plan for him. – Buzz
22	Jimmy Maurer FCD (G)	High: 20	Low: 22	▼ 2	Firmly second choice, Jimmy started in Paes absence against Charlotte. A generally solid performance but that late equalizer was a rough one to concede, and Paes is a bit of a penalty specialist. – Dan
23	Collin Smith FCD (D)	High: 22	Low: 27	▼ 1	Automatic starter for Birmingham where he looks great. Brought back for DC and Colorado but stayed on the bench. He looked solid in earlier contributions. – Buzz
24	Antonio Carrera FCD (G)	High: 22	Low: 26	▲ 2	A lot of people were calling for Toño to start the opening Leagues Cup game. – Dan
25	Dante Sealy FCD (F)	High: 25	Low: 35	▲ 2	Sealy has looked promising in limited minutes but FCD has a lot of wings right now. Surprisingly played half a game at left back and wasn’t terrible. – Buzz
26	Jose Mulato FCD (F)	High: 17	Low: 26	▼ 2	A brace for North Texas but only 27 minutes with FCD. It’s problematic that Velasco, Kamungo, and Obrian each started at the 9 in Ferreira’s absence. – Dan
27	Jesus Jimenez FCD (F)	High: 13	Low: 27	▼ 4	Word on the street is his injury is worse than thought. It’s unclear when he will return. – Buzz
28	Tyshawn Rose NTX (D)	High: 28	Low: 36	▲ 2	He’s been one of North Texas’ most consistent contributors and has first-team potential. Got injured in the last NTX game. – Buzz
29	Amet Korça FCD (D)	High: 29	Low: 31	▲ 2	A couple of starts in a back three, Amet had a few struggles before sustaining a concussion. Back on the bench in the two Leagues Cup games. – Dan
30	André Costa NTX (M)	High: 27	Low: 32	▲ 2	A solid and steady presence as NTX Captain. We’re not seeing much progression though. – Buzz
31	Carl Sainté NTX (M)	High: 30	Low: 33	▲ 2	Finished out his Gold Cup with his third start for Haiti. Back in the starting XI for NTX and added an assist in the win against Portland. – Dan
32	Alejandro Urzua NTX (M)	High: 29	Low: 35	▲ 3	There was a recent outstanding progression in his game. Will the coaching change set him back? – Buzz

In Reserve

Rank				Trending	Comments
33	Diego Garcia NTX (M)	High: 33	Low: 37	▲ 4	Still trying to put it together, Garcia notched a goal against LAFC and an assist against Portland. – Dan
34	Isaiah Parker FCD (D)	High: 22	Low: 34	— 0	Can’t get back in the San Antonio starting XI after the formation changed. Only played 25 mins of the last 5 games, not good. – Buzz
35	Henri NTX (D)	High: 32	Low: 36	▲ 1	Starting every game but struggling to impress. – Dan
36	Tomas Pondeca NTX (F)	High: 36	Low: 39	▲ 2	Seeing more PT with Herbert Endeley at FCD (due to injury crisis). Tomas scored his first goal this week. – Buzz
37	Theo Ferreira NTX (M)	High: 37	Low: 42	▲ 3	Struggling for minutes. – Dan
38	Pablo Torre NTX (F)	High: 33	Low: 42	▲ 4	2 starts in his last 5 games with 2 goals and an assist. That’s a good step for a kid potentially running out of time. – Buzz
39	Alejandro Araneda NTX (M)	High: 34	Low: 40	— 0	Being used more as a right back than a midfielder. Minutes are minutes… – Dan
40	Manuel Caicedo NTX (D)	High: 36	Low: 42	▲ 1	Got some starts then the coach got fired… that might have contributed to the coach getting fired. – Buzz
41	Yeicar Perlaza NTX (D)	High: 35	Low: 43	▲ 2	Filling in where needed and trying not to cause harm. – Dan
42	Michael Webber NTX (GK)	High: 42	Low: 44	▲ 2	Making benches now that Julian Eyestone and Jack Stewart have left for college. – Buzz
43	Dylan Lacy NTX (M)	High: 43	Low: 43	— 0	The newest NTX signing, made only his second bench of the season last night. – Dan
44	Lautaro Taboada NTX (F)	High: 44	Low: 44	— 0	New forward signing from Argentina club All Boys but won’t join the roster for a couple of weeks it seems (visa, paperwork, etc). – Buzz
45	Tarik Scott FCD (F)	High: 26	Low: 45	— 0	Out for the season

Thoughts

What a shock, Jesus Ferreira is top once again scoring for fun for both club and country.

Bernard Kamungo is July’s big mover, jumping up ten spots on the back of a great run of starts that produced goals against LAFC, Seattle, and Charlotte. The Tanzanian is followed by Eugene Ansah, who grabbed his first FC Dallas goal against Necaxa and was unlucky not to score in his debut a couple of nights earlier.

Injuries give and take away, in Bernie’s case he snatched at the chance created by injuries in the team. Our three furthest falls are due to both sides of injury.

Paxton Pomykal drops five spots. His return from injury at the start of July didn’t last long before missing another three games. Hopefully, this return is the last one and he’s past these upper leg injuries that have plagued his past couple of months.

We have a tie with four places dropped. Jesus Jimenez has missed the entire month, and if rumors of torn ankle ligaments are true then it could be the entire summer without the Spaniard.

On the other side of things, Tsiki Ntsabeleng is starting to lose out on playing time as players recover from injury. He didn’t help his standing with a greedy moment that ended up costing FCD the win – do that in a game that matters and you lose the trust of your coach and teammates very quickly.

So there you have it. Another couple of weeks until the league resumes play and we have three MLS games to rank from in addition to whatever Leagues Cup brings.