March was a month to forget for FC Dallas fans, so let’s rip the band-aid off.
As always, there is nothing scientific about this, we’re just looking at who of the 52 contracted players for FC Dallas and North Texas SC is playing. Also, 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 – which is all we can hope for currently!
Starting XI
| Rank | Trending | Comments | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paes, Maarten FCD (G) | High: 1 | Low: 2 | ▲ 1 | The FCD defense isn’t the same as the last 2 seasons but Paes is still on his game. |
| 2 | Tafari, Nkosi FCD (D) | High: 2 | Low: 3 | ▲ 1 | Tafari is having to carry a massive load. He’s become the defensive leader of this team. |
| 3 | Arriola, Paul FCD (F) | High: 3 | Low: 4 | ▲ 1 | Leads FCD with a 0.6 xA, 9 key passes, 26 progressive passes, and 15 shot creating actions so he’s playing well even if he doesn’t have any goals of assists. |
| 4 | Illarramendi, Asier FCD (M) | High: 1 | Low: 4 | ▼ 3 | Been out a couple of weeks with an abductor problem but he’s still the lynchpin of this team. FCD struggles to connect without him. |
| 5 | Lletget, Sebastian FCD (M) | High: 5 | Low: 15 | ▲ 10 | Might be FCD’s best midfielder since his return from injury. Trying to fill the void left by Illarra and Pomykal injuries. |
| 6 | Fraser, Liam FCD (M) | High: 5 | Low: 6 | ▼ 1 | A steady presence in midfield with all the injuries. Not an elite player but he’s been showing up and putting in the work. Just back from camp with Canada. |
| 7 | Sealy, Dante FCD (M) | High: 7 | Low: 7 | — 0 | He’s become a lock starter at left wingback or wing. 12 shot-creating actions even though he’s mostly playing deep. Coach Nico seems to be a big believer. |
| 8 | Junqua, Sam FCD (D) | High: 8 | Low: 9 | ▲ 1 | Started 5 of 5 with Marco Farfan out. But is the the answer at left back or left center back? Can he hold his spot? |
| 9 | Musa, Petar FCD (F) | High: 9 | Low: 12 | ▲ 3 | Scored in his debut and leads FCD with 14 shots and an xG of 1.1 with 1 goal. |
| 10 | Ibeagha, Sebastien FCD (D) | High: 10 | Low: 10 | — 0 | He’s started 3 of 5 games with mostly solid play. Some cracks are showing though. |
| 11 | Ferreira, Jesus FCD (F) | High: 6 | Low: 11 | ▼ 5 | He’s out of sorts and playing as more of a 10 than an off-striker. He’s only got 2 shots on the entire season and now he’s got a hamstring issue. |
In the Mix
| Rank | Trending | Comments | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Farrington, Logan FCD (F) | High: 12 | Low: 14 | ▲ 2 | Missed a week with a knock, but started 2 and played in 4. He’s clearly 2nd choice 9 and in the mix at wing. |
| 13 | Ansah, Eugene FCD (F) | High: 13 | Low: 20 | ▲ 7 | Off the bench for the first 4 games for a total of just 32 minutes but started in Austin and scored. |
| 14 | Kamungo, Bernard FCD (F) | High: 8 | Low: 14 | ▼ 6 | Started 3 of 5 and played in all 5 but is struggling to find his position. His profile doesn’t fit wingback or the underneath 10-striker. |
| 15 | Twumasi, Ema FCD (D) | High: 15 | Low: 19 | ▲ 4 | Back and getting fitter, right now he’s just about the only choice at right back or wingback. |
| 16 | Delgado, Patrickson FCD (M) | High: 16 | Low: 32 | ▲ 16 | He’s made a great start to his FCD career. Sometimes looks fantastic but still occassioanlly gets caught way out of sorts. |
| 17 | Farfan, Marco FCD (D) | High: 13 | Low: 17 | ▼ 4 | Back, cleared to play, and challenging but hasn’t played a minute. |
| 18 | Endeley, Herbert FCD (D) | High: 16 | Low: 18 | ▼ 2 | Jumping back and forth from FCD to NTXSC. Had a great spring but hasn’t seen much first-team action since his opening-day start. |
| 19 | Maurer, Jimmy FCD (G) | High: 17 | Low: 19 | ▼ 2 | Massive locker room leader. Works as hard and as much on the front office gig as he does in training. |
| 20 | Gonzalez, Omar FCD (D) | High: 18 | Low: 20 | ▼ 2 | Started one game with Ibeagha was out but hasn’t played since. Speed matters. |
Second Team
| Rank | Trending | Comments | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Sainte, Carl FCD (M) | High: 21 | Low: 29 | ▲ 8 | He’s converting to CB even with North Texas. Played well enough this spring to get that FCD contract. |
| 22 | Norris, Nolan FCD (M) | High: 22 | Low: 22 | — 0 | Hasn’t played for FCD this year but played once for NTX. Captain for the US U19s in Europe. |
| 23 | Garcia, Diego NTX (M) | High: 23 | Low: 25 | ▲ 2 | Getting first-team training time. Might be North Texas SC’ best player. |
| 24 | Ntsabeleng, Tsiki FCD (M) | High: 21 | Low: 24 | ▼ 3 | Not seeing much PT 3 games for just 34 minutes. |
| 25 | Carrera, Antonio FCD (G) | High: 23 | Low: 25 | ▼ 2 | On loan to North Carolina FC, made one start and had a candidate for USL-C Save of the Week. |
| 26 | Scott, Tarik FCD (F) | High: 24 | Low: 26 | ▼ 2 | Scored the first NTX goal of the year. He’s healthy and playing showing signs of his game but, understandably, is still looking for his decisive edge. Leads NTX with 6 key passes. |
| 27 | Sali, Enes FCD (F) | High: 26 | Low: 27 | ▼ 1 | Showing well for NTX. Direct and dynamic. 4 key passes in 2 games. |
| 28 | Collodi, Michael NTX (G) | High: 28 | Low: 35 | ▲ 7 | North Texas SC’s #1, training frequently with FC Dallas. |
| 29 | Gordon, Nico FCD (F) | High: 29 | Low: 31 | ▲ 2 | NTX captain had a recent national team call-up with Montserrat. |
| 30 | Mendonca, Nick NTX (M) | High: 30 | Low: 30 | — 0 | Trialist signing is getting all the starts for NTX as an 8 so far this year. |
| 31 | Pepi, Diego NTX (F) | High: 31 | Low: 33 | ▲ 2 | Started both games at the 9 for North Texas but hasn’t scored. |
| 32 | Korca, Amet FCD (D) | High: 27 | Low: 32 | ▼ 5 | Been a little banged up and hasn’t played for FCD. Did make 1 NTX start. |
In Reserve
| Rank | Trending | Comments | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | Pondeca, Tomas FCD (M) | High: 33 | Low: 34 | ▲ 1 | 1 start for North Texas, 0 for FC Dallas. |
| 34 | Zanne, Abdoul NTX (M) | High: 34 | Low: 43 | ▲ 9 | Started both games for NTX but hasn’t been impactful. |
| 35 | Ramirez, Anthony NTX (M) | High: 35 | Low: 39 | ▲ 4 | He’s been with the U19s for Dallas Cup. 2 sub appearances for NTX. |
| 36 | Henry-Scott, Malik FCD (F) | High: 36 | Low: 36 | — 0 | Back from his spring injury and coming off the bench for NTX. |
| 37 | Parker, Isaiah FCD (M) | High: 37 | Low: 37 | — 0 | Not playing for FCD. Not playing for NTX. Moves between both for training. |
| 38 | Orejarena, Leonardo NTX (M) | High: 38 | Low: 42 | ▲ 4 | With US U17s, then Joining U17s for GA Cup. Has yet to play for NTX in an official game. |
| 39 | Lacy, Dylan NTX (M) | High: 39 | Low: 41 | ▲ 2 | Leading the FCD U19s for Dallas Cup. Has played 4 minutes for NTX. |
| 40 | Humphrey, Turner NTX (D) | High: 40 | Low: 40 | — 0 | FCD’s 2nd round pick has made one start for NTX. |
| 41 | Taboada, Lautaro NTX (F) | High: 38 | Low: 41 | ▼ 3 | Losing out to Diego Pepi for the 9 position with Los Toritos. 1 minute played this season. |
| 42 | Pedrinho NTX (M) | High: 28 | Low: 42 | ▼ 14 | One of NTX’s best in the spring joined FCD in Spain… but hasn’t played once. is he hurt? NTX isn’t saying. |
| 43 | Mulato, Jose FCD (F) | High: 43 | Low: 49 | ▲ 6 | Loaned to San Antonio FC. 1 sub appearance for 10 minutes. |
| 44 | Urzua, Alejandro FCD (M) | High: 30 | Low: 44 | ▼ 14 | Where is he? Not with FCD, Not with NTX, Not with U19s… |
| 45 | Molina, Malachi NTX (D) | High: 40 | Low: 45 | ▼ 5 | With U19s for Dallas Cup where’s he’s been a sub. Very much a project at this point. |
| 46 | Londe, Leonard NTX (F) | High: 44 | Low: 46 | ▼ 2 | He’s been on the bench but isn’t getting into games. |
| 47 | Westergren, Mads NTX (D) | High: 47 | Low: 47 | — 0 | NTX’s Newest signing. 3rd round pick out of SMU had a strong spring outplaying Humphrey. |
| 48 | Darub, Victor NTX (G) | High: 45 | Low: 48 | ▼ 3 | Played a little FCD U19s, got a red card, and is behind U17 keeper Nico Montoya in the pecking order. |
| 49 | Jesus, Geovane FCD (D) | High: 46 | Low: 49 | ▼ 3 | Out until May/June with ACL tear. |
| 50 | Velasco, Alan FCD (M) | High: 47 | Low: 50 | ▼ 3 | Out until August/September with ACL tear. |
| 51 | Pomykal, Paxton FCD (M) | High: 11 | Low: 51 | ▼ 40 | Out for the year for knee cartilage surgery. 2024 final stats… 6 minutes played. |
| 52 | Rose, Tyshawn NTX (D) | High: 48 | Low: 52 | ▼ 4 | Out until May/June with ACL tear. |
Thoughts
With Asier Illarramendi injured, we have a new number one! Illarra probably could have kept the top spot with the injury showing just how poor FCD can be without him, but Maarten Vincent Paes is your new leader.
Patrickson Delgado is the big gain this month, in part due to Illarra’s absence. I don’t think many had him pegged to get this many minutes so soon, and he leaps 16 spots. Behind the former Jong Ajax midfielder is Sebastian Lletget with a ten-place jump on the back of a string of solid performances.
The bad news about Paxton Pomykal’s season-ending surgery sees him drop 40 places. Next is both Ale Urzua and Pedrinho after the pair took a 14-place slide. Both players got some time with the big club in preseason but they’ve seemingly disappeared, not appearing even with North Texas.
Who is going to be April’s savior and jump up the order, or the next one that gets crocked…
Earlier when sali signed you said he would be getting minutes with dallas and not ntx. Why is he not getting minutes or even time on the bench with dallas?
When he signed coach said we should not expect him to have an immediate impact. I thought he meant like when Dante Sealy came back, that at first Sali would be getting bench minutes.
But it turns out he meant like an 18 year old homegrown. Playing pretty much just with NTXSC. If they get this ship righted and Nico continues, I think you will see Sali at FCD this season.