Can you build an FC Dallas-only USMNT squad for the World Cup?
It's a silly exercise, but what if we had a national team head coach that only selected FC Dallas developed players?
The US Men’s National Team just played to a decent 3-2 win over Senegal in their first warmup ahead of the biggest sporting event in the world. No surprises but our very own Ricardo Pepi was key to the opening two goals.
With the World Cup on our mind, I always like to have a little fun as an FC Dallas supporter. Imagine this pointless scenario: a future USMNT head coach irrationally believes that only FC Dallas developed players with American citizenship should be called up to the national team.
Could one build a roster for the 2026 World Cup? Yes.
Could such a roster win it all? Very, very unlikely.
Could the roster be competitive, like winning a few games or even escaping its group? Maybe, but it would need to be a favorable group.
My rules are pretty simple. To be chosen by this delusional head coach, the player needs to have an FC Dallas academy connection or have been a draft pick developed through the FC Dallas system. Guys like Paul Arriola would not make the list. In the future, you could imagine someone like Kaick qualifying, who joined FC Dallas as an 18 year old) if he were to gain citizenship in the US. But really, the key is development — I want guys who were formed in the Frisco way.
Below is my proposed 26 man squad.
Attackers (7): Ricardo Pepi, Alejandro Zendejas, Jesús Ferreira, Logan Farrington, Bernard Kamungo, Sam Sarver, Dante Sealy
Headlined by Pepi, Zendejas, and Ferreira, the top of that lineup would put this mythical FC Dallas-saturated squad in a better position than lots of national team programs. Ricardo is a true star and goalscorer. Alex is dynamic star for one of the best Mexican teams. Jesus has had a decent national team career, even if he hasn’t quite gotten back to the form that earned him a spot on the 2022 World Cup squad. I don’t mind this attacking trio to start most games and give the team at least a shot to bang in some fun goals.
It’s the depth that gives us pause. Yes, we love Logan Farrington for his work ethic. Sam Sarver would be a joy to watch on the international stage as a late game sub and hype machine (also Modelo sponsorship money). Bernard Kamungo is oft-injured but did have his moment in the national team not long ago. In this thin group, he’s fine.
Closing out with Dante Sealy, who did have a great 2025 campaign with Montreal and is now with Colorado, doesn’t inspire much enthusiasm. But we need bodies.
There are simply not enough attackers. I’d love one or two more proven guys, but FC Dallas hasn’t quite developed those marquee talents in this area of the pitch recently. I am sure I could dig around at a few other former North Texas guys, but that’s just wishful thinking. I like Nicholas Simmonds, for example, but it’s way too early for him at this stage of his development.
Midfielders (8): Weston McKennie, Tanner Tessmann, Edwin Cerrillo, Christian Cappis, Matthew Corcoran, Kellyn Acosta, Brandon Servania, Caleb Swann
Again, the top end of this talent pool isn’t bad at all. We love Weston, and I’ve been beating the drum for FC Dallas to spend a lot to bring the jack-of-all-trades back to Frisco. It will never happen. Tanner Tessmann continues to rise after another good year in France. They form a solid pairing in the middle of the park.
Edwin and Christian are both good MLS guys, who give you some flexibility in midfield. Add in Matthew Corcoran, still developing here in MLS with Nashville despite making his debut with North Texas a few years back.
Beyond that it’s a bit more of a gamble. I chose a veteran near the tail end of his career, Kellyn Acosta, who is contributing to a good Polish team and would be a veteran leader with international experience, and then Brandon Servania, who has carved out a solid MLS career and has a single cap to his name. Youngster Caleb Swann gets the nod just for the fun of it, but you could argue Diego Garcia would give this group more attacking flair. It’s a toss-up between the two.
But, yeah, the drop off after the first couple of names is significant.
Defenders (8): Chris Richards, Nolan Norris, Shaq Moore, Reggie Cannon, Nkosi Tafari, Bryan Reynolds, Nico Carrera, Josh Torquato
The situation here gets more complicated. I tried not to worry too much about position needs but ended up with four central defenders and four guys who can give you minutes at outside back.
Obviously, Chris Richards is one of the best defenders the academy has ever-produced and is a lock. I think Nolan Norris has the potential to ascend into that status too and love that he can play on the left side. He just got called up to the U21s again. Bryan Reynolds is a regular at Westerlo in Belgium, so he likely becomes a lock starter too. Shaq Moore and Reggie Cannon have international experience and would be fine veterans to mix in.
Nkosi Tafari, now starting regularly with LAFC, is a good rotation piece, and as we know, sometimes he can be stellar.
Nico Carrera (at Atlante in Liga MX) and Ryan Hollingshead (at LAFC) round out the depth. Hollingshead has, of course, dipped a bit in his play late in his career, but he gives you flexibility and leadership.
I did have the luxury of leaving a couple of guys off, like Walker Zimmerman (at Toronto now), Justin Che (one appearance for New York Red Bulls), and Josh Torquato, who would be a nice left-sided option but needs a bit more seasoning.
Goalkeepers (3): Michael Collodi, Julian Eyestone, Antonio Carrera
This would be the toughest category. If we were talking late 2025 Collodi, we could feel some confidence that we had at least one in-form keeper to throw in goal and give the team a shot. Collodi has had a rough season and may have lost his starting job. Who knew that would happen?
Julian Eyestone is the next best option, signed to a deal with Brentford but yet to make his English debut. Maybe he starts over Collodi at this point? He too just got called into the US U21s, so maybe this is a timely article.
Beyond that, the pickings are slim, unless you really want to go super young or take a swing on some former North Texas SC guy. Antonio Carrera is with Tigres, and he has US citizenship. I will go with him over Nico Montoya at North Texas. Nico just got the nod for the Colombia youth national team, by the way.
And there it is — an FC Dallas 26 man World Cup roster that needs work but could make Frisco natives proud.
Who did I miss?
Who would you swap out?
Which FC Dallas alum are you expecting to have a great tournament?