Season Opener Predictions: FC Dallas vs Toronto FC
Our long winter is over. FC Dallas takes the field against visiting Toronto FC tonight to open their 2026 MLS Season Campaign. Here's what we predict.
FC Dallas fans, we have made it through the long, brutal winter.
The opening game of 2026 in Frisco is here, our first chance to see where new additions, fresh focus, and lessons learned lead our Hoops in a huge year ahead.
FC Dallas against Toronto FC kicks off at 7:30 PM CST.
On the pod, our faithful crew dropped their predictions for the match, and in fact, there are some intriguing storylines to watch. Toronto FC is a solid team — heck, there will be few gimmes this year. Going out to spend a transfer fee record on Josh Sargeant could make them better. Adding Salloi from SKC also helps.
But good news - those transfers are not likely to be finished ahead of the opening whistle.
Catching Toronto FC right now may be nice, as they could look a lot stronger down the stretch.
Meanwhile, FC Dallas enters this match with no one on the injury report, especially with Paxton Pomykal officially departing the club (still sad).
What should we expect tonight?
Our crew was confident.
FCD - Toronto Predictions
Coov - 3 - 0 victory for FC Dallas. Toronto sucks. Musa brace, Kamungo goal.
Nathan - 3 - 0 FC Dallas victory. Musa brace, Farrington goal.
Chris - 2 - 0 FC Dallas victory.
Jose - 3 - 0 FC Dallas victory but scrappy.
A Few Extra Notes
Fast Start: FC Dallas hasn’t always started the season blazing out of the gates. That’s never an awful thing in this league, as few teams start fully fit and connected. However, the way the season is structured, Dallas needs a strong start. Getting crucial wins at home can really help build a cushion to propel them into a playoff position. I also think if Eric Quill went back to 2025, he will mark those opening matches as misses for this team to really lock things down defensively and secure crucial wins that were in the bag. Remember when he said, “never again”, after FCD dropped three points at home late? Quill will want something different.
Lineup Surprises: Several folks have predicted Ricky Louis, the No. 2 SuperDraft pick, has impressed during the preseason. Could he be a surprise start at left wing-back? At the very least, could he make his professional debut tonight? I also think Sam Sarver will play a major role and begin building a case for a starting spot.
Otherwise, I don’t expect too many surprises. We will be watching the back line to see which mix of guys Quill thinks will improve home form and defensive form right out of the gate.
The Season Runs Through Logan: Here’s my big swing. I think Logan Farrington is the key to FC Dallas over-performing this year. Petar Musa is going to be great, as he usually is. He may also be gone by the summer transfer window if he keeps up this torrid scoring pace. If Logan can get going and get into double digits, Dallas will be in the mix for hardware. Book it.
Of course, we’ll be covering the game live and popping on to the post-game media call as action gets underway. It’s gameday!
New to FC Dallas?
I highly recommend Sam Hale’s 2026 FC Dallas Fan Omnibus, much better than our outdated FC Dallas 101 page.