When Belgium dominated the United States Men’s National Team on Monday in the Round of 16, it meant not only that the hosts run was over but so was the involvement of an FC Dallas fingerprint on this tournament.
Three active Burn players went to this World Cup to represent Croatia, Haiti and Sweden, while four more who came through the academy system went on to play for the USMNT.
Here’s how each of them actually did during this year’s World Cup.
Current FC Dallas players
Petar Musa (Croatia) - 2 start, 2 appearances, 1 goal, 111 minutes
The World Cup couldn’t have gotten off to a better start for Musa. Not only did he start in the group opener against England in Dallas Stadium, he scored a great goal.
PETAR MUSA IN THE WORLD CUP!!! pic.twitter.com/Ke1s3AV7RB
— FC Dallasić (@FCDallas) June 17, 2026
As the tournament went on, Musa mostly stayed on the bench as he failed to see the field in the Round of 32 loss in Toronto against Portugal.
Deedson (Haiti) - 1 start, 3 appearances, 112 minutes
Haiti’s first World Cup since 1974 ended the way most feared: being the first team eliminated from the tournament after two consecutive group-stage losses to Scotland and Brazil, finishing fourth after losing their third game against Morocco.
Deedson picked up a start in their group opener and came off the bench twice more after that. He ended the tournament with two shots, neither on target.
Herman Johansson (Sweden) - Zero minutes
Johansson made the Swedish roster as an injury replacement for Emil Holm, but despite the late call he did not see the field at the World Cup.
Stay on top of every FC Dallas move this season. Free subscribers get breaking news straight to their inbox — no algorithm, no noise.
Former FCD Academy Players with USMNT
Now that the USMNT’s run is also over at the World Cup, let’s breakdown how each former academy player did at this year’s tournament.
Chris Richards - 4 starts, played the full 90 in each
When the US were on their game defensively, it was because of Richards. Despite the rough outing against Belgium, Richards is clearly the center back of the future for the US.
He ended the tournament with a 95% passing accuracy, including a perfect performance against Paraguay in the opening game of the Group Stage.
Weston McKennie - 5 starts, 444 minutes played
The Little Elm native arguably had the best tournament of the bunch for the US. He helped give guys like Malik Tillman and Tyler Adams the freedom to move forward more in the attack. He gave defenders fits with his direct runs. He’s clearly moving into the leadership role with the US midfield.
Ricardo Pepi - 2 starts, 202 minutes played
After missing the cut on the 2022 World Cup with the US, Pepi got two starts in the group stage against Turkey and Australia. He ended the tournament with five shots and zero goals. He didn’t feature in either of the knockout round games.
Alejandro Zendejas - 1 appearance, 13 minutes
He only had one appearance in the entire tournament, during the group stage finale against Turkey.
