Opening Day is undefeated. Hope is undefeated. And right now, so is FC Dallas.
Saturday night, FC Dallas kicks off the 2026 season at home against Toronto FC, with a clean slate and a whole lot of questions waiting to be answered. New additions are in, grown appears to be happening all over the roster, and manager Eric Quill finally gets his first real measuring stick in front of the home faithful.
Let’s dive into some notes, predictions, and more.
TL;DR: Match Preview
Quick hits before kickoff.
- Score prediction: FC Dallas 2 – 1 Toronto FC
- Key player to watch: Petar Musa – If Dallas is going to establish an attacking identity early, it likely runs through him.
- Why this game matters: Opening night sets the tone. A strong performance builds belief early and gives Eric Quill momentum in shaping this team’s identity.
The free stuff tells you what happened. A paid subscription tells you why it happened, what it means for FC Dallas, and what’s coming next—before anyone else catches up.
FC Dallas Notes:
Key player for FC Dallas: Petar Musa - For the Croatian, getting off to a hot start this season is key for his World Cup chances. Toronto’s defense is still a work-in-progress at best, so this is his chance to start off on the right foot.
All-time vs Toronto: Dallas is 11-3-6 in all-time regular season matches against Toronto, including an unbeaten 8-0-3 record at Toyota Stadium against the Reds.
Homegrown clock: Last season, the Homegrowns played a combined 1548 minutes. We’ll see those minutes spike up with Michael Collodi as the expected starter in goal this year.
Notable season stats:
- It is week one…check back next week for some season stats!
Drew Epperley
Potential FC Dallas Lineup:
Based on what we saw during the preseason, including the five or so minutes we got last weekend against Atlanta, this should be the starting lineup for the first game of the season.
Projected Starting XI
Formation: 3-4-3Availability & Disciplinary Report
Suspended: none
Suspended with next yellow card: none
Suspended with next two yellow cards: none
Season-ending injury list: none
Out: none
Questionable: none
On Loan: Tsiki Ntsabeleng (Mamelodi Sundowns FC), Enes Sali (Al-Riyadh), Malachi Molina (Nashville SC)
Unavailable (off-roster): Daniel Baran, Jaidyn Contreras, Kaka Scabin, Slade Starnes
International duty: none
The free stuff tells you what happened. A paid subscription tells you why it happened, what it means for FC Dallas, and what’s coming next—before anyone else catches up.
Toronto Notes:
Key player for Toronto: Djordje Mihailovic
Drew Epperley
Disciplinary Report
Suspended: none
Suspended on next yellow card: none
Availability Report
Out: Theo Corbeanu (Knee), Adisa De Rosario (Hand), Nicksoen Gomis (Achilles), Deandre Kerr (Adductor), Zane Monlouis (Adductor), Matheus Pereira (Groin)
Questionable: none
On Loan: none
International duty: none
