FC Dallas is wrapping up its third day in Portugal and while we won’t have any preseason friendlies to dive into until this weekend, the roster battles on the pitch are certainly a talking point for new manager Eric Quill.
We know Quill will use a 4-2-3-1 formation this season, with a bit of a double pivot in the midfield block.
Let’s dive into the three biggest roster battles right now as the club is training in Portugal.
Center back starting duo
As for this writing, Nkosi Tafari, Sebastien Ibeagha and newcomer Lalas Abubakar are your three center backs.
Sure, you can slot in Marco Farfan in a pinch, or maybe Homegrown midfielder Nolan Norris. But slotting in Farfan exposes an already thin left back area, so that one doesn’t seem smart.
When you only have three true center backs on the roster and two starting spots, it means you have a big time battle for who will be the two starters on First Kick and who will be left on the bench.
If I were to guess, I think Tafari and Abubakar are your starters but this weekend’s first scrimmage in Portugal will likely give us an indication as to where things could go. More than likely, we won’t truly know who the expected starters are until closer to First Kick in Houston.
Also, ideally, FC Dallas signs another center back before the start of the season. And even more so, that center back is a TAM-level guy. I know we’re been beating that drum for a couple of years now, but the time is now.
Center midfield starting duo
I wrote in my preseason depth chart piece that the one area of the roster that I may feel most comfortable in terms of depth is the two center midfielder spots. It has plenty of new faces and established veterans.

We know Quill wants to use a two-man group in this block of the midfield. Both should be able to link up between the attacking group and the defensive group behind them.
Right now, I would pencil in Sebastian Lletget and Show as your starters here. Newcomer Ramiro Benetti, Patrickson Delgado and Norris could be good backups here off the bench.
There are two players in this group that I wouldn’t sleep on as time goes on this season. Both are Homegrown players, too. I see Diego Garcia being a bit of a wildcard in the midfield as someone who could impress during preseason camp and earn some minutes.
The other is a longer play, as I think Paxton Pomykal could be a huge player for the team if he is able to return to full health after the season starts. That one may be a bigger ’if’ than Garcia in my book right now, but I love the idea of Pomykal being a key player again for this club.
Attacking midfielder
Right now, Alan Velasco is still technically a FC Dallas player. He hasn’t been officially sold to Boca Juniors but that move is certainly days or even hours away from being done (depending on when you read this).
The tough thing here is who will be the prime player to be that #10 without Velasco? Sure, that answer gets filled if the club is able to land Lucho Acosta or Evander in another blockbuster trade, but neither one of those are guaranteed right now.
So, who could fill the void until a DP-level 10 is signed? Maybe Bernard Kamungo. Maybe Tsiki Ntsabeleng. Or maybe Homegrown Anthony Ramirez. Maybe Anderson Julio or Leo Chu (though, neither have really shown to be anything but a winger in MLS so far).
While I am probably more concerned with who the starting center backs are on day one, this is probably the one area that has to be solved sooner rather than later if this team wants to have any chances of reaching the playoffs in 2025.
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