The Lionel Messi hype train has continued to roll the competition since his arrival at Inter Miami. Next up in the Leagues Cup is a trip to the Lone Star State.
[afflinkbutton text=”Watch Messi and Inter Miami vs FC Dallas on Apple TV” link=”https://apple.co/3rYEdiT”]
Thanks in big part to Messi, Miami has become one of the favorites in the competition. He has five goals in three outings since arriving alongside Sergio Busquets.
And on top of Messi and Busquets, Jordi Alba is likely to increase his playing time against Dallas as well after making his Inter Miami debut in the team’s last game.
Even with the spotlight on Miami’s big-name signings, Dallas has earned its stripes in this competition. After dropping their first matchup of the Leagues Cup to Charlotte on penalties, back-to-back home wins over Liga MX sides put them right back on track. Forward Eugene Ansah has scored off the bench in two straight victories for a side which also features United States international Jesús Ferreira.
More importantly, Dallas has allowed 26 goals in MLS this year, the fifth-best number in the league. A key ahead of facing a stacked Miami attack.
Here’s everything you need to know to catch all the action:
[afflinkbutton text=”Watch Inter Miami vs FC Dallas on Apple TV” link=”https://apple.co/3rYEdiT”]
Inter Miami possible starting lineup:
Callender; Yedlin, Kryvtsov, Miller, Alba; Arroyo, Busquets, Cremaschi; Messi, Martinez, Taylor.
FC Dallas possible starting lineup:
Paes; Junqua, Martinez, Tafari, Jesus; Velasco, Quignon, Lletget; Obrian, Ferreira, Kamungo
Premier League Odds and betting lines
MLS odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. Odds were last updated Saturday at 9:44 a.m. ET.
FC Dallas (+210) vs. Inter Miami (+115)
Draw: (+220)
[afflinkbutton text=”Watch Lionel Messi and Inter Miami vs FC Dallas on Apple TV” link=”https://apple.co/3rYEdiT”]
We recommend interesting sports viewing/streaming and betting opportunities. If you sign up for a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.
Ferreira’s hat trick kept them atop Group A on goal difference
The U.S. men’s national team was tested on Sunday night, but only by the outcome of a game on the other side of the country.
Jesús Ferreira starred for the USMNT, scoring his second consecutive hat trick in a 6-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago in Charlotte, NC.
It turned out they really needed to pour those goals on: The USMNT and Jamaica — who defeated St. Kitts and Nevis 5-0 in Santa Clara, Calif. in a match played simultaneously — both notched seven points in Group A, with the U.S. winning the group by virtue of their superior goal difference (plus-12 for the USMNT, plus-8 for Jamaica). That outcome almost certainly places them opposite Mexico in the Gold Cup’s knockout round bracket.
It wasn’t pretty in the early going, with some strange hops on the temporary grass surface laid over turf at Bank of America Stadium and some clumsy play from both sides.
However, moments after Joevin Jones volleyed a promising look over the bar at one end, Ferreira was ice cold in finishing off the first coherent USMNT attack of the evening.
The heat was playing a major factor, with the USMNT looking to keep the game’s tempo in control in pursuit of big openings. Finally, their moment arrived, with Djordje Mihailovic and Alex Zendejas doing fine work to pry the Soca Warriors’ defense open.
Ferreira was again the goalscorer, though this time it was more the product of persistence than anything else.
The FC Dallas forward nearly added an assist to his brace just two minutes later, only for Cristian Roldan to scuff his shot attempt as Trinidad and Tobago began to sag deeper and deeper defensively.
Mihailovic was causing fits for any Soca Warriors players that approached him, and in first-half stoppage time won a penalty after Alvin Jones’ reckless lunge.
There was little mystery over who would get the spot kick, with Ferreira getting his second straight hat trick after striking three times in the USMNT’s 6-0 win over St. Kitts and Nevis on Thursday.
With a three-goal cushion leaving plenty of work to do for Jamaica in the group’s other game, the USMNT were a bit lackluster, and needed something of a wake-up call in the form of halftime substitute Shannon Gomez crashing a shot off the post.
Fortunately for the U.S., that seemed to get them going again. A poor touch at the back let Cade Cowell — on the field for just four minutes at that point — in alone to round Marvin Phillip and make it 4-0. The goal is the young San Jose Earthquakes star’s first at the senior international level.
Cowell thumped the post shortly thereafter, and just as Jamaica started to apply some pressure on the goal difference front, another substitute created a USMNT goal. This time, Julian Gressel’s inch-perfect cutback found Gianluca Busio, who guided home his first-ever USMNT goal.
Brandon Vazquez would snag a late sixth for the USMNT, running onto Cowell’s superb through ball to clip the ball past Phillip and give his side their second straight 6-0 win.
The USMNT’s success in Group A sets up a July 9 quarterfinal at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati. They’ll take on the runners-up from Group D, which could be either Guatemala, Guadeloupe, or Canada.
Jesús Ferreira is turning the 2023 Gold Cup into a party for himself.
The USMNT forward scored a hat trick inside the first half as the USMNT thumped Trinidad and Tobago 6-0 Sunday night, striking in the 14th and 38th minutes before firing home a penalty kick in stoppage time.
Per Opta, Ferreira is the first USMNT player to ever score hat tricks in consecutive games, as well as the first to score three hat tricks in competitive matches.
3 – With his hat-trick against Trinidad and Tobago, Jesús Ferreira becomes the first @USMNT player to…
Landon Donovan also had three hat tricks in his spectacular USMNT career, but two of those came in friendlies against Ecuador and Scotland.
Ferreira’s hat tricks are the last three by any USMNT player. He scored four against Grenada in the group stage of the 2022-23 CONCACAF Nations League in June 2022, with his second coming in that aforementioned 6-0 win over the Sugar Boyz at the ongoing Gold Cup.
The avalanche of goals has Ferreira up to 14 for the USMNT in just 21 caps, and puts him well out in front of the race for the Gold Cup’s Golden Boot. His six goals put him four clear of any other player at the time of publication.
Ferreira might be the least popular person in Austin
Jesús Ferreira understands the stuff rivalries are made of.
The USMNT forward provided both a late winner and some heavy-duty trolling in FC Dallas’ 1-0 victory at Austin FC Saturday night.
Dallas had to work hard to break down their hosts, who spent the final 36 minutes playing with 10 after Rodney Redes was sent off in the 54th minute. Once the moment arrived, though, it more or less had to be Ferreira, who extended his team lead with a sixth goal on the season.
Tsiki Ntsabeleng’s inch-perfect through ball broke the Verde’s resolve in the 89th minute, with Ferreira knifing between the center backs to produce a one-touch finish past the onrushing Brad Stuver.
Ferreira then made it crystal clear who had done Austin in, taking off his jersey and holding it up with the “Ferreira No. 10” side facing the home supporters for a solid 20 seconds.
Ferreira kept the celebration going afterward, flashing a peace sign and then putting his fingers in his ears as he walked off towards an inevitable booking from referee Ismail Elfath.
Austin fans probably didn’t need the reminder. For one thing, the goal had just happened. More importantly though, no one has scored more goals against Austin than Ferreira, who now has five in seven meetings with Dallas’ in-state rival.
With his game-winning goal tonight, @FCDallas' Jesús Ferreira scored his fifth regular season goal against Austin FC, which is the most by a player against Los Verdes in league history. pic.twitter.com/zgR58C1Jtm
Unhappy Austin fans tossed a couple empty beer cups out onto the field, but all that succeeded in doing was add another opportunity for Dallas to show them up. Nkosi Tafari spotted the last of the cups to hit the pitch, sauntered over, and took a mock swig before heading back to his position.
The outcome also maintained the trend for both teams. Dallas kept pace in the Western Conference, sitting in fourth place on 18 points after the win. Austin, meanwhile, is a disappointing 13th with just 10 points, a troubling situation for a team that expected to compete for silverware this season.
The Serie A champions have been linked with two USMNT players this week
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis said he’s hoping to sign an American player, taking a swipe at MLS in the process.
De Laurentiis just watched his side achieve a historic Serie A title, winning the Italian top flight for the first time in 33 years. Looking ahead to next season, the president said he’d like to add players from two countries for Napoli’s title defense.
“I would like to add more players. I would like to have an American, because in America even if the league is worth little, there are great players who shine in the national team,” De Laurentiis told La Repubblica.
“And then a Japanese player, already having a Korean in the team (Kim Min-jae), since there is great development of football in the East and there are new names to consider.”
Which American could Napoli sign?
Napoli has been linked with two USMNT players in the past week.
On Friday, AreaNapoli.it reported that Napoli had reached out to representatives of FC Dallas and USMNT striker Jesús Ferreira. The 22-year-old could reportedly be available for a €12 million fee.
Though there were as many as four Americans in Serie A last season (Weston McKennie, Gianluca Busio, Tanner Tessman, Bryan Reynolds), there is only one currently in the Italian top flight: Sergiño Dest. However, the AC Milan right back hasn’t played since January and he’s expected to return to Barcelona when his loan ends at the conclusion of the season.
Jesús Ferreira, Weston McKennie, and Gio Reyna are featured in the murals
Adidas has unveiled murals of three U.S. men’s national team stars ahead of the World Cup.
Jesús Ferreira and Weston McKennie, both products of the FC Dallas academy, have murals in Dallas, while New York City FC academy product Gio Reyna has a mural in Queens, located in his home state of New York.
McKennie’s mural is designed by graffiti artist JEKS ONE, and is located in the Bishops Art District at 938 W Davis Street. It features an American flag, an ode to his family’s military background.
Ferreira’s mural, also in Dallas at 3287 S Polk Street, is designed by Jeremy Biggers. It contains elements of the FC Dallas logo as well as the Colombian flag, representing the country where Ferreira was born.
The mural of Reyna is at 7302 Northern Blvd in Queens and is designed by Drew Merritt. The design contains lavender and ceibo floral illustrations, which are the national flowers of Portugal and Argentina, respectively, to represent his heritage.
The USMNT will announce its World Cup roster on Wednesday. Which strikers will make the cut?
The United States men’s national soccer team will announce its roster for the 2022 World Cup on Wednesday evening.
The striker position has been in flux for most of the year but with just two weeks until kickoff in, some clarity has started to emerge.
Before the roster is revealed, here’s the final edition of Pro Soccer Wire’s 2022 striker stock watch series, with players ranked 1-3 expected to make the flight to Qatar.
The 21-year-old edged out Thiago Almada and Brenner in the voting
Major League Soccer has announced that FC Dallas forward Jesús Ferreira has been named the 2022 MLS Young Player of the Year.
The award honors the top player in the league age 22 and under, and was instated in 2020 to replace the Rookie of the Year award.
Ferreira had a prolific 2022 season, scoring 18 goals to tie the FC Dallas single-season record. With none of those goals coming from the spot, Ferreira was also tied for the MLS lead in non-penalty goals in 2022.
The striker topped fellow finalists Thiago Almada of Atlanta United and Brenner of FC Cincinnati.
The 21-year-old is the second straight FCD player to win the award after Ricardo Pepi earned the honor in 2021.
The ex-teammates at club level could be reunited on the USMNT World Cup roster, with Ferreira looking to be a near-lock while Pepi is battling for another of Gregg Berhalter’s striker spots.
Media vote puts Ferreira over the top
Ferreira earned 32.4% of the total vote for the award, with the votes split between MLS club technical staffs, media, and current MLS players. Almada came in second with 17.27% and Brenner was third with 8.17%.
Almada actually topped Ferreira among players and technical staffs but the media pushed the FCD striker over the edge, giving him a whopping 58.5% of the vote compared to less than 10% for both Almada and Brenner.
Too many USMNT arrows are pointing down rather than up
The U.S. men’s national team came into September’s international window hoping to find clarity and belief, but after two dispiriting performances, they certainly didn’t get the answers they wanted.
If anything, more players saw their stock drop, and in many cases there’s no recourse beyond hoping they go back to their clubs and tear it up. Gregg Berhalter has plenty to chew on over the next several weeks, but he was probably hoping to have more “good problems” than what he’s looking at right now.
Who hurt their chances of playing a major role at the World Cup? And who seems more important today than they did a few weeks ago? Let’s check the markets and see where the individuals are trending.
Stock down: Aaron Long
We have to start with the fact that the USMNT, against two very different systems, struggled with progressing the ball from their back line into the midfield. There were multiple causes for that problem, but the one that stood out more than the rest was that the center backs were both inaccurate with their passes, and very predictable with their intentions.
Walker Zimmerman wasn’t at his best, but for Long, the possession side of things was a major source of concern. Injuries to Chris Richards and Cameron Carter-Vickers didn’t help, and Berhalter ended up subbing Long off in both games to get a look at Mark McKenzie.
The fact that Long started both games seems to indicate that Berhalter holds him in esteem, but it’s not like he lacks for competition. With Richards vying for time in the Bundesliga and all of McKenzie, Carter-Vickers, and Palmer-Brown all getting regular minutes at European clubs, Long’s form with the New York Red Bulls will need to be much sharper than what we saw in this window to ensure his place on the plane to Qatar.
Stock up: Matt Turner
There’s a lot of talk at the moment about whether Berhalter simply prefers Steffen to the extent that the starting goalkeeper job is a settled issue. That seems unlikely, but either way, Turner was the best USMNT player in this window, and there’s not much more someone can do than that.
The worry for Turner coming into this camp was that he’d played just one competitive match since moving to Arsenal this summer. Those fears of lost sharpness or confidence ended up being unfounded, as Turner was precise, fundamentally sharp, and kept Japan from walking away with a bigger margin of victory. He had less to do in the second friendly, but still responded well when called upon.
Based on recent play with the USMNT, it’s Turner that should have the edge to start against Wales on November 21. If Steffen is going to win that job, he’s going to have to impress with Middlesbrough in very short order.
(AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Stock down: Gio Reyna
Reyna’s place in the USMNT squad isn’t in question, and when healthy, he’s obviously one of the best players in the entire pool. Berhalter is frankly lucky to have Reyna and Tim Weah possibly vying for one spot (we hear you, play-Weah-centrally advocates, but it really doesn’t seem like Berhalter is interested).
But despite some initial success with Borussia Dortmund’s cautious approach to his season, Reyna was once again having to come out of the game due to what Berhalter said post-game was some muscle tightness.
Dortmund boss Edin Terzić has since announced that Reyna’s recovery time is less than two weeks, which is the good news. The bad news is that on a team with several other key players who aren’t exactly the most durable, it’s now worth wondering whether the USMNT can lean on Reyna as a starter in a World Cup match. At the very least, they need to enter each game with a very specific plan on how they’ll adapt if he pulls up.
Stock up: Joe Scally
It’s not that Scally was a revelation against Saudi Arabia. Rather, the fact that he managed to get high and wide in the attack on a regular basis meant that he had to be accounted for, which had a positive ripple effect for the USMNT going forward.
The USMNT doesn’t function well without a fullback taking care of this task, and with Antonee Robinson missing out due to injury, no other fullback in camp was able to reliably get to the right places at the right time. Berhalter gave this responsibility to Sam Vines against Japan, and then to DeAndre Yedlin on the other side against Saudi Arabia, before Scally’s movement allowed for some more familiar patterns of play to take hold.
It wasn’t a good camp for the USMNT fullback pool in general, so Scally — who has had something of a difficult time getting call-ups, despite being a reliable starter at Borussia Mönchengladbach — is benefitting from simply not doing too badly while others disappointed. But then, that’s kind of the story of this entire international window, and being a player who didn’t run into some kind of problem means Scally’s odds of being on the final 26-man roster should be better today than they were two weeks ago.
Stock down: Ricardo Pepi
Progress isn’t linear, and anyone hoping that Pepi finally breaking his long goal drought meant that he’d come roaring into this USMNT camp was disappointed by how he struggled to really get enough touches to be a factor against Saudi Arabia.
(AP Photo/Jose Breton)
Some of that was simply the entire team struggling to break into the attacking third with consistency, and there’s only so much Pepi can do to fix that. He’s not a channel-running No. 9, and he’s not going to drop off the front line as a false nine either. If the team can’t get out of their own end, he’s not going to be involved.
But the real reason Pepi’s stock fell a bit is that Jesús Ferreira came in, and the USMNT attack instantly started finding angles it hadn’t been seeing earlier. Ferreira has taken some flack for jumping too early for a header against Japan, and he didn’t bury any looks against Saudi Arabia, but the entire attack was more lively once he came on. Not to get too into the weeds on modern soccer thinking, but an attack that is creating chances is believed to be better for winning games than a team that can’t get out of second gear going forward.
With Ferreira seeming to be the best fit for the players around him, Jordan Pefok being the hot hand as a finisher, and both Pepi and Josh Sargent skewing towards being best as pressing forwards, it feels like Berhalter has to sort through some tough questions. There’s a really good case to be made for there only being one spot for Pepi and Sargent, given that they’re the two most similar players in this group.
For Pepi, the best cure would be to light it up over the next few weeks at Groningen. If his profile becomes pressing/target man who is also scoring regularly, the questions here are not nearly as pointed. It’s just that, like we said, progress isn’t linear, and one goal in nearly a year could be a blip rather than the start of things to come.
“When things don’t go my way on the field or I mess up, I tend to shut down”
U.S. national team forward Jesús Ferreira has spoken out about his challenges with mental health on the field and how seeing a sports psychologist has helped him become a better player.
Ferreira is in the midst of a career year with FC Dallas, having scored 18 goals, and appears to be the frontrunner to start at striker for the USMNT when the World Cup kicks off in November.
Speaking to reporters from USMNT camp on Tuesday, Ferreira said that a goal-less stretch at the beginning of the season left him frustrated and led to several people in his support group rallying around him.
“At the beginning of this year was there were a good amount of games that I went in a row without scoring,” the 21-year-old said. “For me as a forward my goal is to score goals and so there’s a lot of pressure on myself and from myself, and I needed to focus on clearing that out of my mind and making sure that I knew that goals will come.
“I have a group of friends, group of coaches and group of teammates that came to me and made sure to let me know that I bring more to the team than just scoring, and that’s what led me to work on my mental health.”
Ferreira said that his agent suggested seeing a sports psychologist, whom the striker credits with helping him focus on the basics during games in which his end product is falling short.
“[I’ve been] working with a guy that has helped me understand that in games, I need to focus more on having a good touch, making sure that my press is good, making sure that my runs are good, making sure that I can come down and help [the team] on my first touch for the build-out. And so just making sure that I have a good game before I think about the final product.”
(Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports)
The striker is aware of what makes him tick on the field, admitting that at times he can get frustrated easily when he isn’t performing up to par.
“For me, I’ve always had a problem with my mood,” Ferreira said. “When things don’t go my way on the field or I mess up, I tend to shut down.”
Through his work with a sports psychologist Ferreira said he was now in a much better place, which could partially explain why 2022 has been the best year of his career thus far.
“Whenever I get frustrated, I can move on faster when things aren’t going my way,” Ferreira said. “Just think about positive things and making sure that I’m thinking about having a good game instead of my final product. Just little things like that have helped me stay focused on the game and stay present.”
