FC Dallas and USMNT Stars Jesús Ferreira and Paul Arriola Selected for 2022 MLS All-Star Game Presented by Target

FRISCO, Texas (July 12, 2022) – FC Dallas and U.S. Men’s National Team stars Jesús Ferreira and Paul Arriola earned their first MLS-Star Game invitation today. They were among the 26 players honored as Major League Soccer unveiled the complete roster for the 2022 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target. Minnesota United coach Adrian Heath will coach the MLS-All Stars as they take on the best of LIGA MX for the second consecutive season on August 10 at 7:30 PM CT at Allianz Field in Minnesota.

Ferreira, 21, sits one goal off the MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi leaderboard with a career-high 11 goals and has added four assists, while pacing an explosive FC Dallas offense in 2022. The first Homegrown Designated Player in FC Dallas history, Jesús Ferreira earns his first MLS All-Star bid in the 21-year-old’s breakout campaign. Ferreira scored five goals over a three-week span in Weeks 4-6, including his first career MLS hat trick on March 19 vs. Portland. Ferreira continues to play his way into a major role for the United States Men’s National Team with seven goals and four assists in 12 first-team appearances and he became the fifth player in USMNT history to score four goals in a match, doing so against Grenada on June 10, 2022.

Ferreira is the fourth FC Dallas Homegrown Player to be selected for the MLS All-Star Game, joining Kellyn Acosta (2016, 2017), Paxton Pomykal (2019) and Ricardo Pepi (2021). Ferreira also shares this special honor with his father, David Ferreira, who was selected for the 2010 MLS All-Star Game. Jesús and David are the only father-son duo to participate in an MLS All-Star Game.

Arriola, 27, has made an immediate impact on the FC Dallas front line after Dallas acquired by him in a blockbuster trade during the offseason. In 18 matches this season, Arriola has set his career-high in goals scored (eight), including a stretch of five consecutive matches with at least one goal scored from May 7-28. His success during the month of May earned Arriola MLS Player of the Month recognition. 

Arriola and Ferreira have scored in the same match three times this season, winning all three matches (4-1 vs. Portland, 2-0 vs. Seattle and 3-1 vs. LA Galaxy), and have collectively carried that success into their time with United States Men’s National Team where they have scored in the same match twice this year (5-1 vs. Panama and 5-0 vs. Grenada).

The roster was selected through a combination of fan, player, and media voting (12 players), designations by All-Star head coach Adrian Heath (12 players), and a pair of selections by MLS Commissioner Don Garber. The Commissioner’s Picks for the 2022 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target are New York City FC goalkeeper Sean Johnson and CF Montréal standout defender Kamal Miller.

Sixteen clubs are represented on this year’s All-Star Game roster: Austin FC, FC Cincinnati, Columbus Crew, D.C. United, FC Dallas, Inter Miami CF, LA Galaxy, LAFC, Minnesota United FC, CF Montréal, Nashville SC, New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls, NYCFC, Philadelphia Union, and Seattle Sounders FC. The players have ties to 10 different countries: Argentina (four players), Canada (two), Ecuador (one), Germany (two), Greece (one), Jamaica (one), Mexico (three), Peru (two), Spain (two), and the United States (eight). Additionally, 14 of the 26 players will be making their MLS All-Star Game presented by Target debut.

The matchup between the MLS All-Stars and the best of LIGA MX will be broadcast live on ESPN and Univision in the U.S., TSN and TVA Sports in Canada, on ESPN throughout Mexico and Latin America, and in more than 190 countries around the world. Tickets are available at MLSsoccer.com/All-Star or by clicking here.