MLS Decision Day – when every club plays its last regular season match – is quite literal for FC Dallas this year.
Dallas’ final game away to the Vancouver Whitecaps this Saturday will decide the fate of their 2025 campaign. A win guarantees FCD a place in the postseason, likely a spot in the Wildcard game (8th vs. 9th place) but potentially even a berth to the First Round proper if the Portland Timbers fall to San Diego.
A draw or a loss, however, guarantees nothing. Anything less than three points means Dallas will be looking over their shoulders at the results from three other matches: Real Salt Lake vs. St. Louis, San Jose vs. Austin, and Colorado vs. LAFC.
If Dallas draws Vancouver, they’d rely on either Colorado or RSL dropping points to remain above the playoff line. If Dallas were to lose, they’d need at least two of Colorado, RSL and San Jose suffering a Decision Day defeat as well.
It’s not the position Dallas were hoping for, even considering the club was wallowing in 13th place as recently as mid-July. But an eight-game unbeaten run following the summer transfer window sparked new life into a down-trodden team. And that new life came with fresh expectations. The Burn had the chance to clinch a week ago with a trip to the bottom-dwelling LA Galaxy. But a 16th-minute red card (unsuccessfully appealed by the club this week) for forward Logan Farrington meant 10-man Dallas left California empty handed.
That defeat was compounded with the loss of two other starters. Leading scorer Petar Musa and captain Ramiro were both cautioned during the 90 minutes and must now serve one-game yellow card accumulation suspensions in Vancouver.
A Decision Day trip to the top-ranked Whitecaps was always going to be difficult. The absence of Farrington, Musa and Ramiro – three players integral to the late-season turnaround – makes the climb that much steeper.
“Something that we've cultivated throughout the year is a lot of resilience,” said midfield vet Sebastian Lletget. “I really love that about this group, we don't give up. So, on the mental side and the character side, I'm not worried about it…Now we have an amazing opportunity to take care of business away at a place that's historically tough for this club. It could be a monumental moment for FC Dallas. And we're up for it. Despite the suspensions and people missing out, we are ready.”
First-year head coach Eric Quill echoed similarly: "We've been fighting, we’ve made our fans proud. Obviously, we’re disappointed in this one result but this is a fighters’ group and we know what's at stake. Our mentality is going to be high for this game and the fight out there on the training field is evident of that. I'm really proud of who we are right now in this moment."
The suspensions for Musa and Farrington (who account for 14 of the team’s last 23 goals) present both a challenge for Quill and an opportunity for their replacements. Without any traditional strikers on hand, Quill will likely need to lean on his corps of wingers: Anderson Julio, Lucious Don Deedson, Pedrinho, Sam Sarver and Bernard Kamungo. Regardless of who it is, they’ll be playing a position mostly foreign to them.
“(My message is) we believe in you and you’re here for a reason,” Quill said. “You never know when opportunity comes but when it does, you need to be ready. And they're ready. These adjustments we’ll make, they're going to be ready. They’re going to obviously have different profiles but I'm really excited about what they bring to the field. And they're excited for their opportunity.”
Lletget, who’s rounding out his 11th season in MLS and has seen and done it all, is particularly well-placed to give advice in this situation.
“It's up to the whole group to make them aware that they're valued, and what they bring to the table is different from what we have,” he explained. “And they're ready. I feel like Eric's done a good job of preparing certain guys and feeding them throughout the year. And this is what you prepare for, these types of moments. This this is the best part of soccer. I had to do it when I was young. You get thrown into the den and that’s the only way you really learn. So it’s up to people like me who just has to talk to them, guide them and just encourage them to be themselves and express their game. But ultimately, they have to walk in and do the job and learn. It’s going to be a learning curve but I think it's going to be amazing for them.”
Vancouver’s BC Place has been a difficult venue for Dallas (two wins from 15 attempts) even at the best of times. And these aren’t the best of times. The Burn will be without their best goal scorers and the Whitecaps are enjoying their best MLS season to date. Still, this team has thrived on adversity under Quill’s leadership and lead the league in points earned from losing positions. Perhaps an underdog mentality is exactly what FC Dallas needs.
“It comes down to character, and it comes down to the team that we've been becoming in the last 10 or so games,” Lletget said. “And we are the underdog, I guess you can say that. But I think we have a lot of fight in us, that’s one of our biggest attributes. It's next man up, and everybody's ready on this team. And the way we train, the way we put our heads down and really work for each other, I have full, full faith in us.”
