FRISCO, Texas (May 18, 2026) – FC Dallas forward Petar Musa has been selected to represent the Croatia men’s national team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Musa’s selection marks the first time in franchise history that FC Dallas has had two active players represented at the FIFA World Cup, following Don Deedson Louicius’ call-up to represent Haiti this summer.
Croatia was drawn into Group L and opens the tournament against England on June 17 at 3 p.m. CT at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Vatreni then faces Panama on June 23 at 6 p.m. CT at Toronto Stadium before concluding group stage play against Ghana on June 27 at 4 p.m. CT at Philadelphia Stadium.
Prior to the tournament, Croatia will play two preparation matches against Belgium on Tuesday, June 2, at 11 a.m. CT at Stadion HNK Rijeka in Rijeka, Croatia, and against Slovenia on Sunday, June 7, at 1:45 p.m. CT at Stadion Varteks in Varaždin, Croatia.
Vote for MLS All-Star hopeful Petar Musa as he looks to become a two-time MLS All-Star following the conclusion of the World Cup. Fans can vote at mlssoccer.com/vote/. Voting ends May 21 for this year’s MLS All-Star Game, which will take place Wednesday, July 29, against the Liga MX All-Stars at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Musa’s historic 2026 season for club and country continued this weekend after scoring his 12th goal of the season in Dallas’ 3-2 road win over the San Jose Earthquakes. Musa is now tied with Kenny Cooper for third place on the club’s all-time scoring list with 46 goals. The Croatian forward is currently tied for second in the MLS Golden Boot race alongside Lionel Messi. Musa has recorded three multi-goal matches this season and six in his FC Dallas career, tying Cooper and Roland Lamah for the fourth-most in club history.
Musa scored his second career hat trick on March 16 against San Diego FC, marking the 12th hat trick in FC Dallas history and becoming the first player in club history to record two hat tricks for the club. He was named MLS Player of the Matchday for Matchday 4, the second time he has earned the honor.
Musa cemented his place in the FC Dallas record books in 2025, scoring 19 goals across all competitions and tying Jason Kreis for the most goals by a Dallas player in a single season. FC Dallas acquired Musa during the 2024 offseason in the largest transfer in club history.
Before joining FC Dallas, Musa played two seasons with S.L. Benfica, scoring 17 goals in 66 appearances, and winning the 2022-23 Liga Portugal and the Portuguese Super Cup. Musa previously spent time on loan with Boavista FC, where he scored 11 goals, and in Germany with Union Berlin. Earlier in his career, he played in the Czech Republic for Slavia Prague, Slovan Liberec and Viktoria Žižkov, winning two league titles, a Czech cup and earning the 2019-20 Golden Boot with Slavia. He began his youth career with NK Hrvatski Dragovoljac and NK Zagreb.
A native of Zagreb, Croatia, Musa has earned 10 caps for Croatia and made his senior national team debut in a 1-1 draw against Wales during the European Qualifiers on March 25, 2023. Musa received his first call-up of 2026 during the March FIFA international window, where Croatia faced Colombia and Brazil in friendlies. He was also called up for Croatia’s November 2025 international window, scoring his first senior international goal in a 3-1 win over the Faroe Islands on Nov. 14 and recording an assist against Montenegro on Nov. 17. Musa also represented Croatia at the U-21 and U-18 levels, making a combined 14 appearances.
