FRISCO, Texas - FC Dallas makes its debut in the new-look Leagues Cup with an opening Group Stage game against Charlotte FC this Friday, July 21 at 8PM at Toyota Stadium.
Here's everything you need to know before the match.
How to Watch
The match will be available on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Adrian Healey and Cobi Jones will call the game in English on Apple TV with Raul Guzman and Sonny Guadarrama providing Spanish commentary.
How to Listen
English: If you can't watch the match, you can listen to all the action on iHeartMedia 1190AM and the FC Dallas App. Host Sam Hale will provide pregame and postgame coverage beginning at 7:30PM with broadcasters Owen Newkirk and Steve Davis calling the game alongside former Dallas goalkeeper Mark Dodd.
Spanish: Carlos Alvarado and Rafa Calderon will call the game in Spanish on ZONA MX 99.1, starting at 8PM.
Leagues Cup 2024!
It's all going down at Toyota Stadium. Our pathway in Leagues Cup 2024 is here.
Match Overview
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORDS
- FCD record: 8-9-6 (30 points - 8th in MLS West)
- CLT record: 6-9-8 (26 points - 12th in MLS East)
- FCD vs. CLT all-time: 0-0-0 (0 goal scored, 0 goals conceded)
- FCD vs. CLT home: 0-0-0 (0 goal scored, 0 goals conceded)
STORY LINES
- Leagues Cup Debut: The highly-anticipated 2023 Leagues Cup is finally here. All 47 teams in MLS and Mexico's Liga MX are taking a break from league play to compete against each other in a World Cup-style tournament. It begins with a three-team group stage to see who moves on to the knockout rounds. FC Dallas debuts in the Leagues Cup against fellow MLS side Charlotte FC this Friday, June 21 before taking on Liga MX's Necaxa on Tuesday, June 25.
- It's Important to keep in mind that there are no ties in the Leagues Cup. If a game is tied in the Group Stage after 90 minutes, both teams earn 1 point as they normally would but then compete in a penalty shootout for an additional point. Wins still count for the usual 3 points.
- At the end of the Group Stage, the team that finishes bottom will be eliminated while the top two teams will move on to the Round of 32 knockouts. So, claiming all 3 points in the opening game is absolutely crucial.
- Jesús Ferreira: The main talking point for FC Dallas heading into the Leagues Cup is the availability of leading scorer Jesús Ferreira. The 22-year-old hasn't played for Dallas since June 12 when he departed for the Gold Cup with the United States (where he went on to claim the top scorer award). Although the U.S. was eliminated over a week ago, Ferreira has been with the MLS All-Star team that faced Arsenal on Wednesday in Washington, D.C. Now that Ferreira is finally back home, there's little time to prepare for FCD's tilt against Charlotte FC. He's still young but it's tough to ask Ferreira to play for three different teams in three separate competitions in less than two weeks; that's a lot of wear and tear on the body. At the same time, though, Dallas won just once in five tries without its talisman. Ferreira is absolutely vital to this team, so whether he's rested enough to play could decide the outcome Friday night.
- Charlotte: The 2023 Leagues Cup is an unknown quantity for everybody but Charlotte FC is an unknown quantity for Dallas, too. Friday's game will be the very first meeting between the two clubs after Charlotte joined MLS in 2022. The newcomers are 12th in the Eastern Conference having conceded a league-high 40 goals and are winless since May. But, the Leagues Cup offers a clean slate and you can bet that head coach Christian Lattanzio will have circled the tournament as a chance to reset. In any tournament, the opening group stage match has a tendency to set the tone for how the rest of the competition will go. Both Dallas and Charlotte will be desperate to start off on the strong foot.
