RECAP: Three Takeaways From FC Dallas’ Return to Play in Portland, 2-2
With the World Cup all wrapped up, MLS is fully back underway, and FC Dallas started their long road odyssey away in Providence Park, coming away with a 2-2 draw.
Let’s look at a few takeaways from the Burn’s first competitive game in over two months.
1) Musa Is Back With a Vengeance
Dallas has been back in training for weeks now, but the vast majority of that time was spent without their talismanic striker, who was at the World Cup with Croatia and then on his own post-World Cup vacation. He did rejoin the team late last week, but it wasn’t enough to get the start in Portland, with Logan Farrington and Santiago Moreno chosen to lead the line in FCD’s 4-4-2.
But Musa was always going to play in this one, and he made his return in the 61st minute. Right from his first touch, it was, as it usually is, very clear that he is a cut above basically everyone else on the field. His touches were so clean, passes so crisp and movement so efficient that he really looked like a player who simply didn’t belong on that field. But he was on the field and, after about 25 minutes on the field, scored one of the best individual goals of his FC Dallas career, picking up the ball deep in the attacking half, beating multiple players on the dribble and perfectly placing a shot in the bottom corner past James Patemis.
The goal was Musa’s 13th on the season, putting him in the MLS Golden Boot lead and positioning him very well to surpass the club single-season record of 18 goals. Transfer interest seems to have cooled off on him despite his World Cup goal against England. Hopefully we’ll be hearing about a new contract soon that keeps him in Dallas for years to come.
2) The Back 4 Is Back
No real big surprise here, but the back 4 that Dallas ended the first part of the season with and utilized in their midseason tuneup games was back against Portland. But Eric Quill has really pushed this into being a pretty standard back 4 system. Towards the end of the first part of the season, Dallas defended in a 4-4-2 but often built out in more of a back 3, with Nolan Norris sitting back and the right wingback, typically Herman Johansson, releasing very high into the attack.
Maybe it was just an adjustment to simplify things without a primary organizer like Ramiro in the game (more on Ramiro shortly). Still, Dallas played much more of a “straight” back 4 even in possession. Both Norris and Johansson generally stayed further back, and each of them moved forward into the attack in a similar way, largely in the outside channel and overlapping the wingers on their respective sides. This will be something to keep an eye on over the upcoming games, especially once Ramiro returns to the team. Either way, it seems very clear that Dallas won’t be going away from the back 4 any time soon.
3) Coping Without Ramiro
The veteran Brazilian has, despite everything, ended up being basically irreplaceable in Eric Quill’s lineup, especially in 2026. But he is going to have to be replaced as he is set for an extended spell out of the team due to a leg injury. He was last seen at the Orlando friendly in a walking boot. At best, you’re likely looking at a return shortly after Leagues Cup, so Dallas will have to cope for at least a few weeks without him in the lineup.
Listen, it isn’t a disaster without Ramiro in there. Dallas still, mostly, stays organized and solid defensively. They largely held Portland without much of a chance, especially in the buildup, in the first half. The midfield duo of Kaick and Christian Cappis covered and hustled well defensively throughout the game. But once things went a bit sideways, like in transition moments or once Portland really started pouring numbers forward and creating more chaos, you could really see the lack of Ramiro’s organizational ability out there. Runners went untracked in the box, crosses weren’t cut out, and Portland was really able to generate more opportunities than normal against FCD.
Dallas doesn’t have a ton of midfield depth behind Cappis and Kaick. Young players like Caleb Swann may be forced to learn and adapt on the fly to keep Dallas’ midfield from completely burning out. This midfield space, and how Quill adapts to his missing captain, will be a big area to watch over the coming weeks.
What are your thoughts following FCD’s return to play in Portland on Wednesday night?
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