Major League Soccer may be in the midst of a World Cup break, but FC Dallas is preparing for a Saturday matchup in the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup against Sporting Kansas City.
The top two teams in the Western Conference will battle at Children’s Mercy Park in the first meeting between them this season. Last season, Dallas went 1-1-1 against SKC, including a 1-0 win at home.
“It’s a good battle for sure,” FC Dallas head coach Oscar Pareja said. “Especially at this stage in the year, where the two teams are doing good in the league. You gotta come and bring the best of you that day if you want to keep advancing. It’s going to be a good measuring stick for us.”
FCD was looking to repeat as cup champions last year, but fell to Kansas City on the road 3-0 in the quarterfinal stage. The match was 0-0 until extra time, when Dallas unraveled and had two players sent off, opening up the match for SKC.
Dallas is having a strong start to the 2018 MLS Season and wants to continue the success. One of the keys to the team has been depth. The midfield position is strong, which has pushed players to give their best. Carlos Gruezo struggled the last match — a 2-0 win over Montreal — and was subbed off at halftime for Victor Ulloa. Those kinds of moves show that Oscar Pareja can change things if needed and still be successful.
Dallas’ lineup for its 1-0 fourth-round Open Cup victory over San Antonio FC featured younger and less used players, such as Paxton Pomykal, Jordan Cano and Ema Twumasi. Pareja did not say whether the team will play at full strength for the upcoming match, but it is expected against an MLS opponent after a full week to recover.
“We always are a mix of young, youth and experience,” Pareja said with a laugh. “I don’t think we have times where it doesn’t happen.”
The week break has been useful for Dallas. The team took some time off to recover from the grueling stretch of five matches in 15 days. However, Dallas is back training hard and feeling rejuvenated, ready to battle.
“Good, it’s going good,” Pareja said when asked about training. “We are in a working mode of preparing the game, preparing the boys to have a good performance there and, obviously, with a desire to advance in the cup — that is important for us.”
Match Information:
Where: Children’s Mercy Park (Kansas City, Kan.)
When: June 16, 8:00 p.m. CST
Stream: ProSoccerUSA.com/FCDallas.com/USSoccer.com
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