Petar Musa boosts World Cup case with FC Dallas brace | OneFootball

By Jonathan Sigal

If all goes to plan for Petar Musa, he'll represent Croatia at the 2026 FIFA World Cup this summer.

The FC Dallas striker helped his case on MLS is Back weekend, netting a brace in his team's 3-2 victory over Toronto FC at Toyota Stadium.

Musa struck in the 9th and 74th minutes to kick off Dallas' 2026 season, sandwiching a goal from strike partner Logan Farrington.

"Because of FC Dallas, I was back with the national team last year, and at the moment my full focus is on the club," Musa said post-game.

Musa is coming off his most prolific season yet with Dallas, scoring 19 goals across all competitions in 2025. The club-record signing, who arrived ahead of the 2024 campaign from Portuguese powerhouse Benfica, finished sixth in last year's Golden Boot presented by Audi race.

More performances like Saturday's will only benefit Musa, who returned to Croatia's national team last fall for World Cup qualifiers. The Vatreni memorably made the 2018 World Cup final and finished third at the 2022 World Cup.

Musa's next chance to impress comes on Feb. 28 when Dallas host Nashville SC (8:30 pm ET | Apple TV).

"It’s the home opener, in front of our fans, and I hope they enjoyed the performance," said Musa, who tied Blas Perez for the fourth most goals scored in FCD history with 36.

"We want to give that love back because they support us. Now we move on to the next game."

WATCH: Petar Musa brace lifts FC Dallas over Toronto FC