Petar Musa makes World Cup statement in FC Dallas win | OneFootball

By Justin Ruderman

Petar Musa is back with a bang.

Returning from injury on Saturday night, the Croatian international scored the winning goal for FC Dallas in a 2-0 victory at Red Bull New York in his latest audition for selection to the Vatreni's 2026 FIFA World Cup squad.

The goal also ensured Musa kept pace at the top of the MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi race alongside Chicago Fire FC striker Hugo Cuypers (10 goals).

“I’m very happy with our performance today. We worked hard and deserved to win," said Musa.

"Personally, it would mean a lot for me to win the Golden Boot, but I always focus on the team. I want to help with goals and help out defensively. Getting three points is the most important thing."

World Cup hopeful

After a few years out of the international spotlight, Musa's performances in Dallas have earned him successive call-ups during November World Cup qualifiers and the latest March window.

He made the most of those four appearances, earning one start and contributing 1g/1a for Croatia during that span.

Now up to 10g/1a on the season, Dallas's leading goal contributor is attempting to make his first World Cup appearance an inevitability.

Time of the essence

With every World Cup roster to be submitted by May 30, Musa is off to an ideal start in the final month available to impress Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalić before he names his final 26-man squad.

Musa will have four more matches to make that case in the final few weeks before the World Cup break.

That begins with hosting Real Salt Lake at Toyota Stadium on May 9 (8:30 pm ET | Apple TV).