With Copa Tejas looming, MLS' FC Dallas, Austin FC struggling
Texas is a critical market for Major League Soccer, with its three teams — FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo and Austin FC — emblematic of the league's evolution.
The franchises compete each season in an unofficial tournament known as the Copa Tejas, with the team with the best MLS record against its Texas competitors crowned Lone Star State champion.
With Dallas, Houston and Austin among the league's biggest markets, winning the Copa Tejas shouldn't just be about state pride. It should be a strong indicator of future league success.
Unfortunately, the 2024 Copa — which kicks off Saturday between 11th-place Dallas and 13th-place Austin — isn't meeting that standard.
Instead of battling for the top spot in the Western Conference, these teams are battling to avoid the bottom. They've won just one game of the nine they've contested in 2024. (Houston, meanwhile, sits in seventh in the West.)
Austin's problem is a lack of goals. The team mustered just one shot on target in last weekend's clash against Orlando. It has two games in 2024 without a shot inside the opposition penalty box.
"There's room for improvement from everyone," coach Josh Wolff said, per The Austin Chronicle. "I think there were ideas that we didn't execute well. And obviously, that's my responsibility as a coach to bring them in the space and put them in a position to succeed."
Austin relied on Argentine winger Sebastian Driussi for goals in 2023. With Austin failing to sign any big-name playmakers in the offseason, however, its goal count should fall squarely on Driussi again in 2024. He missed the season's opening games with an injury, but he should be fully fit for this all-Texas clash.
Dallas, meanwhile, has even bigger problems.
Coach Nico Estévez has experimented with a 3-4-3 formation, with club legend Jesus Ferreira and big-money signing Petar Musa working together upfront. However, Ferreira and Musa haven't found their footing yet.
Musa looks overawed by MLS and out of sync with his teammates, which should be a huge concern for a Dallas team that paid a club-record $9.7 million to acquire him.
A lack of chemistry between Musa and Ferreira isn't Dallas' only problem.
Estévez's 3-4-3 is designed to hinge upon its midfielders, but Dallas can't keep them healthy. Injuries have limited Alan Velasco and Asier Illarramendi, who have yet to start an MLS game together. Neither is expected to be available against Austin on Saturday.
With its passionate fans and impressive state-wide player development, Texas should be a font of talent for MLS.
With injuries piling up, tactics failing and big signings not delivering, though, two teams in this year's Copa Tejas are more focused on survival than success.
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