Petar Musa is no stranger to scoring goals in Dallas-Fort Worth, but the FC Dallas star had never scored in the FIFA World Cup before Croatia’s 4-2 loss to England on Wednesday at AT&T Stadium.
Musa scored the highlight goal in the closing minutes of the first half. After a lob pass into the box, Ivan Perisic hit a beautiful header while turning to set up Musa’s shot, which scooted past the outstretched legs of an England defender and the goalkeeper on its way to the back of the net.
Musa, a Zagreb native, had previously called it an honor to play for his home country in the World Cup, and he talked about the moment he found out.
“As a kid, you know, you always dream big,” he said. “This was one of my childhood dreams which comes true. I’m so happy and grateful that all the work pays off and can’t wait to start everything. [When I found out], my kids wake me up, my wife came, and she hugged me, and she said, ‘You’re there.’ It was an incredible moment for me and my family.”
After the match, Musa was more focused on the result than his success.
“The feeling was incredible, historical here at home, but I’m not happy because we lost today again, and yeah, there’s not much to celebrate,” Musa said.
Musa’s goal helped Croatia steal momentum back from England, which had held the lead for much of the first half and dominated the game.
Despite equalizing the game at halftime, it wouldn’t take long for England to regain control with a goal from Jude Bellingham two minutes into the second half to take a 3-2 lead it would never relinquish.
Musa was brought to Dallas in 2024 for a franchise record fee, and his 46 goals already rank him third all-time on the FC Dallas leaderboard, tied with Kenny Cooper. Musa is in the midst of perhaps his best season since joining the team with 12 goals in his first 12 starts, only six behind his career high of 18.
Musa and Croatia will next play Panama at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Toronto.
Game schedule dates, times, locations
NEXT UP: Game dates, times, locations, channel
Rangers ▶
June 12 Boston 10, Rangers 1
June 13 Boston 6, Rangers 3
June 14 Rangers 6, Boston 4
June 15 Minnesota 4, Rangers 2
June 16 Minnesota 12, Rangers 2
June 18 vs. Minnesota, 1:35 p.m., RSN
June 19 vs. San Diego, 7:05 p.m., RSN
June 20 vs. San Diego, 3:05 p.m., RSN
June 21 vs. San Diego, 1:35 p.m., RSN
June 22 at Miami, 5:40 p.m., RSN
June 23 at Miami, 5:40 p.m., RSN
June 24 at Miami, 11:10 a.m., RSN
June 25 at Toronto, 6:07 p.m., RSN
June 26 at Toronto, 6:07 p.m., CW
June 27 at Toronto, 2:07 p.m., RSN
June 28 at Toronto, 12:37 p.m., RSN
June 29 at Cleveland, 6:10 p.m., ESPN
June 30 at Cleveland, 5:40 p.m., RSN
July 1 at Cleveland, 12:10 p.m., RSN
Wings▶
June 5 Wings 104, Los Angeles 96
June 9 Minnesota 100, Wings 76
June 11 Wings 85, Phoenix 70
June 13 Portland 84, Wings 83
June 15 Wings 96, Las Vegas 66
June 17 at Golden State, 9 p.m., KFAA
June 20 vs. Chicago, 7 p.m., CBS, Paramount+
June 22 at Seattle, 9 p.m., KFAA
June 25 at Las Vegas, 9 p.m., KFAA
June 28 vs. Minnesota, 1 p.m., CBS, Paramount+
TCU Football ▶
2026 season
Aug. 29 vs. North Carolina (at Dublin), 11 a.m., ESPN
Sept. 12 vs. Grambling State, 7 p.m., ESPN+
Sept. 19 vs. Arkansas State, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Sept. 26 at Central Florida, TBA
Oct. 3 vs. BYU, TBA
Oct. 17 at Baylor, TBA
Oct. 24 vs. West Virginia, TBA
Oct. 31 vs. Kansas, TBA
Nov. 6 at Arizona, 9:15 p.m., ESPN
Nov. 14 vs. Kansas State, TBA
Nov. 21 vs. Utah, TBA
Nov. 26 at Texas Tech, 7 p.m., ESPN
Cowboys ▶
Sept. 13 at N.Y. Giants, 7:20 p.m., NBC
Sept. 20 vs. Washington, 3:25 p.m., Fox
Sept. 27 vs. Baltimore (at Rio de Janeiro), 3:25 p.m., CBS
Oct. 4 at Houston, 12 p.m., Fox
Oct. 8 vs. Tampa Bay, 7:15 p.m., Amazon Prime Video
Oct. 18 at Green Bay, 7:20 p.m., NBC
Oct. 26 at Philadelphia, 7:15 p.m., ESPN, ABC
Nov. 1 vs. Arizona, 12 p.m., Fox
Nov. 8 at Indianapolis, 12 p.m., Fox
Nov. 15 vs. San Francisco, 3:25 p.m., Fox
Nov. 22 vs. Tennessee, 12 p.m., Fox
Nov. 26 vs. Philadelphia, 3:30 p.m., Fox
Dec. 7 at Seattle, 7:15 p.m., ESPN, ABC
Dec. 20 at L.A. Rams, 3:25 p.m., CBS
Dec. 27 vs. Jacksonville, 7:20 p.m., NBC
Jan. 3 vs. N.Y. Giants, 12 p.m., Fox
Jan. 9 or 10 at Washington, TBA
World Cup ▶
All local matches at AT&T Stadium
Group stage
June 14 Japan 2, Netherlands 2 (Group F)
June 17 England 4, Croatia 2 (Group L)
June 22 Argentina vs. Austria (Group J), 12 p.m., Fox
June 25 Japan vs. Sweden (Group F), 6 p.m., FS1
June 27 Argentina vs. Jordan (Group J), 9 p.m., Fox
Knockout round
June 30 Round of 32: Group E runner-up vs. Group I runner-up, 12 p.m., Fox
July 3 Round of 32: Group D runner-up vs. Group G runner-up, 1 p.m., Fox
Lawrence Dow is a digital sports reporter from Philadelphia. He graduated with a master’s degree in journalism from USC. He’s passionate about movies and is always looking for a great book. He covers the Texas Rangers and other sports.