Why USMNT Fans Should Be Bullish On Jesus Ferreira — Even MLS Skeptics

Jesus Ferreira made U.S. men’s national team history on Sunday by becoming the first player to score hat tricks in back-to-back games, which if nothing else, highlighted just how distrustful some USMNT fans are of any player in MLS.

Instead of celebrate the accomplishment for what it was — a nice milestone accomplished against two admittedly overmatched opponents in Trinidad and Tobago, and Saint Kitts & Nevis during the Concacaf Gold Cup — that segment of the U.S. fanbase erupted on social media to criticize the F.C. Dallas striker, railing him for running up deceiving stats against regional minnows.

After a forgettable — albeit limited — performance at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, those fans also wanted to reassert their position that in more meaningful games, the U.S. should be relying on European-based talent rather than MLS regulars like Ferreira, who plays his club ball at F.C. Dallas.

On one level, the sentiment is understandable. Aside from Landon Donovan, all the great USMNT performers of World Cups past have spent considerable time playing in Europe’s top leagues. And at striker in particular, there is a legacy of MLS-only players falling short on the biggest stage, one that includes names like Gyasi Zardes, Chris Wondolowski, Eddie Johnson and others.

But even if it’s fair to doubt whether MLS is a suitable proving ground for USMNT talent, lumping Ferreira in that lineage is patently unfair. There are major differences between his trajectory and that of those others he’s compared with that are reasons to still be bullish on his international future.

Here are four of the biggest:

His age

Ferreira won’t turn 23 until this December. And if he played in any era of the USMNT other than the current one, with its glut of European players under the age of 25, he would be lauded for his precociousness.

Brian McBride scored six World Cup goals for the United States between 2002 and 2006 and eventually spent part of six seasons in the English Premier League, including five with Fulham. He was older than Jesus Ferreira when he made his first-division professional debut in MLS.

Clint Dempsey — the USMNT’s joint all-time leading goal scorer — was still nearly two years shy of making his first move to Europe at Ferreira’s age, and when he did go, he had only 25 MLS goals to his name, just over half of Ferreira’s career haul.

As for the career MLS strikers who failed to make an impact internationally? Wondolowski, the league’s all-time scoring leader, was 27 before he ever scored double-digit goals in an MLS season, let alone broke in to the national team. Zardes first put together back-to-back double-digit goal campaigns in MLS at his age 26 and age 27 seasons. Ferreira has done so at age 21 and 22.

Ferreira should probably try to make a European move sooner than later. But right now, he projects a lot more like players who made considerable international contributions than those career MLS players who fell short.

His late introduction to the program

The son of former MLS MVP and Colombian native David Ferreira, Jesus only recieved his American citizenship in 2019, and was not able to play for any youth or senior U.S. teams until 2020. And the timing of his international debut came only weeks before the Covid-19 pandemic exploded in March of 2020.

While Ferreira’s critics are correct that his good USMNT showings have come disproportionately against Concacaf minnows, the pandemic severely limited opportunities to play against top-ranked sides from around the world prior to the World Cup. A more normal 2026 cycle should provide a better opportunity to judge whether Ferreira can perform against higher caliber international opposition, between friendlies and the upcoming 2024 Copa America that the U.S. will host.

Additionally, Ferreira’s quest for citizenship — and the residency requirements it entailed — likely prevented him from entertaining any kind of offer to go to a European youth academy once he turned 18, as some other Americans have done. By the time he was naturalized, Ferreira was contributing regularly at the MLS level. At that point, it’s arguable a move to a European youth setup would be a backwards step.

His versatility

If you watch FC Dallas regularly, you know Ferreira is nearly as important to Dallas’ chance creation as its goal scoring.

According to MLS stats — which include secondary assists, similar to ice hockey — Ferreira has 53 goal involvements (goals plus assists) since the start of the 2021 campaign. And when you look at the players who have developed in MLS and been major USMNT contributors — most notably Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey — they have generally fit this mold rather than being pure target forwards.

On a more practical level, it gives Ferreira more potential ways to contribute to the current squad if he can’t earn a place in the starting XI on a regular basis. There’s enormous value to having a player who can add depth on either flank behind Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah, while also doing the same at center forward behind Folarin Balogun or Ricardo Pepi. Currently, Jordan Morris is probably the only other player in the U.S. pool who can reliably do this, and he’s a less productive striker.

The 48-team World Cup

Even if Ferreira can’t be effective against truly elite international foes, in 2026 there will be more value than ever to having attackers who specialize in capitalizing on inferior opposition.

With 48 teams divided into 12 groups and the U.S. — along with co-hosts Mexico and Canada — to receive a top seed, the Americans won’t face any of the other nine top seeds in the tournament during the group stages. And with Europe and South America gaining only five additional combined automatic berths to the tournament, it’s likely the Americans will play at least one team beneath the top 50 in the FIFA World Rankings.