Four FC Dallas Academy products — Weston McKennie, Ricardo Pepi, Chris Richards and Alex Zendejas — were selected to the U.S. Men’s National Team roster for the FIFA World Cup. The 26-player roster was released at an event in New York on Tuesday afternoon. The United States’ first World Cup match is set for June 12 at 8 p.m. in Los Angeles against Paraguay.
Here is what to know about each of the four local representatives.
McKennie is the only one of the four who actually is from the Dallas area, whereas the others are just products of FC Dallas’ youth program. McKennie grew up in Little Elm and spent 2009-16 at the FC Dallas Academy. Once he turned 18, he headed overseas where he played for Schalke 04 for four seasons before joining Juventus in 2020. McKennie, 26 years old, has played for the United States Men’s National Team since 2017 and was a key piece in the 2022 World Cup squad
Zendejas signed a homegrown contract with FC Dallas in 2014 and made eight appearances with the club. He then joined Mexico’s Chivas Guadalajara and has bounced around Liga MX ever since. He used to suit up for Mexico in international play but filed a one-time switch to the United States as a dual national.
