Petar Musa is set to make his World Cup debut for Croatia as the tournament begins, the latest step in a run that carried him from FC Dallas record signing to national-team scorer. The 28-year-old striker helped Croatia reach the World Cup with the game-winning goal in a qualifying match in November, and now his first appearance on the sport’s biggest stage is within reach.
That is why his name is drawing attention now. Musa arrived at FC Dallas in 2023 from S.L Benfica, scored 48 goals with 13 assists in 80 games, and tied the club’s single-season mark with 18 goals last year. He has also become the third-top scorer in FC Dallas history, with a 0.6 goals-per-game rate that helped push him back into Croatia’s plans after a two-year absence.
His qualifying goal came in Croatia’s penultimate World Cup qualifying match and was the first international goal of his career. Musa said the moment stopped everything in his mind, and that he had been waiting for it. When the ball went in, it also did more than settle one match. It confirmed Croatia’s place in the World Cup and put him back at the center of a national team picture that had been out of reach for two years.
There was still a catch. Even after scoring the goal that confirmed Croatia’s participation, Musa’s roster place was still described as far from guaranteed because the country has limited openings and a deep pool of players competing in strong leagues. He said before the 2026 season that he would keep working and trust that he would be there again, which is exactly the kind of line players give when the real answer is still being written by the next call and the next match.
For Musa, the timing also cuts close to home. He and Laura became parents for the first time two months after arriving in Dallas, welcomed a second child this year, and he said it was a Monday when his kids woke him at 7 a.m. before his wife hugged him and told him, “You’re there, you made it.” That is the kind of message a player hears only after the long part of the climb is over, and for Musa the climb now reaches a World Cup debut that has been earned but not yet fully measured by what comes next on the field.
