Historic FC Dallas win puts early pressure on Toronto FC

Toronto FC doesn’t begin group stage play in the CONCACAF Champions League until Thursday night, but the club already knows that its path to qualification for the quarter-finals has taken a weird turn.

On Wednesday, FC Dallas became the first MLS team to ever win a CCL match in Mexico; a Marvin Chavez goal and a couple of ridiculous saves from MLS MVP candidate Kevin Hartman allowed the Hoops to steal a 1-0 win over Pumas UNAM.

TFC plays Panamanian side Tauro FC in its Group C opener Thursday.

Now, if Pumas UNAM goes to Dallas later on in the schedule and wins that game, the point is moot. Order would be restored.

But, for the moment, Pumas has lost three points that almost everyone who follows CCL had taken for granted that they would secure. It’s simple, really: Three Group C home matches for Pumas equals nine points — likely enough of a cushion that they could not get a win in a road game and still make it through.

Well that’s out the window. And it puts FC Dallas in the driver’s seat to win Group C, even at this early stage.

It also means that TFC will likely be in a battle with Pumas for the other spot. Before the upset in Mexico City, most Reds fans would have figured that FCD and TFC would battle it out for the second spot behind Pumas.

The task for Thursday hasn’t changed; three points against Tauro is ideal; one point is good.

But, even if the Reds beat Tauro, if they lose to FCD at home in the second matchweek, they can likely already consider kiss goodbye to any chance of catching their MLS cousins. That’s because FCD could almost clinch its spot if it beat Tauro in matchweek three.

And that would place the target on the back of Pumas, who likely won’t have the luxury of starting a “B” lineup — like so many Mexican squads do during the group stages — when it plays its two remaining matches against TFC.

Nothing is decided yet, but the Dallas win has altered all the scenarios that have been playing out in the heads of TFC fans.