Jesús David Ferreira Castro (born December 24, 2000) is a professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

club

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise be ...

. Born in Colombia, he represents the United States national team. Ferreira moved from Colombia to

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, Texas at the age of 10 after his father,

David Ferreira David Arturo Ferreira Rico (born August 9, 1979) is a Colombian former footballer. Career Professional Ferreira began his professional career in 1997 with the Colombian Primera B club Expresso Rojo. By 1999 he had joined Real Cartagena, helpi ...

, signed with

. He joined the club's youth side and progressed through the ranks before signing a homegrown contract in 2016. He scored his first professional goal on his debut in June 2017 against

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 20 ...

. In 2018, Ferreira was loaned to

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...

side

Tulsa Roughnecks Tulsa Roughnecks may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams: *Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984), the original top-flight team that played in the North American Soccer League from 1978 to 1984. *Tulsa Roughnecks (1993–2000), the team ...

where he scored six goals in 14 matches, including his first career hat-trick. The next season, Ferreira returned to FC Dallas and broke through as a starter under coach

Luchi Gonzalez Luis Aquilino Gonzalez (born July 14, 1980) is an American soccer coach and former player who is currently the assistant coach of the United States national team. He is set to join the San Jose Earthquakes as head coach following the 2022 FI ...

. In January 2022, Ferreira signed a

designated player The Designated Player Rule, nicknamed the Beckham Rule, allows Major League Soccer franchises to sign up to three players that would be considered outside their salary cap (either by offering the player higher wages or by paying a transfer fee ...

contract with Dallas. Ferreira made his senior debut for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in February 2020 against

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

. He was then part of the under-23 side that failed to qualify for the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

in March 2020. Ferreira scored his first two goals for the United States in January 2021 against

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

Club career

Ferreira moved from Colombia to

when he was 10 years old. He signed a homegrown player contract with

on November 17, 2016. He made his professional debut on June 3, 2017, as a 71st minute substitute during a 6–2 win over

, scoring his first goal in the 89th minute of the game. In May 2018, Ferreira was loaned to Tulsa Roughnecks FC and scored his first goal for Tulsa on August 18, 2018, against

Real Monarchs Real Monarchs is a professional soccer club playing in the MLS Next Pro, a third division league of American soccer. The team is owned by, and operates as the reserve team of, the Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake. While the senior club is ...

and his first career

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

on September 5, 2018, against

Seattle Sounders FC 2 Tacoma Defiance, formerly Seattle Sounders FC 2, is an American professional soccer team based in Tacoma, Washington, U.S. that competes in the MLS Next Pro, the third tier of the national soccer pyramid, as the reserve team of Seattle Soun ...

. On December 10, 2019, Ferreira signed a four-year contract with FC Dallas. Ferreira recorded his first career MLS brace on August 29, 2021, scoring twice in a 5-3 victory over

Austin FC Austin FC is an American professional soccer club based in Austin, Texas. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 2018, the club began play in the 2021 season. Their home stadium is Q2 ...

. On January 18, 2022, Ferreira signed a

contract with FC Dallas, keeping him at the club until 2025. Ferreira was selected as MLS player of the week in week 4 of the 2022 season after recording a hat-trick and an assist for FC Dallas in their 4–1 victory over the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

. In week two of the 2023 season, Ferreira was named to the league's Team of the Matchday after registering a brace in a 3–1 win over

LA Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pl ...

International career

Prior to obtaining United States citizenship, Ferreira attended

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

youth camps. In 2016, Ferreira was called up to the United States under-17 squad. In 2019, Ferreira received a call-up to the United States under-23 team ahead of qualifying games for the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

. After that had been postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, he was called up again to the

2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship The 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship was the fifteenth and final edition of the CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying, the quadrennial, international, age-restricted football tournament organised by CONCACAF to determine which men's ...

team. The team would fail to qualify for the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

. Ferreira made his first senior U.S. camp in January 2020. On February 1, 2020, he made his senior international debut for the United States in its friendly against

. On January 31, 2021, Ferreira scored his first and second goals at that level and was named Man of the Match in a game following his second January camp with the senior team. On June 10, 2022, Ferreira scored his first international hat-trick by scoring four goals against

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

in a 5–0 victory during his

2022–23 CONCACAF Nations League A The 2022–23 CONCACAF Nations League A is the top division of the 2022–23 edition of the CONCACAF Nations League, the second season of the international football competition involving the men's national teams of the 41 member associations of C ...

campaign. On June 28, 2023, Ferreira scored his second international hat-trick with three goals in a 6–0 victory over St. Kitts and Nevis during the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup in the second round of the group stage, eliminating the Sugar Boys from the tournament. He completed his third international hat-trick in the following match, a 6–0 victory against

, making him the first United States men's player to score hat-tricks in consecutive matches. He went on to score the equalizer against

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

in the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup Semifinals in the 105th minute on July 12, 2023, but missed the first kick in the penalty shootout, where the United States lost 2–3. Ferreira was awarded the Golden Boot for scoring seven goals, the most of any player in the tournament.

Personal life

He is the son of

, a professional player who played for clubs including

América de Cali América de Cali S. A., best known as América de Cali or América, is a Colombian professional football club based in Cali. It competes in the Categoría Primera A, the top-flight league of Colombian football. The team plays its home games at ...

Atlético Paranaense Club Athletico Paranaense (commonly known as Athletico and formerly known as Atlético Paranaense) is a Brazilian football team from the city of Curitiba, capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná, founded on March 26, 1924. The team ...

and the Colombia national team. In December 2019, Ferreira received U.S. citizenship.

Career statistics

Club

International

''Scores and results list the United States' goal tally first.''

Honors

Individual *

MLS All-Star The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual Association football, soccer game held by Major League Soccer featuring selected players from the league against an international club or selected players from Liga MX. MLS initially adopted a tr ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

* MLS Young Player of the Year:

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. Winners *Players in bold were awarded the Landon Donovan MVP Award for that season. Most appearances by a player The following players have appeared ...

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...

Golden Boot:

Best XI:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferreira, Jesus 2000 births Living people Footballers from Santa Marta Sportspeople from McKinney, Texas American men's soccer players United States men's international soccer players Colombian men's footballers American sportspeople of Colombian descent Colombian emigrants to the United States Men's association football forwards FC Dallas players Major League Soccer players Soccer players from Texas FC Tulsa players USL Championship players Homegrown Players (MLS) United States men's under-23 international soccer players Designated Players (MLS) 2022 FIFA World Cup players 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Footballers from Magdalena Department