The Fire was awarded a penalty kick when Pappa was taken down. On the penalty, Dallas goalkeeper Kevin Hartman stopped Sebastian Grazzini’s attempt. Pappa converted the rebound but was several yards inside the box when Grazzini struck the ball — clear encroachment. The goal should not have counted and Dallas should’ve been awarded an indirect free kick, right?

Yes, I know: The tournament is ridiculed by fans, dismissed by many MLS clubs and ignored by TV outlets. It’s not very well organized or executed. The financial responsibility can be burdensome. The matches are often wedged into tight windows between league matches. Heck, if some MLS teams could send an under-16 academy squad to represent them, they probably would.

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Scotland friendly Saturday night in Jacksonville: 31,600

(The Florida state record for a U.S. friendly was 31,547 for Ecuador in Tampa in 2007)

Mentally, I’ve already given D.C. United three points for tonight’s match against Toronto. I know that I shouldn’t — there’s no such thing as a sure thing. I’m sure Bayern Munich didn’t think it was going to lose a home match to the sixth-best team in England. And even an “easy” win will require United’s players to expend more energy than I do in an average week. But I can liken the probability of United winning tonight to other things. The probability of United beating Toronto is equal to the probability of seeing an ad for rascal scooters during a rerun of “Monk.” The probability of United beating Toronto is equal to the probability of the Black Eyed Peas’ “I’ve Got a Feeling” being played at a Bar Mitzvah (“mazel tov” is in the lyrics . . . the Peas are marketing geniuses). The probability of United beating Toronto is equal to the probability of somebody at work making that “can you hear me now?” joke whenever anything goes wrong with a conference call.

He’ll unveil the final 23-man roster Friday afternoon, the eve of the Scotland friendly Saturday in Jacksonville (8 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, Galavision). Barring injury, the group will remain together for friendlies against Brazil on May 30 at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., and Canada on June 3 in Toronto, plus qualifiers with Antigua on June 8 in Tampa and at Guatemala four days later.

My match report from D.C. United’s 3-1 victory over Toronto FC at RFK Stadium.

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The video package:

Unlike the proceedings in Munich, no penalty drama in Washington. Just 90 minutes for United (21 points) to surpass the New York Red Bulls (22) and Sporting Kansas City (21) for first place in MLS’s Eastern Conference. New York is at Montreal, Kansas City at Colorado. (United, however, has played two more than the Red Bulls, three more than KC).

So far, D.C. United is pretty much what we thought it was: good, a playoff team even, but not on the same level as the league’s top teams. Its results are getting pretty darned predictable. Away at West-leading (at the time) San Jose? Yeah, that’s probably a loss, and it was. At Toronto? Everybody beats Toronto (it’s the anti-Wiz), and we should, too. And we did. At the opening of Houston’s new stadium? Houston’s desire to be the center of attention at the big party they threw for themselves (they did everything but sing “Zou Bisou Bisou”) trumps our desire to wipe the smug smiles off their faces, so they win. Now United is in a stretch of three home games in 11 days against Colorado, Toronto and New England. Actually, that’s about 2.6 games – I’m not sure how much the one against Toronto counts. Even with injuries and the packed schedule, my prediction for this home stretch against two mediocre teams and one terrible one is seven points. Honestly, if United get less than six points on this homestand, I’ll be surprised.

1 p.m. ET: Pregame show on Fox Soccer and Fox Deportes