TFC Republic Weekly: August 10-16
After a brief hiatus, Toronto FC returns to action this weekend with a crucial home game against the New England Revolution.
Welcome to the latest edition of TFC Republic Weekly, an email newsletter that will land in the inbox of both paid subscribers and free members of TFC Republic every Monday.
This newsletter will look at what's in store over the next seven days for Toronto FC, and also get a glimpse of what to expect at TFC Republic in the coming days.
So, without further ado...
Toronto FC back in action after brief break
MLS was on hiatus last week as the first phase of the 2026 Leagues Cup kicked off.
As a result, TFC and a lot of other clubs from around the league had some valuable time off to rest and recuperate. Now the Reds are ready to return to action this weekend when they host the New England Revolution.
The time off couldn't have come at a better time for Toronto, giving it a chance to regroup after going winless through its four games after MLS resumed following the World Cup break.
The hope is that players who've been battling long-term injury and fitness issues, such as Matheus Pereira and Benjamin Kuscevic – as well as newly acquired Nelson Palacio (who has yet to make his team debut) – will now be fully fit and ready to go after having the extra time off.
The good news is that slowly but surely, Toronto is getting healthy again, and that could be the key to helping it get back into the playoff race after a dismal first half of the year.
“I just think the more that they play together, the more the attacking ideas are going to come, the more the attacking cohesion is going to come. I never make predictions. I'm always excited to err on the side of caution, but I do think this team is changing," Robin Fraser said before the break.
John Molinaro
The road ahead for TFC
A 1-1 road draw against New York City FC in its last outing extended Toronto FC winless run to 12 league matches – 13 in all competitions. TFC haven’t tasted victory since earning a 3-2 home decision over the Colorado Rapids on April 4.
Toronto (3-7-8) sits in 12th place in the Eastern Conference, three spots and six points below the playoff line.
Based on an average of 45.3 points and 11.3 wins that the ninth team in the East needed to qualify for the playoffs over the last three years, TFC have to earn at least 29 points from their remaining 16 matches to clinch a post-season berth. Twenty-nine points out of a possible 48 requires TFC to average 1.81 points per game the rest of the way – they're averaging 0.94 points per match so far this year.
That’s a very tall order for a team that has won just three times in 18 MLS outings, even taking into account TFC’s injury issues to this point.
“At some point, the luck has to turn our way. If you look at our team, our league, we're sitting there and we're shocked that at this point in the season where we are. But at the same time, there's so much confidence that we can turn it around in this league. It just takes two wins in a row and you're right back in it and get hot just in time for the playoffs,” DP Djordje Mihailovic said before the break.
John Molinaro
The MLS summer transfer window
Major League Soccer observes two transfer windows each year.
This season's primary transfer window ran from Jan. 26 to March 26. The secondary transfer window opened on July 13 and closes on Sept. 2.
During the summer transfer windows, MLS clubs can:
- Sign players who are out of contract.
- Buy and sell players via transfer both from teams within MLS and from abroad.
- Make trades with other MLS teams, either for players or assets (GAM, draft picks, etc.).
- Sign players on loan from clubs within MLS and from abroad.
Jason Hernandez said prior to the opening of the window that he was looking to bolster the midfield and defence during the summer transfer window, but that he was only looking to add a few pieces rather than make wholesale changes.
John Molinaro
TFC vs. New England Revolution on Saturday
Toronto FC plays the first of four games this month when it hosts the New England Revolution on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET/TSN & Apple TV).
New England (9-6-3) sits third in the Eastern Conference, nine spots and 13 points above Toronto. The Revs will enter Saturday's game on a mini-slump – winless in two games (including a 2-0 home loss to the Houston Dynamo this past weekend) and just one victory in their previous five outings dating back to May 23.
The Revolution have the second best defensive record in the East (tied with the Chicago Fire) with just 23 goals against. At the same time, goals have been hard to come by as they have scored just 28 times this season. Influential midfielder Carles Gil leads the way with seven goals. He's also the club's top playmaker with six assists (tied with Luca Langoni).
New England leads the all-time MLS regular season series against Toronto with 17 wins and 15 draws in 44 matches. TFC have a 7-6-7 home record vs. the Revolution and and lost to New England at BMO Field last season.
This will be the second and final meeting of the regular season between Toronto and New England. They played to a 0-0 draw last month at Gillette Stadium.
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Stories to look out for at TFC Republic
Toronto FC is going to need plenty of help during the last months of the season if it has any hope of climbing back into the playoff race. It's not just the players on the fringes of the starting 11 that have to contribute. But several key starters need to step up a big way between now and November. Which players in particular are we talking about? Look for my feature story in the coming days.
Other stories that will be published this week include:
- TFC Republic's exclusive feature story on new Ottawa Rapid FC coach Carmelina Moscato.
- A new TFC Talk interview with beat reporter James Grossi.
- A piece on the four stories to watch for this week.
- A TFC notebook column after Tuesday's training session.
- In-depth pre- and post-game coverage of Toronto's match vs. the New England Revolution.
- An audio interview with Sam Lattof of The Blazing Musket ahead of Saturday's home game in New England.
- The latest edition of the reader mailbag.
- Regular "TFC Tidbits" news stories throughout the week.
- The weekly TFC 2 report.
- And much more!
TFC Republic mailbag
TFC Republic will feature a regular reader mailbag column where I answer questions from subscribers about Toronto FC and Canadian soccer in general.
I'll answer the best questions submitted to me by TFC Republic readers, so feel free to drop me an email at jmo1897@gmail.com. You can also reach out to me via Twitter.
TFC Republic subscribers can get up to a 25% discount on ticket prices for Toronto FC home games during the 2026 MLS regular season and the 2026 Canadian Championship. To receive the special promo code, email me at jmo1897@gmail.com
(Please don't share promo code with non-TFC Republic subscribers).
