Toronto FC vs. FC Dallas: What you need to know
A new-look TFC kicks off their 20th MLS season on Saturday when they pay a visit to FC Dallas.
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What will Toronto FC's 20th MLS season bring?
An end to the club's five-year playoff drought? More heartache for long-suffering fans? Something else?
We'll get our first glimpse of what to expect from TFC in 2026 when they take to the pitch for their regular season opener this weekend.
Here’s what you need to know about Saturday's contest between Toronto and FC Dallas at Toyota Stadium (8:30 p.m. ET/Apple TV).
Note: I will be at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas to cover Saturday's game, so be sure to visit TFC Republic all weekend in order to check out our special on-site coverage.
Big roster changes at Toronto FC this week
It's been a busy week for GM Jason Hernandez as he added three players to Toronto FC's roster.
On Tuesday, TFC acquired forward Emilio Aristizábal from Colombian club Atlético Nacional on loan for the duration of the 2026 MLS season. The 20-year-old Colombian youth international is a U22 Initiative player.
“He's a really exciting young player who has [an] interesting pedigree. His father was a very prominent player for Columbia, and for Emilio to cut his teeth at Atlético Nacional just speaks volumes about A), how good he is, and B), how mature he is, because that's a very, very difficult environment to go into as a young player," coach Robin Fraser said on Friday.
The club also claimed left fullback Raheem Edwards off waivers from the New York Red Bulls on Tuesday. This is Edwards' second stint with TFC – he was a member of the 2017 treble-winning side.
"Raheem is somebody who has been here. Toronto is his home and he’s super excited to come back, but he's gained a wealth of experience since I last worked with him. I've been around Raheem since 2017 and he's certainly grown and matured a great deal. I feel like we get far more complete virgin Raheem than we had back in 2017," Fraser offered.
On Thursday, TFC completed a trade for Hungarian winger Dániel Sallói. In return, the Reds sent Sporting Kansas City $300,000 in guaranteed general allocation money (GAM) – $150,000 in 2026 GAM and $150,000 in 2027 GAM – and an additional $700,000 in conditional GAM if certain performance-based metrics are met.
"Daniel is someone who has been a pretty prolific scorer for a winger in this league for many years. When I was in Colorado, we used to see him several times a year, and he was always a thorn in our sides. So, it's really exciting to have him with his wealth of experience, and what he has done, he's managed to be very successful and productive on both sides and even playing up the middle. So, it just offers us more flexibility," Fraser explained
Fraser confirmed that all three newcomers will be available for Saturday's match. At the same time, he declined to comment on Josh Sargent being close to completing a transfer to TFC from Norwich City.
"This saga has been going on for a while now, and it's been at least a month that this whole thing has been out there. What I would say is that until it is absolutely done, I don't even really want to talk about it," Fraser said.
John Molinaro
Robin Fraser optimistic about new season
Saturday marks the start of Robin Fraser's second year in charge of TFC.
The club stumbled to a 6-14-14 record and finished 12th in the Eastern Conference with 32 points in 2025, which represented a small backwards step compared to the 2024 campaign under John Herdman.
The roster underwent some major changes over the winter, bidding goodbye to Sean Johnson, Sigurd Rosted and Raoul Petretta, while welcoming several newcomers, including veteran centre back Walker Zimmerman.
Djordje Mihailovic and José Cifuentes, both summer signings from last year, remain in tow and are anxious to hit the ground running with a full season ahead of them.
The mix of new faces and holdovers from last year's roster have Robin Fraser in an optimistic mood ahead of the start of the 2026 MLS campaign after a pre-season training camp in Spain.
"I feel as if the returning players, in terms of tactics and that sort of thing, just picked up where they left off. And the job of incorporating the new players was certainly down to not just myself and staff, but to the players as well. And I feel like the ideas have come together pretty quickly," Fraser said.
"In our last pre-season game, we saw a very cohesive effort offensively [and] defensively, which I think speaks volumes to the fact that the group has a pretty good understanding of what's being asked about. So, having said all that, we're really excited for what's coming up."
John Molinaro
Injury report: Nicksoen Gomis still out for TFC
Toronto FC isn't at full strength heading into the season opener.
Winger Theo Corbeanu (knee), fullback Matheus Pereira (groin) and defender Nicksoen Gomis (Achilles) are unavailable for Saturday's game due to minor injuries and fitness issues.
Gomis was put on the season-ending injury list last July after suffering his injury on May 3 against the New England Revolution.
Defender Zane Monlouis (adductor), forward Deandre Kerr (adductor) and goalkeeper Adisa De Rosario (hand) picked up minor injuries" during training camp in Spain and are also ruled for Saturday.
"Zane and DK are working back to fitness, and Theo, Nicksoen and Matthias are all progressing really well. Theo and Matthias were on the field some last week. Theo was actually in training this week, and Nicksoen is in full training. It's just a matter of getting [Gomis'] fitness right. He's worked extremely hard with his rehab, so we feel really good about how he is physically, but it's just a matter now getting Nicksoen up to up to speed fitness wise," Fraser said.
John Molinaro
A quick look at FC Dallas
FC Dallas is coming off a solid 2025 campaign in which it finished seventh in the Western Conference before losing to eventual MLS Cup finalist Vancouver Whitecaps in the first round of the playoffs.
Coach Eric Quill's side underwent a number of roster changes in the off-season, highlighted by the additions of Uruguayan midfielder Joaquín Valiente, Israeli midfielder Ran Binyamin, Swedish defender Herman Johansson and Canadian goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
The club also lost a handful of players, most notably goalkeeper Maarten Paes who joined Dutch club Ajax.
DP forward Peter Musa will be expected to carry the majority of the goal-scoring burden for Dallas this season. The Croatian international is coming off an 18-goal season for Dallas in 2026, accounting for 35 per cent of the club's offence. In his debut MLS season in 2024, Musa bagged 16 goals.
"He's a huge threat. Just look at the statistics. He scores a lot of goals and [he's a] player who is in the mix for one of the best teams in the world, Croatia," Robin Fraser said.
"Dallas has a lot of good, athletic players. They have a lot of talented players, and I think Eric has done a good job in instilling a fighting mentality in them."
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What happened last time between Toronto and Dallas
Saturday's game is the first meeting between the clubs since Toronto earned a 3-1 win at BMO Field on May 4, 2024.
Federico Bernardeschi scored two goals and collected an assist in a man-of-the-match display for TFC as he snapped a 19-game goal drought – he hadn’t scored since netting two goals in a 3-2 home loss to CF Montreal the previous August.
"I think the curse is broken ... I think that curse that was on [Bernardeschi] is lifted," ex-coach John Herdman said in the post-match press conference.
Dallas leads the all-time regular season series against Toronto with 11 wins and six draws in 20 games. TFC and Dallas previously met in Texas on Feb. 26, 2022, when they played to a 1-1 draw at Toyota Stadium in the season opener for both clubs.
Overall, Toronto is winless in 11 all-time road games vs. Dallas (with eight losses).
What's next for Toronto FC
Toronto FC returns to action when it visits the Vancouver Whitecaps on Feb. 28 (9:30 p.m. ET/Apple TV).
Note: I will be at BC Place in Vancouver to cover next Saturday's game, so be sure to visit TFC Republic in order to check out our special on-site coverage.
(Top photo by Lucas Kschischang/Toronto FC)
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