TFC Republic Weekly: March 9-15
Toronto FC will try to build on its big win vs. FC Cincinnati when it hosts the New York Red Bulls in its season opener this weekend.
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 earns 1st win of the 2026 MLS campaign
After two uneven displays to start the regular season, Toronto FC put forth a solid 90-minute performance on Sunday night.
The end result? A hard-fought and deserved 1-0 victory versus FC Cincinnati at TQL Stadium in the finale of a three-game road swing to open their 2026 campaign.
Dániel Sallói scored a late winner for a TFC side that conceded six goals through its first two matches of the campaign (both losses) and hadn’t recorded a clean sheet in 10 games, a streak that dated back to last August. Toronto's previous win in Cincinnati came in 2020 when the Orange and Blue were still playing their home matches at Nippert Stadium.
While this was far from perfect from TFC, it was a vast improvement from the previous weekend’s disastrous showing against the Vancouver Whitecaps. It also gave the Reds a big boost ahead before starting a nine-match homestand this weekend.
"When you work this hard, you want to reward yourself, and even the way they dug in at the very end is so important, because it's about establishing what our identity is going to be and what our character is going to be like as a group. And I think for us to come through these three games, obviously [this] one being the most positive one in almost every fashion, I think it just sets us up for this long homestand we have," coach Robin Fraser said.
John Molinaro
Josh Sargent could debut for TFC this weekend
Josh Sargent was fully integrated into training last week after officially signing as Toronto FC's new designated player and having his introductory press conference.
Sargent, 26, scored seven goals in 23 games this season in the English Championship before being benched by Norwich City after he tabled a transfer request. His last appearance for the Canaries came on Jan. 4 and he had been working out with Norwich's youth team before the transfer deal with TFC was completed.
Because of such a lengthy layoff, he wasn't included in the team's matchday roster against Cincinnati. But he will likely make his MLS debut in Toronto's home opener this weekend.
John Molinaro
TFC signs Benjamin Kuscevic on loan
Toronto FC announced last week that it acquired centre back Benjamin Kuscevic from Brazilian club Fortaleza Esporte Clube on loan for the duration of the 2026 MLS season with an option to purchase. The Chilean defender will occupy an international roster slot.
Kuscevic made his MLS debut in the 1-0 win against Cincinnati by going the full 90 minutes and putting in a fantastic defensive shift, finishing with two interceptions, nine clearances and one blocked shot.
"I thought he was very good. He plays almost exactly as I would have expected based on watching him, scouting him, seeing the type of player he is. ... I thought he just showed his professionalism throughout the whole game, start to finish. I just felt like he's a very composed centre back who you can tell this wasn’t his first game. I think his experience really showed tonight," Robin Fraser said.
John Molinaro
Injury update on Theo Corbeanu
Theo Corbeanu underwent knee surgery last month and at the time Robin Fraser was unsure as to how long the Canadian winger would be out.
TFC's coach offered a more concrete timeline last Friday.
"[It's] probably eight weeks from the surgery," Fraser revealed.
John Molinaro
Reds have just under $3.1 million in GAM
Toronto FC is sitting on a healthy amount of general allocation money. According to a report published by MLS last Friday, TFC has available $3,078,603 US in 2026 GAM as of Feb. 20, which ranks 10th amongst all 30 teams in the league.
Sporting Kansas City has the biggest war chest of 2026 GAM at $6,380,121, while the LA Galaxy has the smallest amount at $0. CF Montreal has $3,247,472 and the Vancouver Whitecaps have $20,945.
MLS rules can be complicated to understand but in its simplest terms, GAM is essentially extra room on top of a team's normal salary cap (which is $6,425,000 in 2026). If a team maxes out its salary cap, it can still spend on new players if it has accumulated any GAM. So, you can think of GAM as extra salary cap space and a tool that clubs can use to make more roster moves.
John Molinaro
TFC vs. New York Red Bulls on Saturday
Toronto FC returns to action when it hosts the New York Red Bulls in their home opener on Saturday (1:00 p.m. ET/TSN & Apple TV)
Coached by former TFC captain Michael Bradley, the Red Bulls impressively opened the season with a pair of wins before suffering a humbling 3-0 home loss to CF Montreal on Sunday.
"We did not manage to take our football and our control of the game and turn it into enough big chances," Bradley said. "A few times we played balls across the six-yard box in really dangerous ways and we did not have anyone running in there, that part, for sure, let us down a little bit today."
New York leads the all-time regular season series against Toronto with 24 wins and 11 draws in 44 meetings. TFC have a 7-6-9 home record and are winless in their last five games (two losses) vs. New York at BMO Field. Toronto's previous home win was on July 17, 2019. Since then, TFC are winless in 13 regular-season meetings (0-9-4) vs. the Red Bulls.
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Stories to look out for at TFC Republic
Zane Monlouis is back. After being sidelined since last June with a season ending injury, the English defender has returned to action for the Reds with two consecutive appearances early on in the 2026 campaign. What was it like for him to be out for so long? How did he cope with being ruled out by the first major injury of his career? Look for my in-depth feature story later this week.
Other stories that will be published later this week include:
- A feature story on the history of Toronto FC's home openers.
- A feature story on TFC's starting 11 from its very 1st home opener.
- A TFC notebook column after Tuesday or Wednesday's training session (or possibly after Friday's practice).
- A piece on the four stories to watch for this week.
- In-depth pre- and post-game coverage of Toronto's match vs. the New York Red Bulls.
- An audio interview piece with Michael Battista of Hudson River Blue ahead of Saturday's home game vs. the Red Bulls.
- A new TFC Talk interview with beat reporter James Grossi.
- The weekly Random Thoughts column.
- The weekly TFC 2 report
- The reader mailbag.
- Regular "TFC Tidbits" stories throughout the week.
- 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).
TFC Republic has a comments section! At the very bottom of every story, there is a feature where you can post your comments, so be sure to share your thoughts and views.
