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TFC Republic Weekly: October 20-26

Toronto FC ended its 2025 campaign on a positive note, but that doesn't gloss over that this year was a major disappointment.

John Molinaro

Oct 20, 2025 — 9 min read

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 ends dismal season on a winning note

One of the worst years in Toronto FC history came to a merciful end in Saturday’s regular season finale. But instead of finishing things on a sour note, TFC deviated from the script and put forth one of its best efforts of the campaign by carving out an impressive 4-2 win over playoff-bound Orlando City before at BMO Field.

DP Djordje Mihailovic bagged a brace and collected an assist, and captain Jonathan Osorio and Deandre Kerr also scored for the Reds who snapped an 11-match winless streak (eight draws and three losses) and earned their first win since July 16. TFC improved its home record to 3-7-7 in 2025, registering their first victory at BMO Field since beating the Portland Timbers on June 28.

Toronto (6-14-14, 32 points) finished the season in 12th place in the Eastern Conference, dropping from 11th in 2024 when it finished with a 11-19-4 record and 37 points. Saturday’s result allowed Toronto to earn its sixth win, topping its 2012 season total when it went 5-21-8. Its only campaign with fewer victories came in 2023 when it went 4-20-10.

“They did what they've been doing for, really, the whole second half of the year. The difference is they rewarded themselves by being more clinical in the final third. I'm so happy for them, because this is the reward [a win] that has been so elusive for them,” coach Robin Fraser said.

Still lots of work for TFC to do ahead of next season

One of the things that stood out down the final stretch of the season for Jonathan Osorio was the way TFC stayed in tight games and remained competitive. That same spirit saw the team reward itself with a big win on Saturday.

"As far as the mentality of staying in games and giving ourselves chances to be able to win, to bring enough to not lose, and then to finish it off like this, it's obviously something to look forward to going into next season," Osorio said.

The hope from TFC fans is that Saturday’s performance can carry into next year. But Djordje Mihailovic warned that it’s going to take much more than that for this franchise to turn around its fortunes after missing out on the post-season for a fifth straight year.

“Five years without playoffs, it’s not good. It's going to take a long, long time of consistent performances like tonight to get the fans behind us again like they were 10 years ago. It's going to take time,” Mihailovic said.

Fraser concurred: "It's a great last memory for our fans to have when they leave tonight and increases the expectations for when we come back together next year, which is exactly the way it should be. The expectation should be higher; where we finish this year is certainly not where we intend to finish [in 2026]."

Important message from TFC Republic

First, I would like to thank all of you for your readership and continued support of TFC Republic in the form of paid subscriptions. We've grown our customer base each year since the website launched in 2021 which has allowed me to continue on with this project. I'm humbled by your support and will never take it for granted.

And second, I wanted to let you all know that even though the regular season is now over, TFC Republic won't be going on hiatus. Quite the opposite.

This is shaping up to be one of the most important off-seasons in the club's history. There are a lot of important rosters decisions to make by coach Robin Fraser and GM Jason Hernandez. Management, the coaching staff and players also have to face local reporters one last time at this week's locker clean out day. You can expect TFC Republic to ask some very hard questions and hold people to account in that media session.

As such, we'll be providing extensive coverage of Toronto FC over the next two months before we take out Christmas holidays. We'll be reviewing the 2025 campaign and looking ahead to 2026 with plenty of thoughtful analysis, all the while reporting on the latest news of this off-season.

There are also important fixtures coming up for both the Canadian men's and women's teams, as well as the Canadian Premier League playoffs. We'll be covering those events as well.

So, even though the season is over, TFC Republic will be continuing on as we have been all year by producing daily coverage. Be sure to check the website every day for fresh content.

Important off-season dates to remember

With TFC coming off a disappointing campaign, this off-season is going to be one of the most important in club history. Club management will have to make a series of moves in order to improve the roster and set things right for the 2026 MLS campaign. With this in mind, here are some important off-season dates to circle on your calendar.

Nov. 26 – This is the deadline for all MLS clubs to decide which players will have their contract options exercised and which players won't. Toronto FC has a lot of decisions to make as 14 players on the current roster will be in the option years of their contracts for 2026: goalkeeper Sean Johnson; defenders Raoul Petretta, Kevin Long, Sigurd Rosted, Nicksoen Gomis, Nate Edwards and Kobe Franklin; midfielders Kosi Thompson and Malik Henry; and forwards Deandre Kerr, Derrick Etienne Jr., Jules-Anthony Vilsaint, Hugo Mbongue and Charlie Sharp.

Dec. 10 – Free agency kicks off! MLS clubs can start engaging with players, other than their own, who are eligible for free agency. Free agency eligible players are out-of-contract and option-declined players who are at least 24 years old and who have completed a minimum of four years of service in MLS.

Dec. 11 – The MLS re-entry process kicks off with stage 1. Essentially, this applies to players who are at least 22 years old with one year of MLS service, and who are out of contract (or had their option declined) but are not eligible for free agency. Players who go into the re-entry process are eligible to be selected by another MLS team. Stage 1 and 2 of the re-entry process are conducted in the reverse order of the league standings at the end of the regular season, taking post-season performance into account.

Dec. 11 - The end-of-year waivers process begins. The waiver process pertains to players whose contract options were not exercised and who are not eligible for free agency or the re-entry process. The waiver process is conducted in the reverse order of the league standings at the end of the regular season, taking post-season performance into account.

Dec. 17 – Stage 2 of the re-entry process, which consists of MLS players who were not selected in Stage 1.

Dec. 18 – The 2026 MLS SuperDraft will consist of three rounds. The draft order is set by taking the reverse order of the league standings at the end of the regular season, taking post-season performance into account.

CanWNT vs. Switzerland on Friday

Ranked No. 9 in the world by FIFA, the Canadian women's team will face No. 24 Switzerland on Oct. 25 in Lucerne in the first of two friendlies during this month's international window. Canada will also take on Netherlands (ranked 11th) four days later in Nijmegen.

AFC Toronto forward Kaylee Hunter is one of three players on coach Casey Stoney's latest roster to earn their first Canadian call-ups. The others are goalkeeper Emily Burns (FC Nantes), and midfielder Florianne Jourde (Paris Saint-Germain).

There's also a recall for defender Sydney Collins (Bay FC) who returns to the squad after being sidelined by an injury for more than a year. The last of her six caps for Canada came in a 1-0 win over Australia in Vancouver on Dec. 5, 2023.

Canada sports a 4-1-0 all-time record against Switzerland dating back to their first meeting in 2010, including a 1-0 victory in their previous meeting in the round-of-16 at the 2015 World Cup in Vancouver.

Canada has been idle since the previous FIFA international window in late June/early July when it earned a 4-1 win over No. 43 Costa Rica in Toronto before being blanked 3-0 by the No. 1 U.S. in Washington, D.C.

Stories to look out for at TFC Republic

Toronto FC's traditional end-of-year media availability, otherwise known as locker clean out day, takes place on Tuesday at the club's training facility in North York. It's the last chance that TFC Republic and its media colleagues have to grill GM Jason Hernandez, coach Robin Fraser, captain Jonathan Osorio and other players about the 2025 campaign and the upcoming off-season. Look for my in-depth recap story to run on Tuesday evening.

Other stories that will be published later this week include:

A feature story on TFC's end-of-season roster decisions.
A feature story on veteran winger Derrick Etienne Jr.
A new TFC Talk interview with beat reporter James Grossi.
The weekly "TFC Random Thoughts" column.
Regular "TFC Tidbits" stories throughout the week.
The reader mailbag.
A new instalment in our TFC flashback history series.
In-depth pre- and post-game coverage of Canada's match vs. Switzerland.
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.

(Top photo by Lucas Kschischang/Toronto FC)

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.