TFC Republic Weekly: October 5-11
Saturday's game vs. CF Montreal looms large for a Toronto FC side that is trying to claw its way back into playoff contention.
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...
TFC returns to action this week vs. CF Montreal
After a two-week break due to the FIFA international window, Toronto FC returns to action on Saturday when its hosts bitter rivals CF Montreal (1:00 p.m. ET)
Toronto (6-10-11) is 13th in the Eastern Conference, four spots and four points below New York City FC who holds down the ninth and final playoff berth with only seven games remaining in the regular season.
Montreal (6-15-6) sits bottom of the table while two teams above Toronto in the standings vying for that ninth spot have a game in hand. That means Saturday's contest is crucial for the Reds, who enter this weekend riding a three-game losing skid and without a win since Sept. 9.
Simply put, TFC can't afford to drop points against last-place Montreal if they have any hope of squeaking into the playoffs. And if Toronto is going to do that, it has to stop leaking goals during this final stretch of the campaign.
Toronto has conceded 51 goals through its first 27 games of 2026, already conceding the 44 goals they gave up last year. They only have three clean sheets, with their last one coming on July 22. TFC have gone 11 consecutive games without a shut out while also conceding 22 times – 43 per cent of the goals they have conceded have come during this stretch.
John Molinaro
Richard Chukwu earns 1st start for Canada
What a memorable two-and-a-half-week period this has turned out to be for Toronto FC defender Richard Chuwku.
Chukwu, an 18-year-old from Bradford, Ont., was named to coach Jesse Marsch's roster on Sept. 15 for the Canadian men's team's international window, marking his second invitation into camp and first since 2024.
The young defender earned his first cap for Canada when he was subbed on late in last week's 1-0 win over Chile at BMO Field and made his first start for Les Rouges in Saturday's 2-0 victory against Peru at Stade Saputo.
Chuwku barely put a foot wrong in his 65 minutes on the pitch in Montreal, making three defensive clearances and an interception, while playing on the left side of a back four that included Niko Sigur, Luc de Fougerolles and Ralph Priso to help Canada record its second consecutive clean sheet.
"I knew he was back there doing his thing. I'm a player that always wants to help players out. I never want to yell at anyone. I tried to help his confidence every time I could. I thought he did amazing. He's a great human being as well. So, to see him do well here in his first try was so cool," said Jacob Shaffelburg who scored both goals for Canada.
Marsch added: "I'm happy for Richard. I thought it was a good performance. There's still a lot of things that he can continue to adapt to and learn, but he has all the tools to be a very good player."
John Molinaro
Toronto will spend part of next pre-season in California
Toronto FC announced last week that it will compete in the 2027 Coachella Valley Invitational at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. The Reds will be involved in the competition as part of the second leg of their pre-season training camps ahead of the 2027 MLS sprint season.
The 2027 Coachella Valley Invitational runs from Jan. 30 to Feb. 13, with the full schedule to be released at a later date. Other MLS clubs involved are Austin FC, Charlotte FC, D.C. United, Los Angeles FC, LA Galaxy, Minnesota United FC, Portland Timbers, San Diego FC, San Jose Earthquakes and St. Louis City SC.
For the past several years TFC have spent at least one leg of pre-season camp in Spain. The Reds' participation in the Coachella Valley Invitational doesn't necessarily mean that's off the table for their next training camp preparations as the club said its full 2027 pre-season schedule will be announced at a later date.
The 2027 MLS sprint season will run from February through May with all 30 teams playing a 14-game regular season prior to the single-elimination playoffs. MLS then moves to a summer-to-spring calendar in July 2027.
John Molinaro
TFC and the MLS roster free date
The 2026 MLS roster freeze date is Friday, Oct. 9, at which time clubs must submit their final 30-man rosters for this season.
Team rosters can't be changed from that date through to the day after the MLS Cup final, subject to the league's "extreme hardship" rule.
The MLS secondary transfer window closed on Sept. 2. which means clubs can't make any transfer signings, trade for players with other MLS teams, or arrange any loan deals for incoming players.
However, teams can still loan or sell a player to a non-MLS club, subject to the receiving club's applicable federation transfer window, provided such moves take place before Oct. 9. MLS teams can also still sign free agent players who are unattached. So, for instance, if there was a player who was out of contract with his European or South American club, he could still sign with an MLS team because there would be no transfer fee involved.
Also, MLS teams can still make trades with each other that don't involve players – draft picks, international roster spots, general allocation money (GAM) and other assets – even though the transfer window has closed.
John Molinaro
CanMNT and CanWNT in action this week
Both the Canadian men's and women's teams will play important international friendlies this week.
The men's side is coming off a 2-0 win over Peru on Saturday in Montreal courtesy of a pair of goals from Jacob Shaffelburg. Jesse Marsch's men will play their third and final match of the current FIFA window on Tuesday when they meet the United States in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The men's team are using this window to prepare for next month's Concacaf Nations League qualifiers.
The women's team has been idle since June but will make up for lost time when it hosts Denmark on Friday in Montreal in the first of two games between the two nations. The teams will also meet next Monday in Toronto.
Coach Casey Stoney is using this pair of games to prepare for next month's Concacaf W Championship, which serves as the qualifiers for next year's FIFA World Cup in Brazil and the 2028 LA Olympics.
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Stories to look out for at TFC Republic
The list of homegrown players who have left Toronto FC over the last few years is a long one and includes Ralph Priso, Jayden Nelson and Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty. Why have so many of them left? And what does TFC have to do to make sure talented prospects stay longer and prosper at the club? I recently asked Robin Fraser about this. Look for my feature story in the coming days.
Other stories that will be published this week include:
- A new TFC Talk interview with beat reporter James Grossi.
- A piece on the four stories to watch for this week.
- In-depth pre- and post-game coverage of Toronto's match vs. CF Montreal.
- An audio interview piece with reporter Elias Grigoriadis of the Canadian Press ahead of Saturday's home game vs. Montreal.
- In-depth pre- and post-game coverage of the Canadian men's team's match vs. the United States.
- In-depth pre- and post-game coverage of Canadian women's team's match vs. Denmark.
- The latest Random Thoughts column.
- The latest edition of the reader mailbag.
- Regular "TFC Tidbits" news 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).
