TFC Republic Weekly: September 28-October 4

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 suffers 3rd loss in a row in Nashville

The road continues to be a harsh, cold mistress towards Toronto FC.  

TFC closed out a three-game road swing with a third consecutive loss on Saturday, coming up short in a 2-0 defeat vs. Supporters’ Shield leaders Nashville SC at Geodis Park.    

Toronto has one of the worst road records in MLS this season with just two wins and eight losses in 13 games. That doesn’t bode well for a team who is fighting for its playoff life and who must play four of its last seven matches of the campaign away from BMO Field. 

TFC (6-10-11) sit 13th in the Eastern Conference, four spots and four points below the playoff line. A major cause for concern is that they continue to leak goals at an alarming rate, having gone 11 consecutive matches without a clean sheet and conceding 22 goals during that span. 

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to see how the Reds are going to set things right down the final stretch and make a successful push for the playoffs in light of their ongoing defensive issues.  

"I've said this a couple of times: We need to be able to stop teams. Everyone wants to talk about what you do on the attacking end. That's much more interesting to talk about; much more sexy to talk about what you do with the ball. But you have to be able to stop teams, and we gave far too many deep progressions today, which just erodes your confidence," coach Robin Fraser said after the loss.

Toronto FC vs. Nashville SC: 3 takeaways

It’s 11 games in a row without a clean sheet for TFC who closed out a three-game road swing with a third straight loss on Saturday.

TFC REPUBLICJohn Molinaro

TFC off until Oct. 10 when they host CF Montreal

Due to the current FIFA international window, MLS will largely go on break which means Toronto will be off until Oct. 10 when it hosts bitter rivals CF Montreal in one of only three remaining home games on its schedule.  

Robin Fraser said the players will get a few days off before returning to training where the focus will be on trying to prevent opponents from getting into an attacking rhythm right from the get-go.  

"We are going to spend the next two weeks learning how to stop teams and really reinforcing that because it doesn't matter how good you are, it doesn't matter how talented you are, it doesn't matter how good your attacking players are if you can't stop other teams, then you're starting attacks from too deep or giving up too many chances,” Fraser explained.  

“I feel like that will be interpreted as a defensive statement, and it's not a defensive statement. Actually, it’s something that's going to help our attack. So, we need to really focus on that and concentrate in finding ways to prevent teams from getting deep progressions. And as we've seen all year, when we win balls in the middle to midfield, we're very dangerous in transition.   

“So, that's part of it. And then the other part of it is just our ability to keep the ball when we do win it [and not] give it away right away. That also erodes our confidence. So, it's a lot about what we do with the ball, and it's how we stop teams.”

Toronto FC shut out on the road by Nashville SC

TFC closed out a three-game road swing with a third consecutive loss, coming up short vs. the Supporters’ Shield leaders on Saturday.

TFC REPUBLICJohn Molinaro

TFC and the MLS roster free date

The 2026 MLS roster freeze date is 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.  

TFC in desperate need of clean sheets amidst playoff push

“I’ve said this a couple of times: We need to be able to stop teams,” Robin Fraser said after Saturday’s shutout loss in Nashville.

TFC REPUBLICJohn Molinaro

CanMNT vs. Peru on Saturday in Montreal

The Canadian men's team will play the second of three games during the current FIFA international window when they host Peru on Saturday at Montreal's Stade Saputo.

Canada is coming off a 1-0 win over Chile on Saturday at BMO Field courtesy of Jonathan David's 12th minute goal. TFC defender Richard Chukwu, an 18-year-old from Bradford, Ont., subbed on in the 88th minute when he came on for Niko Sigur to earn his first cap at senior level.

This will be the fourth ever meeting between Canada and Peru. The Canadians have earned two wins against the South Americans, including at the 2024 Copa América when they recorded a 1-0 victory in the group stage via Jonathan David's 74th minute goal.

Canada is 30th in the current FIFA world rankings, 20 spots above Peru.

Note: I will be at Stade Saputo to cover Saturday's game, so be sure to visit TFC Republic in order to check out our special on-site coverage.  

RELATED READING: Newsletter || Features || Match reports || Opinion || Q&As || Videos || News || Transactions || TFC 2 ||

Stories to look out for at TFC Republic        

I'd been working behind the scenes for more than three years to secure an interview with former Toronto FC coach Bob Bradley, who hasn't publicly spoken about his time at the club since being fired in the summer of 2023. My persistence has finally paid off. Two weeks ago, I interviewed Bradley for about an hour as he shed some light on his tenure at TFC, his relationship with the Italian DPs, his thoughts on former club president Bill Manning, what’s next for him in his career, and much more. Look for my exclusive 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 story on Robin Fraser and his working relationship with GM Jason Hernandez.   
• In-depth pre- and post-game coverage of Canada's match vs. Peru.          
• The latest Random Thoughts column.  
• A feature story on TFC 2 midfielder Fletcher Bank  
• 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.