TFC Republic Weekly: August 2-8 lookahead
It's a busy week for TFC with a road game vs. Philly and a home tilt vs. NYCFC, while Canada's women's team will play for gold at the Olympics.
Welcome to the latest edition of TFC Republic Weekly, a free 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 set up their schedule of games for the week.
You'll also get a glimpse of what to expect at TFC Republic in the coming days.
So, without further ado...
TFC vs. Philadelphia Union on Wednesday
After playing to a 1-1 draw against Nashville SC at home on Sunday, Toronto FC will have little time to rest as it’ll hit the road to play the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday.
Philadelphia (6-4-7, fifth in the East) is coming off a 1-1 draw at home vs. the Chicago Fire over the weekend.
Wednesday marks the first time Toronto and Philadelphia have faced each other since the Union walloped TFC 5-0 at home on Oct. 24, 2020. Midfielder Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, who turned 16 last summer, became the youngest player to appear for TFC when he came into the game in the 72nd minute. Ralph Priso, 18, also made his Toronto debut in the 64th minute after signing with the club earlier that month.
This is the first of two meetings of this regular season between TFC and the Union. They’ll meet again on Oct. 27 at BMO Field.
TFC vs. New York City FC on Saturday
After the Philly game, TFC returns home to host New York City FC on Saturday at BMO Field.
NYCFC is coming off a 4-1 win over the Columbus Crew at Yankee Stadium, a result that improved their record to 8-5-2 on the season and lifted them into fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
The attacking trio of forwards Valentin Castellanos and Ismael Tajouri-Shradi and Jesus Medina has been deadly, combining for 19 of NYCFC’s 30 goals this season.
Toronto and New York have met once before this year, playing to a 1-1 draw at Yankee Stadium on May 15. Jacob Shaffelburg scored the equalizer in the 74th minute after Medina gave the home side the lead early in the second half.
Next Saturday is the final meeting of the regular season between the clubs.
CanWNT vs. Sweden on Friday for the gold medal
Canada will change the colour of the medal after upsetting the United States 1-0 in the semifinals of the women’s tournament at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday at Kashima Stadium.
Canada, No. 8 in the FIFA world rankings, will face fifth-ranked Sweden in Friday’s gold-medal game at Tokyo’s National Stadium. The Swedes beat Australia 1-0 in their semifinal on Monday.
Jessie Fleming scored from the penalty spot to help Canada earn its first win over the U.S. since a registering 3-0 decision over the Americans on March 11, 2001 at the Algarve Cup. A 17-year-old Christine Sinclair was among the Canadian scorers that day. Twenty years on, Canada’s iconic captain was on the pitch again, as the Canadian team earned one of its biggest victories in history.
The Reds will be going for gold for the first time in their history, while Sweden claimed the silver medal at Rio 2016 after losing to Germany in the final.
The Canadians have five wins, 14 losses and four draws against Sweden dating back to their first meeting on July 5, 1987. Sweden came out on top in the last match, earning a 1-0 win in the round of 16 to knock Canada out of the 2019 FIFA World Cup in France.
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Stories to look out for at TFC Republic
Tajon Buchanan was one of the breakout stars for the Canadian men’s team at the Concacaf Gold Cup - so much so that he might have played his way into the starting 11 when World Cup qualifying resumes in September.
It’s been quite the meteoric rise for Buchanan, a 22-year-old native of Brampton, Ont., who only earned his first cap this year, and who seems destined to make a big transfer move from the New England Revolution of MLS to a big club in Europe.
I’ll have a feature article on the promising Canadian prospect, looking at his development as a player and examining how he got to this point.
Other stories that will be published later this week include:
- Pre- and post-match coverage of TFC’s road match vs. Philadelphia and its home tilt against New York City FC.
- Pre- and post-match coverage of the Canadian women’s team’s gold-medal match vs. Sweden on Friday.
- A feature story on Yeferson Soteldo - Can he be TFC’s Chucky Lozano?
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 johnmolinaro@rogers.com. You can also reach out to me via Twitter and Facebook.
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(Top photo courtesy of torontofc.ca)
The TFC Republic newsletter comes out every Monday, and will be emailed to both paid and free members. All other content at TFC Republic is behind the paywall, and you'll need to be a subscriber to access it. It costs only $8 for a one-month subscription, or $50 for a full year (prices include 13% GST/HST). What a great deal, eh? Don't miss out, and order your TFC Republic subscription today!
