Time running out for Toronto FC to turn season around

Time is beginning to run out for Toronto FC. 

A 12-match winless run in MLS – 13 in all competitions – has Toronto (3-7-8) sitting in 12th place in the Eastern Conference, three spots and six points below the playoff line, with 16 games remaining in the regular season. Wins have been few and far between for TFC this year, with their last victory coming on April 4.   

Three of Toronto’s four games in August and five of its next six overall are at home, starting with Saturday’s visit by the New England Revolution, which will be the Reds’ first outing at BMO Field since a 4-2 loss to Lionel Messi and Inter Miami on May 9.    

Now more than ever, coach Robin Fraser’s side can’t afford any major missteps, especially at home. The margin of error during the upcoming slate of games for Toronto is minuscule. TFC have to take full advantage of this slew of matches at BMO Field. If not, they run the risk of being out of the playoff race before the summer is even over.   

“These home games that we have now, especially these early ones, we need to take care of (them) to put ourselves in a good way and put this club in a good mindset, in a winning mindset, and make BMO a place where we go to and three points is the only thing on every single person’s mind when we step into the stadium,” fullback Richie Laryea said this week.  

It’s a sentiment that was echoed by veteran centre back Walker Zimmerman.   

“It’s an important stretch of games for us, and we still have 16 games left to make a good push … In the scheme of things, after three or four games, you start racking up three or four wins and we’re having a different conversation, so we know the job that lies ahead for us. And I’m just excited to get back at BMO to try and make a real push,” Zimmerman offered.   

During a nine-game home stretch from March 14 to May 9 prior to the MLS break for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, TFC earned two wins and collected just 11 points, squandering the great opportunity they had of playing so many games early in the season at BMO Field. The club’s failure to scratch out results at home is just one of many reasons why it is sitting in such a precarious position at the moment. 

Each of Toronto’s next five matches at BMO Field are against teams sitting higher up the table in the East, including the Supporters’ Shield-leading Nashville SC. After that, the Reds will only play at home three times over the course of their final 10 matches of the campaign – two of which will be against higher-ranked clubs.  

It’s a difficult schedule for a Toronto side that has won just five times at home since the start of last season. Laryea, whose previous appearance for TFC at home was on April 22, is hopeful the excitement that BMO Field housed during this summer’s World Cup can rub off on the Reds.   

“I think the whole group is just very excited to get back to playing at BMO Field. … Playing that first game [for Canada] in the World Cup here at BMO Field was an incredible experience, and the energy and everything was great in the stadium. So, I hope to pick off from there with the fans, where we’re able to get a very good crowd at BMO Field, and kick on for the second half of the season,” Laryea said.  

On the positive side, Toronto is almost at full fitness after being decimated by injuries all season.  

What’s more, both of Toronto’s designated players featured in its last game, a 1-1 draw away to New York City FC on July 31, after missing matches due to injury – the contest at Yankee Stadium marked the first time this year that midfielder Djordje Mihailovic and Josh Sargent were in the same starting 11.   

Laryea feels that getting so many guys off the injury list and back on the pitch could be the key to a potential late-season playoff push by Toronto.  

“Just looking at the group of players we have is one of the biggest things. We have now a lot of guys healthy, a lot of guys right there about to be healthy again. I think that’s optimistic, and then in MLS we know that once you start getting in a good way, it’s very easy to turn your season around,” Laryea stated.   

“We’ve seen it multiple times. We’ve seen it year after year. Teams catch fire around the summertime, and now they’re able to make a good run and get themselves into (the) playoffs. So, we’ll be looking to do the exact same thing.” 

Elsewhere in MLS this weekend:    

• CF Montreal made a blockbuster move this week when it signed free agent forward Alexis Sanchez, who scored 198 goals during an 18-year spell with a number of European clubs, including Arsenal and FC Barcelona. Sanchez is also Chile’s all-time top scorer with 51 goals across 168 international appearances.  

The addition of the decorated striker comes at a crucial time for Montreal, who sits 14th in the Eastern Conference – seven points below the playoff line – and is winless in its last seven games. Montreal has one of the worst attacks in MLS with just 24 goals in 18 games, so Sanchez will have his work cut out, possibly starting with Saturday’s home game vs. D.C. United in which he could potentially make his MLS debut. 

• Rivalry matches in MLS don’t get more intense than Cascadia Cup contests, the latest of which takes place on Sunday when the Vancouver Whitecaps visit the Seattle Sounders.  The Whitecaps boast the best attack (38 goals) and defence (17 conceded) in the Western Conference but are mired in a six-game winless run, which includes a trio of losses in the Leagues Cup. 

• The top teams in the league square off on Saturday when table-topping Nashville SC hosts second-place Inter Miami. A win by Miami would vault it into first place and extend its unbeaten streak to eight games, but Nashville will be a tough nut to crack as it’s won eight of its last 12 matches with just one loss.   

• Sunday night marks the first Copa Tejas clash of the season between Austin FC and FC Dallas. Created in 2021, the Copa Tejas is a competition that pits all three Texas clubs in MLS (including the Houston Dynamo) against one another in a round-robin format, with the team finishing with the highest point total crowned the winner. Both Austin and Dallas have won the title twice. 

• Former FC Barcelona star Sergi Roberto could make his MLS debut for the LA Galaxy in Saturday’s road match vs. Houston. The Spanish midfielder officially signed with the Galaxy last week as a free agent following two seasons with Como in Italy’s Serie A that succeeded an 18-year career with Barcelona in Spain.