TFC Republic Weekly: July 22-28
Toronto FC heads into the MLS break with a bit of momentum after its win in Montreal, but it still has some work to do off the field.
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 offer a glimpse of what to expect at TFC Republic in the coming days.
So, without further ado...
Big rebound win for Toronto FC in Montreal
Results don’t come much sweeter for Toronto FC than Saturday’s victory over CF Montreal.
Fresh off a successful run at Copa América, Canadian Richie Laryea provided the heroics by scoring the lone goal in a 1-0 win for TFC before an announced crowd of 19,619 fans at Stade Saputo.
This was a hugely important win for Toronto (9-14-3) as it swept the regular season series against its bitter Canadian rival. It was composed and professional road performance from the Reds, the likes of which has been rare this season but was much needed.
It’ll also did TFC’s confidence a world of good to collect their seventh clean sheet of the MLS campaign after being outscored 23-9 in their previous nine league contests. The Reds’ defence held firm and gave little away against Montreal, Laryea proved to be a constant menace down the left side, and Italian DPs Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi expertly drove the attack forward.
"I just thought collectively it was a real team performance. Not one man I could single out that I could say he was brilliant tonight. That's the tightest I've seen the group. They maintained I thought a clarity right till the end," coach John Herdman said.
Toronto FC signs defender Henry Wingo
Toronto FC announced last Thursday the acquisition of Henry Wingo, signing the American defender to a contract through 2026 with a club option for 2027. TFC acquired Wingo’s MLS discovery rights in a trade with D.C. United in exchange for $75,000 US in 2025 General Allocation Money.
Looking to plug some holes in a leaky defence, Toronto believes it has added some experience and depth with this signing. Wingo, 28, arrives at TFC as a free agent after his contract with Budapest-based club Ferencvárosi recently expired. He joined the Hungarian outfit in 2021 and helped them with four league titles and a domestic cup, while also featuring in the UEFA Europa League.
A native of Seattle, Wingo played NCAA soccer at the University of Washington before signing a homegrown contract with the Seattle Sounders prior to the 2017 MLS season. He made 22 appearances in three campaigns with the Sounders, while also being loaned out to the USL's Tacoma Defiance. He was then sold in 2019 to Norwegian side Molde FK and after winning a league title there he moved to Ferencvárosi.
This appears to be an astute signing by TFC, as Wingo is a versatile player who can slot into several positions. A former midfielder, he mostly played as wingback during his time in Europe before being used as a right-sided centre back last season. Toronto plays with three at the back under John Herdman, and the hope is that Wingo will help tighten things up for the Reds on the right side of the defence.
Wingo is expected to make his debut for Toronto in this weekend's Leagues Cup match away to the New York Red Bulls.
The MLS secondary transfer window for TFC and the other two Canadian MLS clubs closes on Aug. 8, which means GM Jason Hernandez has until then to make trades within the league and bring in players via transfer deals in order to strengthen his roster.
TFC currently holds down the eighth and second-last playoff in the Eastern Conference with eight matches remaining in the season. But the six teams directly below them in the table are all within five points and have a game in hand.
TFC turns focus to Leagues Cup with MLS on break
With MLS on a month-long break, Toronto FC will turn its attention to the Leagues Cup, a tournament involving every team from MLS and Mexico's Liga MX.
TFC will compete in East Group 6, with a road game against the New York Red Bulls on July 27 and a home match vs. Mexican outfit Pachuca on Aug. 4.
The top two teams in the 15 groups move on to the Round of 32 where they'll be joined by MLS Cup champions Columbus Crew and Liga MX champions Club América, who received first-round byes. The knockout round begins on Aug. 7 and concludes with the third-place match and the final on Aug. 25. The top three teams will qualify for the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup.
All Leagues Cup matches will air live on Apple TV. The complete Leagues Cup group stage schedule can be found here. Inter Miami are the defending Leagues Cup champions.
"We've got three trophies to play for [MLS, Canadian Championship, Leagues Cup]. This team is confident. ...The Leagues Cup is just something exciting to play for. Red Bulls, we had a tough match against [a 3-0 loss in MLS on June 23] and obviously [Pachuca] that'll be in Toronto. Exciting for our fans," John Herdman said.
Before the 2024 Leagues Cup kicks off, the MLS All-Star Game takes place on July 24 at Lower.com Field in Columbus where the MLS all-stars will face the Liga MX all-star team. TFC's Federico Bernardeschi will compete for the MLS all-star team.
Toronto's next MLS match is Aug. 24 vs. the Houston Dynamo at Shell Energy Stadium.
TFC Republic subscribers can get up to a 25% discount on ticket prices for Toronto FC home games.
To receive the special promo code, email me at To receive the special promo code, email me at jmo1897@gmail.com
(Please don't share promo code with non-TFC Republic subscribers).
CanWNT begins Olympic campaign in Paris
The Canadian women’s team will attempt to reach the medal podium for a fourth straight time at the Paris Olympics with a solid core of players who helped the country strike gold in Tokyo in 2021.
Coach Bev Priestman announced her 18-player roster for this summer’s Olympics earlier this month and included in her squad list are 13 players who were part of the team’s gold medal run three years ago.
The most notable names on the Canadian Olympic squad are captain Jessie Fleming, goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan, defenders Kadeisha Buchanan, Vanessa Gilles and Ashley Lawrence, midfielders Julia Grosso and Quinn, and forwards Janine Beckie and Adriana Leon.
Ranked No. 8 in the world, Canada will compete in Group A at the Paris Olympics and will face No. 28 New Zealand (July 25), No. 2 France (July 28) and No. 22 Colombia (July 31).
The 12-nation field is divided into four groups. The top two nations in each group, along with the two-best third-place teams, advance to the quarter-finals.
“New Zealand will be hard to break down. They can catch you on the counter directly. You have to be switched on and if history tells you anything about a New Zealand-Canada game, it's never been easy,” Bev Priestman told TFC Republic.
“France, I don't need to say a lot about the home nation. They’ve got a lot of top players; we're going to have to defend just as well as we are going to have to attack in that game. Columbia is an unorthodox counter attacking team and has world class players in Linda Caicedo and Mayra Ramírez. They've got some top players that can really hurt you.
“But three teams with three different styles that we're gonna have to be prepared for.”
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Stories to look out for at TFC Republic
Just before the MLS primary window closed last April, TFC acquired centre back Aimé Mabika in a trade from Inter Miami. Mabika started off in a strong fashion as he helped TFC bolster their back line. But Mabika's positive form didn't last long and he was relegated to the bench and he's still struggling for playing time this season. How does Mabika feel about his game at the moment? Look for my feature story in the coming days. (NOTE: This story was supposed to run earlier this month but was delayed because of scheduling issues).
Other stories that will be published later this week include:
- My piece looking at the key storylines to watch from TFC this week.
- Regular "TFC Tidbits" stories throughout the week.
- Another edition of the TFC 3 Questions podcast with myself, host James Sharman, former Toronto FC captain Jim Brennan.
- A new audio interview piece with Joe Pantorno of am New York looking ahead to Saturday's road game vs. the New York Red Bulls.
- In-depth pre- and post-game coverage of Toronto's road game vs. the New York Red Bulls.
- In-depth pre- and post-game coverage of Canada's Olympic group stage match vs. New Zealand.
- In-depth pre- and post-game coverage of Canada's Olympic group stage match vs. France.
- A Q&A with Canadian women's team coach Bev Priestman
- The reader mailbag
- 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 courtesy of Andy Truong/Toronto FC)
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