TFC Republic Weekly: July 29-August 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 offer a glimpse of what to expect at TFC Republic in the coming days.
So, without further ado...
Toronto FC opens Leagues Cup with win vs. Red Bulls
It was Sean Johnson to the rescue for Toronto FC in its opening match at the Leagues Cup.
The veteran shot stopper made a pair of saves and substitute Shane O’Neill scored the winner to lift Toronto to a 5-4 penalty shootout victory away to the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night.
After the teams played to a 0-0 draw in 90 minutes of regulation, TFC faced elimination twice in the shootout after Lorenzo Insigne hit the crossbar on his team’s first penalty and Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty saw his shot saved on Toronto's sixth attempt.
But TFC held their nerve as Johnson made big stops on Cory Burke and Andres Reyes, and O’Neill converted Toronto’s seventh penalty to seal the win for the visitors at Red Bull Arena.
Matty Longstaff, Kosi Thompson, Derrick Etienne Jr. and Jonathan Osorio also scored for TFC in the shootout. This was Toronto's first Leagues Cup win after it lost both of its group stage matches in its tournament debut in 2023.
"I said this at the beginning of the year, if you’re pushing for a championship, goalkeepers will win you championships, defences will win your championships. Keeping clean sheets is as important as what happens at the other end of the pitch," coach John Herdman told reporters after the game.
John Herdman to cooperate with Canada Soccer
Canada Soccer has a black cloud hanging over it at the moment.
On Saturday, FIFA docked six points from the Canadian women's team at the Paris Olympics, levied a fine against Canada Soccer and banned coach Bev Priestman and two members of her staff — Joseph Lombardi and Jasmine Mander — for one year each for their roles in the drone/spying scandal.
According to a TSN report, usage of drones has been going on at Canada Soccer for several years by both the men's and women's teams, including when current Toronto FC coach John Herdman was in charge of the men’s side.
Kevin Blue, Canada Soccer CEO and General Secretary, said the organization has launched an independent investigation into allegations of systematic spying and breaches of ethics within Canadian soccer.
Speaking to reporters at the club’s training facility last Friday, Herdman declared he’d be “happy to help Canada Soccer in any way I can.”
“This is an Olympic Games. It's the biggest event on the planet. It's a sporting event that has massive integrity and for me we have to make sure that those things are upheld always. I've always gone into Olympic Games, World Cups, big events with integrity in mind and the ability to compete at the highest level, following the rules and processes,” Herdman stated.
“For my side, I’ll help Canada Soccer where I can with that review. But I'm highly confident that in my time as the head coach at an Olympic Games or World Cup, we’ve never been involved in any of those activities.”
TFC vs. Pachuca on Sunday
The Leagues Cup is a competition involving every team from MLS and Mexico's Liga MX. 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.
Toronto tops East Group 6 with two points, while New York has one point, after the TFC's penalty shootout win over the Red Bulls. A shootout win is worth two points in the Leagues Cup, while the loser collects a single point.
"All in all, happy to take the two points tonight. Coming out of here with two points in the first match, we'll definitely take that in the group stage," John Herdman said after TFC's win in New York on Saturday.
The Red Bulls host Mexican club Pachuca on July 30 – if New York loses that game, Toronto will advance to the next round.
The group stage concludes on Aug. 4 when TFC welcomes reigning Concacaf Champions Cup holders Pachuca to BMO Field (Apple TV/8:00 p.m. ET).
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CanWNT vs. Colombia on Wednesday
Despite being docked six points by FIFA for the spying scandal, the Canadian women's team still stands poised to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Paris Olympics.
Canada came from behind to earn a dramatic 2-1 win vs. France at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Étienne on Sunday, a result that helped it stave off elimination and keeps its hopes alive of repeating as Olympic champions.
Vanessa Gilles scored on a rebound attempt that hit the near post and tucked inside the net deep into injury time to secure a massive three points for Canada who was facing a must-win situation and playing with the weight of the world on its shoulders after a tumultuous few days that has rocked Canadian soccer to its very core.
France and Colombia top Group A with three points, ahead of Canada and New Zealand (zero points). Colombia beat New Zealand 2-0 in Sunday's other Group A game. Canada closes out the group stage vs. Colombia on Wednesday in Nice, and a win in that match would see it advance to the knockout round. A loss or draw would eliminate Canada.
Canada is No. 8 in the FIFA world rankings, 14 spots above Colombia. The Canadians have only met Colombia twice, winning both times, in 2011 and 2012.
"Colombia 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," Bev Priestman told TFC Republic before the tournament.
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Stories to look out for at TFC Republic
Where do things stand with Toronto FC at the moment? The Leagues Cup win over the New York Red Bulls and the previous shutout victory in MLS over CF Montreal suggests the Reds are trending in the right direction. Guys are starting to come back from injuries and depth players are starting to contribute a bit more. But can TFC go on a run down the season stretch and secure a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference? Look for my piece on the current state of the union at Toronto FC later this week.
Other stories that will be published later this week include:
- My piece looking at the key storylines to watch from TFC this week.
- The return of my Random Thoughts on TFC column.
- Regular "TFC Tidbits" stories throughout the week.
- A new audio interview piece with Ivan Pineda of the The Eagle Eye Podcast looking ahead to Saturday's Leagues Cup game vs. Pachuca.
- In-depth pre- and post-game coverage of Toronto's home game vs. Pachuca in the Leagues Cup.
- In-depth pre- and post-game coverage of Canada's Olympic group stage match vs. Colombia.
- The TFC 2 report with James Grossi.
- 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 Toronto FC)
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