TFC Republic Weekly: September 23-29

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 drops valuable points in latest road loss

It’s all going pear-shaped for Toronto FC at the worst possible time. In the thick of a playoff race with time quickly running out on them, TFC have now lost two in a row and three of their last four in MLS action, including a 2-0 defeat away to the Colorado Rapids on Saturday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.  

The Reds have also gone 240 minutes without a goal and are barely hanging onto a post-season berth as the campaign enters the home stretch. 

Saturday was the first of five games that Toronto will play during a gruelling 15-day stretch, including this week’s Canadian Championship final in Vancouver. With a trophy on the line in that match, it’s little wonder that John Herdman heavily rotated his squad against the Rapids.  

Herdman made eight changes from the loss to the Columbus Crew a few days earlier, as only Sean Johnson, Sigurd Rosted and Derrick Etienne Jr. retained their starting roles. Amongst the newcomers was midfielder Brandon Servania who earned his first start since last August.   

Speaking to reporters after the match, Herdman said TFC had enough opportunities in the second half "to get something out of the game," but he also felt his team can't seem to find "that killer punch at the moment."

“You're hoping to get a result on the road, but I think given everything we're managing, I think you have to temper the expectations. We're coming here to win [and] to win points on the road. But at the same time, you know what we're doing here, we're managing a squad that's turning around with some injuries. We're managing a squad that's got a cup final on Wednesday. So, you know, we've got a different reality to a lot of teams," Herdman said.

Reds still clinging to 8th spot in Eastern Conference 

Despite the loss vs. the Rapids, Toronto FC (11-17-3, 36 points) is still holding onto the eighth and second-last playoff berth in the Eastern Conference, five points behind New York City FC and two points above CF Montreal. But both New York and Montreal have a game in hand on TFC, who only have three matches remaining, and the rest of the chasing pack are closing in.   

If the playoffs started today, TFC would host the Philadelphia Union in the wild card match with the winner advancing to the next round where they'd face Inter Miami in a best of three series. But the Reds still have some work to do over their last three matches in order to lock down a playoff berth and qualify for the post-season for the first time since 2020. 

The five teams directly below them in the table are all within three points and all five of them have a game in hand. Both of Toronto's final home games come against Miami and New York Red Bulls, who sit in the top four in the East and have already defeated TFC this season. Miami also beat TFC in the round of 32 in the Leagues Cup. 

TFC also have to travel to Chicago for a date with the Fire, who defeated the Reds at BMO Field earlier this season and are fighting to stay alive in the playoff race.  

"It's tough with the games dwindling down to accept a result like this, but we just want to move on," defender Shane O'Neill said after the loss in Colorado. 

TFC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps on Wednesday 

Toronto FC is vying to win a major trophy this week when it takes on the Vancouver Whitecaps in the Canadian Championship final at BC Place on Wednesday (10:00 p.m. ET/OneSoccer).

TFC booked its spot in the final by defeating League1 Ontario's Simcoe County Rovers FC and CS Saint-Laurent, before coming from behind to beat CPL champions Forge FC in the two-legged semifinals.

The Whitecaps' path to the final saw them get the better of CPL outfits Cavalry FC and Pacific FC in the quarter-finals and semifinals. Scottish midfielder Ryan Gauld and Canadian forward Levonte Johnson lead the team in scoring in this year's tournament with two goals apiece.

TFC have won the Canadian Championship a record eight times. The Reds beat Forge via a penalty shootout in Hamilton two years ago in the 2020-Covid delayed final, while the Vancouver Whitecaps defeated TFC and CF Montreal in the finals to win back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023.

The winner of this year’s Canadian Championship qualifies for the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup. 

TFC vs. Chicago Fire on Saturday 

It'll be a quick turnaround for the Reds after the Vancouver match as they'll hit the road for another important game against the Chicago Fire on Saturday (8:30 p.m. ET/Apple TV).

Chicago (7-16-8) sits 14th and second-last in the Eastern Conference, five spots and seven points out of a playoff berth. The Fire have lost four of their last five games and two in a row, including a 2-0 defeat away to CF Montreal on the weekend.

With 36 goals (just two fewer than TFC), the Fire are tied for the third-worst attack in the East, and their 54 goals against (one fewer than TFC) means they have the fourth-worst defence in the conference.

Belgian forward Hugo Cuypers leads the team in scoring in 2024 with 10 goals, while Swiss midfielder Maren Haile-Selassie is the club's top playmaker with eight assists. Goalkeeper Chris Brady has started all but one of Chicago's 31 games with four clean sheets. Last month, Chicago mutually agreed to terminate the contract of Swiss international and DP Xherdan Shaqiri.

Toronto and Chicago previously met on June 15 when the Fire earned a 4-1 home win at BMO Field. Toronto leads the all-time series against Chicago with 14 wins and 12 draws in 38 games.

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

Stories to look out for at TFC Republic

Julian Altobelli has been on an absolute tear for TFC 2 this season in MLS NEXT Pro. The 21-year-old from Toronto went on an eight-game scoring streak for the Young Reds, breaking the old club record set by Jordan Hamilton in 2018. His 10 goals in 2024 marks the first time in franchise history that a TFC 2 player has hit double digits in scoring in a single season. And he's also tied with Jordan Perruzza as the club's all-time top scorer (20 goals). I recently chatted one-on-one with Altobelli about his amazing campaign and what the future might hold for him with Toronto FC. Look for my story 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.    
• My “Random Thoughts on TFC” column.  
• My piece that breaks down the playoff race as it pertains to Toronto FC.
• Regular "TFC Tidbits" stories throughout the week.  
• My feature story on Alonso Coello
• In-depth pre- and post-game coverage of Toronto's Canadian Championship final vs. the Vancouver Whitecaps.   
• An audio interview piece with J.J. Adams of the Province newspaper ahead of Wednesday's game vs. the Whitecaps.
• In-depth pre- and post-game coverage of Toronto's road game vs. Chicago Fire.   
• A new audio interview piece with Joe Chatz of On Tap Sports Net ahead of Saturday's game vs. the Fire. 
• The TFC 2 report with James Grossi.    
• 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 Jojo Yanjiao Qian/Forge FC)

TFC Republic has a comments section! At the very bottom of every story, there is a feature where you can post your comments, so be sure to share your thoughts and views.