TFC Republic Weekly: September 9-15

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... 

Reds return to action this week after international break

Toronto FC has been off since Aug. 31 when it suffered a disappointing 3-1 home loss to D.C. United. The international break ends this week, which means TFC will resume its push for a spot in the post-season.

TFC (10-15-3, 33 points) currently sits eighth and holds down the second-last playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. If the regular season ended today, they would host a first-round wild card match at BMO Field. But their grip on a playoff berth can be described as tenuous at best. 

All seven teams directly below them in the table in the East are within seven points and five of those sides have at least one game in hand. In the case of the New England Revolution, it has two games in hand.  

D.C. United is surging. The team from the American capital was recently sitting in last place in the East, but has climbed to ninth and is now just a point behind Toronto thanks to a run of four wins in its last five matches. 

Toronto only has six matches left on its schedule, including a pair of tough road trips. The Chicago Fire is one of the teams trying to catch TFC in the East and earned a comprehensive 4-1 win at BMO Field on June 15. The Reds also have to travel to Denver for a date with the Colorado Rapids where they'll not only have to overcome playing at altitude but also one of the best sides in the Western Conference. 

Beyond that, three of Toronto's four home matches are against MLS Cup champions Columbus Crew, New York Red Bulls and Inter Miami. They occupy three of the top four places in the East table, and each have already earned wins in MLS against Toronto this season – the Reds lost to the trio of clubs by a combined score of 10-1. Miami also defeated TFC in the round of 32 in the Leagues Cup. 

Reader mailbag: Will TFC finish the job and make the playoffs?

If the season ended today, Toronto FC would host a wild card match. But its grip on a playoff berth is tenuous at best.

TFC REPUBLICJohn Molinaro

TFC can still make moves ahead of Friday's roster freeze date

The closure of the MLS secondary transfer window last month means teams can't make any more trades involving players or transfer signings for the rest of 2024. 

However, clubs can still sign free agents – players who are out of contract and unattached – so long as they do so by the MLS roster freeze date of Sept. 13. 

Among the other options still on the table for TFC are: 

• Loaning or selling a player to a non-MLS club, subject to the receiving club's applicable federation's transfer window, 
• Making trades with other MLS teams that don't involve players (draft picks, international roster spots, general allocation money and other assets), 
• Signing homegrown players from its youth academy, 
• Calling up players on loan from TFC 2. 

So, there's plenty of important work that GM Jason Hernandez can complete even though the transfer window is now closed. 

Aside from the possible signing of free agents, you'd have to think that accumulating general allocation money (GAM) would be at the top of Hernandez's to-do list. The more money he accumulates between now and the opening of the MLS primary transfer window in January, the better position he'll be in to strengthen Toronto's roster ahead of the 2025 campaign.

State of the union: TFC has to shake things up for playoff push

It’s time to stop the bleeding and inject Toronto FC’s starting 11 with some young players who are hungry to prove themselves.

TFC REPUBLICJohn Molinaro

TFC vs. Austin FC on Saturday 

Toronto FC continues its push for a playoff spot when it hosts Austin FC on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET/Apple TV & TSN).  

Austin (9-11-7) sits 11th in the Western Conference, two spots and two points behind Minnesota United who hold down the final playoff berth in the West. The Texas-based club has just one win in its last five MLS matches with three losses, including a 1-0 home defeat to the Vancouver Whitecaps on Aug. 31 in its last outing. 

Argentinian DP Sebastián Driussi and Colombian winger Jáder Obrian lead the team in scoring this season with five goals apiece, while Finnish midfielder Alex Ring is the side's top playmaker with seven assists. American goalkeeper Brad Stuver has started all 27 games during the 2024 campaign and is tied for fourth in the league with seven clean sheets. 

Austin's roster features former TFC centre back Matt Hedges. Saturday's game marks his return to BMO Field for the first time since being traded to Austin last summer. 

These teams have only met once before: TFC was shut out in a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to Austin at Q2 Stadium on May 2o, 2023, when Gyasi Zardes scored in injury time. TFC were severely short-handed and were missing 10 players, including Lorenzo Insigne who didn’t make the trip to Texas due to a foot injury. 

In the post-game press conference, Italian DP Federico Bernardeschi went on a rant in which he questioned coach Bob Bradley's tactical approach. 

“We don’t play. We play long pass[es]. We don’t have ideas to play. I'm proud of my team... But unfortunately, we [lost] the game again, and this for me is not good,” Bernardeschi said. 

He added: “Sincerely, this city, the fans, everybody [doesn’t] deserve this. I think maybe we need to change something. We need a little bit more tactics. We need an idea [of] how we play because this is the real problem for me. It’s impossible [to] play like this when we play without [an] idea. This is the big, big problem for me.” 

This weekend's match is the only meeting of the regular season between the clubs. 

CanMNT vs. Mexico on Tuesday 

Fresh off its 2-1 win over the United States on Saturday, Canada faces another Concacaf rival in a second international friendly when it takes on Mexico at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Tuesday (8:30 p.m. ET/OneSoccer).

Canada received goals from Jacob Shaffelburg and Jonathan David to dispatch the U.S. in Kansas City on Saturday. Meanwhile, Mexico shut out New Zealand 3-0 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California this past weekend.

It was the fourth win in nine matches this year for the Mexicans, who crashed out in the first round of this summer's Copa América following a loss to Venezuela and a draw to Ecuador. After firing coach Jaime Lozano, El Tri is now trying to regroup under new bench boss Javier Aguirre (his third stint as coach). 

These teams last face off on Nov. 16, 2021, when Canada earned a 2-1 win in a World Cup qualifier on a wintry night at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium. Cyle Larin was the hero of the night by bagging a brace for Canada.

Canada is 5-19-9 all-time against Mexico since 1957.

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

Stories to look out for at TFC Republic

Deemed surplus to requirements by Toronto FC, Jacob Shaffelburg was sent on loan to Nashville SC in the summer of 2022 and ended up signing a permanent deal with the club. Since his move to Tennessee, the Nova Scotia native's career has taken off as he has established himself as a key starter for both his club and country. How does Shaffelburg feel about his time in Toronto? I recently spoke to him to get his thoughts. Look for my feature 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.  
• Regular "TFC Tidbits" stories throughout the week.  
• My feature story on Toronto FC midfielder Kosi Thompson 
• In-depth pre- and post-game coverage of Toronto's home game vs. Austin FC.   
• An audio interview piece with Phil West of Verde All Day ahead of Saturday's game vs. Austin.
• In-depth pre- and post-game coverage of Canada's friendly vs. Mexico   
• A new audio interview piece with Mexican soccer expert Ivan Pineda of The Eagle Eye Podcast ahead of Tuesday's Canada vs. Mexico match. 
• Part two of our Q&A with Forge FC coach Bobby Smyrniotis. 
• 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 Lucas Kschischang/Toronto FC)

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