Time running out for Toronto FC to turn season around

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.