TFC looks to score 1st win of the year at Saturday home opener
Reds will play 1st match at BMO Field since renovations started for 2026 World Cup
As the BMO Field gets a World Cup facelift, Toronto FC will look to make its own improvements to pick up its first win of the season in the club's home opener Saturday afternoon.
After starting the year with a tie and two losses on the road — picking up one point out of a possible nine — TFC will host Chicago Fire FC at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
Midfielder Kosi Thompson told reporters Friday that the home crowd could be the spark the team needs.
"Having that energy at BMO, it gives us that extra little push in the 75th, 80th, 85th minute," Thompson said at a news conference following a training session at BMO Field.
Thompson said the team is young and learning a new system under new leadership, but the talent is there.
"There's certain things that we've talked about as a collective that needs to change from the last couple of games, and they're not these massive changes," Thompson said. "They're small things that can be fixed."
The team will be looking to rebound from another tough season, missing the playoffs for the fourth straight year in 2024.
New coach Robin Fraser says this year's club has potential.
"I'd say the plus is character," Fraser said Friday. "I think there are a lot of really good hard-working players who try to do exactly what's asked of them. And when they do … I think we've had some pretty decent moments."
Fraser replaces John Herdman, who stepped down after the end of last season, after being dogged by allegations linking him to the Paris Olympic drone-spying scandal.
This year's club is dealing with injuries and inexperience, and veteran Canadian soccer reporter John Molinaro of TFC Republic says fans shouldn't get their hopes up too much.
"As much as they might not want to admit it, it's a rebuilding season," Molinaro told CBC Toronto. "They're coming off a bit of a poor 2024 campaign, it's a new coach with a new sort of mentality and playing style, and they're still trying to find their feet."
Chicago is having its own struggles, starting the season with a 1-1-1 record. The club is coached by Greg Vanney, who led TFC to its only MLS championship in 2017. Fraser was an assistant on Vanney's coaching staff that season.
TFC has history on its side for Saturday's game. The club has a 9-6-3 record in home openers.
1st match at BMO Field since reno work started
The Reds haven't played at home since October, when Lionel Messi caused a stir at BMO Field, making his first appearance in Toronto with visiting Inter Miami.
Since that time, work has begun on renovations to bring BMO Field up to FIFA World Cup standards in preparation for the tournament next summer. The stadium is hosting six World Cup matches, and is getting a nearly $150-million upgrade ahead of time.
Fans won't get to enjoy the renovations just yet, which include new video scoreboards, upgraded luxury suites and a rooftop patio. But they will have to navigate through construction for parts of this season.
To bring stadium capacity up to 45,000 for the World Cup, temporary grandstands will be added to both sides of the field, and fans will have to enter through the southern gates for some matches while work is underway on the northern stands.
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With files from Greg Ross and The Canadian Press