MLS preview: Streaking Toronto FC faces another stiff test vs. Orlando, Griezmann

Toronto FC has faced two of the game’s greatest goal scorers in recent weeks in Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski, and lived to tell the tale.

TFC recorded a 2-1 road win over Messi and Inter Miami last month and fought back to earn a 4-4-home draw vs. Lewandowski and the Chicago Fire a week ago. 

Now the Reds will face a third international goal scorer whose reputation precedes him when they take on Antoine Griezmann and Orlando City in Florida on Saturday night. 

Griezmann, 35, officially joined Orlando as a free agent in July after a star-studded European club career that saw him score 299 goals for Atlético Madrid, FC Barcelona and Real Sociedad across 17 years. The veteran forward also plundered 44 goals in 137 games for France, helping Les Bleus win the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. 

Thus far, Griezmann has been a one-man wrecking crew for Orlando. The Frenchman marked his MLS debut on July 22 by scoring his 300th career goal at club level in a 4-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes. A month later, he registered his first brace for his new club in a come-from-behind 2-1 victory against Real Salt Lake. 

In total, the former La Liga standout has scored seven goals and tallied three assists in nine MLS starts and is currently riding a four-game scoring streak during which he’s found the back of the net six times. 

He’s a big reason why an Orlando side that had just a single win in its first eight games of the season and sat near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings has just two losses in its last nine contests to climb to sixth place in the East and get back into the playoff race. 

“Antoine Griezmann arriving at the team and elevating the players around him has played a huge factor. He’s helped lead the turnaround,” said Orlando City beat reporter Mike Gramajo. 

Aside from his goal-scoring record, what’s been especially impressive about Griezmann during his brief MLS tenure has been his attitude and work ethic. 

In the past, some aging European stars have come to MLS in the later stages of their careers looking to cash in, viewing their stint in the league as a paid vacation before they decide to retire. But that’s not the case with Griezmann. 

“[When] players come from overseas and come from big leagues and big environments, they generally go one of two ways. They're either kind of above it and don't really commit to it, or they do the opposite. They come in and they show why they've been as good as they've been for so long. And I would say Griezmann has been much more in the camp of the latter,” Toronto coach Robin Fraser offered. 

“He just brings another level of not just ability with his playing, but a level of professionalism that I think is really helping that team.” 

TFC will enter Saturday’s game vs. Griezmann and his cohorts with momentum in the form of a seven-game unbeaten run that has allowed them to claw their way into 10th place in the East, tied on points with New York City FC, who hold down the ninth and final playoff berth with 10 games remaining in the regular season.

A win would not only keep Toronto’s streak alive, but also could propel them into a playoff position as the MLS campaign enters the home stretch.

“I think the group feels pretty good about what they can do and what they have done. [We’re] pretty excited for obviously the rest of the way,” Fraser said.

Elsewhere in MLS this weekend… 

• Can CF Montreal stop the bleeding? The club from La belle province is in free fall, having lost three in a row (including a 7-1 defeat to Inter Miami) and has just one win in its last 13 matches dating back to May 13. Montreal sits in last place in the Eastern Conference, six spots and eight points below the playoff line. If it has any hope of squeaking into the playoffs, it has to start winning, starting with Saturday’s road match vs. the Colorado Rapids. 

• The Vancouver Whitecaps will try to secure their hold on first place in the Western Conference when they host Austin FC on Sunday to wrap up a three-game homestand. Winners of four of their last six (all clean-sheet victories), the Whitecaps will look to put some distance between themselves and the second-place Houston Dynamo, who are only three points back in the standings and have suffered just one loss in their last 12 matches. 

• Two of the top teams in MLS go head-to-head on Saturday when Nashville SC visits Inter Miami. The team from Music City sits atop the overall league table with 53 points (2.21 points per match average) and is on pace to break the league record for most points in a regular season, set by Inter Miami (74) in 2024. Lionel Messi and Miami sit in third place in MLS (and second in the Eastern Conference behind Nashville) and will try to avenge last month’s 4-1 loss in Tennessee. 

• Sunday’s match between the Chicago Fire and New England Revolution could be a potential playoff preview as both clubs occupy a top-four spot in the Eastern Conference. Iconic Polish striker Robert Lewandowski scored his sixth goal in nine games since joining Chicago in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw vs. Inter Miami before a club-record crowd of 63,094 fans at Soldier Field. On the same night, New England leapfrogged Chicago into third place in the East with a 2-1 win vs. New York City FC. 

• Two of the MLS’ up-and-coming stars will be front and centre on Sunday when the Philadelphia Union visit San Diego FC. Midfielder Cavan Sullivan, 16, has four goals and 10 assists in league play for the Union and centre-back Neil Pierre, 18, has been a defensive standout while adding four goals and an assist. 

• Unquestionably, St. Louis City SC is the hottest team in MLS right now. The Midwest club had only one win in its first 10 games of the season but has since put together a 14-match unbeaten run (nine wins and five draws) and hasn’t lost since May 3. St. Louis will look to keep its streak alive when it hosts Minnesota United on Saturday.