Slowly but surely, Toronto FC is getting healthy again, and that could be the key to helping the Canadian club get back into the playoff race after a dismal first half of the 2026 MLS season.
A come-from-behind 1-1 road draw against New York City FC kept Toronto (3-7-8) in 12th place in the Eastern Conference — three spots and six points below the playoff line — while extending its winless run to 12 consecutive MLS matches (13 in all competitions). TFC hasn’t tasted victory since earning a 3-2 home decision over the Colorado Rapids on April 4.
The game at Yankee Stadium was notable for Toronto in that it marked the first time this season that designated players Josh Sargent and Djordje Mihailovic were in the same starting 11. Before the Reds’ visit to New York, Sargent (the team’s star forward) and Mihailovic (its chief playmaker) had played only 33 minutes together this season.
It was Mihailovic’s first start since March 14 as he had been sidelined with a pelvic stress, and he made up for lost time by scoring his second goal of the campaign and first since the season opener against FC Dallas on Feb. 21.
New York hardly put a foot wrong through the opening 45 minutes and was seconds away from going into halftime with a deserved lead. But Thiago Martins was caught in possession deep inside his end of the pitch, which allowed Sargent to break into the box.
After the Toronto forward’s attempt was blocked by NYCFC defender James Sands, the ball eventually found its way to Toronto’s Dániel Sallói, whose shot was stopped by Matt Freese, but Mihailovic was there to bang in the rebound into the bottom right corner.
The hope for TFC is that the returning Mihailovic and Sargent can build a solid on field relationship and rejuvenate a stuttering attack that has produced just 24 goals this season (second-worst in the East) after Mihailovic’s lengthy injury layoff.
“It's just going to take consistency, consistency in the lineup and training and with a healthy squad, getting used to each other,” Mihailovic said. "I still don't know how we play together, like the tendencies, because we just haven't played that much together, but after some consistent play time, it's going to come."
Coach Robin Fraser was able to field one of his strongest lineups to date in New York as the Reds have been plagued by consistent injuries that have decimated them since the start of the season. The problem reached its apex in a road loss to Charlotte FC in May, when no fewer than 13 players of TFC’s 27-man squad were ruled out due to injury.
Only three players were on the team’s official injury list for the contest against New York, so with close to a full-strength roster, Toronto will have no excuses as it seeks to climb up the table during the final stretch of the season.
“I just think the more that they play together, the more the attacking ideas are going to come, the more the attacking cohesion is going to come,” Fraser said. "I never make predictions. I'm always excited to err on the side of caution, but I do think this team is changing."
True change will come only when Toronto starts picking up genuine wins rather than settling for moral victories like it earned in its comeback at Yankee Stadium.
Make no mistake about it: time is ticking for the Reds. While there are 16 games left in the regular season, they have to find a way to get back into the win column soon. If TFC continues to drop points and if wins continue to elude it, it'll be out of the playoff race before the end of the summer.
Elsewhere in MLS this weekend
• Two of the league’s biggest superstars went head-to-head when the Vancouver Whitecaps battled Los Angeles FC to a 1-1 draw at BC Place on Saturday. South Korea’s Son Heung-min opened the scoring in the 37th minute before German legend Thomas Müller notched the equalizer from the penalty spot with 14 minutes left in regulation.
Vancouver (10-3-4) and LAFC (10-5-4) remain tied for the Western Conference lead with 34 points apiece, although the Whitecaps have two games in hand. A gathering of 40,086 watched Vancouver play its first game at BC Place Stadium since April 25, making it the second-largest home crowd for an MLS regular-season game in club history.
• Down two goals at halftime, CF Montreal scored twice early in the second half to earn a come-from-behind 2-2 draw against the New England Revolution at Stade Saputo on Saturday. Brayan Vera and Prince Owusu both found the back of the net for Montreal, whose winless run now stands at seven, its last win coming on May 9.
According to reports across social media, some Montreal supporters allegedly chanted "Death to Israel" and "Free Palestine" during the match toward New England forward Dor Turgeman, who is an Israeli international. CF Montreal issued a statement that it “does not tolerate discrimination, or hateful behaviour,” and that it was looking into the matter.
• Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul were back for Inter Miami after sitting out the club’s previous two matches as they were given time off following the FIFA World Cup. But it was Luis Suárez who took the headlines in a 2-2 home draw against the Columbus Crew on Saturday. The Uruguayan forward scored on a stunning long-range effort to extend his goal streak to four consecutive matches.
Suárez has four goals and an assist in Miami's three games since the World Cup break and seven goals in his last four outings. With 10 goals to his credit, he has reached double-digit goals for the third straight season with Miami while also emerging as a top contender to win the MLS Golden Boot.
• After two lacklustre road appearances to start his MLS career, Polish striker Robert Lewandowski marked his home debut with a man-of-the-match effort, scoring both goals in the Chicago Fire’s 2-1 win over Charlotte FC on Saturday.
“Every time I go to a new club, I’m waiting for the first goal. It’s important for me to show that I’m here, to score the goal and for us to win the game. I think it makes the next step a little bit easier — for the team and also for me,” said Lewandowski, who scored close to 600 goals during his combined time at Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and FC Barcelona.
• FC Cincinnati’s 4-2 win over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday was a wild game that was delayed for two hours and six minutes due to inclement weather in and around TQL Stadium. But once the game finally kicked off, Evander took over and had a historic night for Cincinnati.
The Brazilian attacker scored a thunderbolt of a goal while also collecting three assists in a display that pretty much guarantees he’ll be named the MLS player of the week.
In earning his 100th career goal contribution in 104 regular-season games, Evander became the fifth-fastest player in MLS history to reach that mark. He is also just the fourth player in league history to record at least 10 goals and 10 assists in three consecutive seasons.
John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 27 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer.