Toronto FC (6W-9L-11T, 29 points) visit Music City to face the Supporters’ Shield-leading Nashville SC (17W-3L-6T, 57 points) at GEODIS Park on Saturday evening. The Matchday 28 encounter in Nashville, Tennessee kicks off at 8:30 p.m. ET and will be available globally in English and Spanish on Apple TV.
The Reds will look to return to winning ways after a pair of road losses against Orlando City SC and St. Louis CITY SC halted the club’s seven-match unbeaten streak (3W-4T) between July 16 and September 9. Historically, Toronto holds a 3W-5L-3T record against Nashville through 11 regular season meetings and will aim to record their first road victory against the Boys in Gold since August 2022.
BEHIND ENEMY LINES
Toronto FC wrap up a three-game road stand with a visit to face Nashville SC at GEODIS Park in Tennessee on Saturday evening. Following results in four of their last seven away matches since the FIFA World Cup 26™ break, the Reds currently hold a 59W-178L-82T all-time record (259 points) in MLS regular season matches on the road.
THROUGH THE YEARS
TFC take on the Supporters’ Shield-leading Nashville SC in the 12th MLS regular season meeting between the two sides. Historically, Toronto holds a 3W-5L-3T record through their first 11 meetings with the Boys in Gold. The two Eastern Conference clubs most recently met at BMO Field on September 9, with Toronto earning a come-from-behind 2-1 victory courtesy of late goals from Dániel Sallói and Emilio Aristizábal. On Saturday, the Reds will look to secure their first road victory over Nashville since their inaugural visit to GEODIS Park, when goals from Federico Bernardeschi and Lorenzo Insigne, along with a Jonathan Osorio brace, lifted TFC to a dramatic 4-3 win on August 6, 2022.
STEP BY STEP
The Reds enter Matchday 28 looking to bounce back from consecutive road losses against Orlando City SC and St. Louis CITY SC after putting together a seven-match unbeaten run between July 16 and September 9 that featured three wins and four ties. On September 12, TFC dropped a 3-0 road result to Orlando City at Inter.co Stadium in Florida. The Reds were unable to find a clinical edge on the night, with Orlando goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau making key saves to deny Derrick Etienne Jr., Markus Cimermancic and Raheem Edwards, while Josh Sargent saw a late effort strike the crossbar. The Lions led through Antoine Griezmann in first-half stoppage time before Daryl Dike and Iván Angulo added two goals in the closing stages to seal the 3-0 result for the hosts.
A week later, Toronto fell to a 3-1 road defeat against St. Louis CITY SC in their first-ever visit to Energizer Park in Missouri. The Western Conference side took a first-half lead through Alexandru Mățan before second-half goals from Tomas Totland and Simon Becher made it 3-0. TFC pulled one back deep in stoppage time when Alonso Coello’s set-piece delivery was headed in by substitute Theo Corbeanu. The 97th minute strike marked Corbeanu’s fifth goal contribution (two goals, three assists) and Coello’s eighth assist of the 2026 MLS season. The late effort proved to be a consolation, as St. Louis CITY SC closed out the 3-1 result to extend their unbeaten streak to 18 matches. On the night, Jonathan Osorio also returned to action in the 63rd minute, with the club captain making his first appearance since July 31 after recovering from a knee injury.
MILESTONE WATCH
Defender Richie Laryea, who started Saturday’s match in Missouri as captain, made his 150th Major League Soccer appearance for his hometown club, Toronto FC. Currently in his third stint with the Reds, Laryea became the second active player to reach the milestone alongside captain Jonathan Osorio and the sixth player in club history to make 150 MLS appearances for TFC, joining Osorio, Michael Bradley, Justin Morrow, Mark Delgado and Jozy Altidore.
FOR CLUB AND COUNTRY
Midfielder Markus Cimermancic has been named to Slovenia’s National U-21 Team, with the side set to face Israel on September 29 and the Netherlands on October 2 in a pair of 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying matches. The September call-up marks the Homegrown product’s first international call-up of his career.
In addition to Cimermancic, TFC will also be represented on the international stage during the September and October FIFA international window by defenders Richie Laryea, Richard Chukwu and Benjamín Kuscevic. Laryea and Chukwu were named to Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team “The Homecoming” roster, with Les Rouges set to host Chile at BMO Field in Toronto on September 26 and Peru at Stade Saputo in Montréal on October 3 before closing out the window against the United States of America at Allianz Field in Minnesota on October 6. Kuscevic was named to the Chilean Men’s National Team roster for a trio of friendlies against North American opposition, with La Roja set to face Canada on September 26 in Toronto, the United States on September 29 in Missouri and Mexico on October 6 in California.
ONCE A RED
Both Toronto FC and Nashville SC feature an American defender with previous ties to the opponent during their MLS careers. Walker Zimmerman, who joined TFC in January, previously spent six seasons with Nashville SC (2020-25), recording 16 goals and seven assists in 172 combined appearances. The Lawrenceville, Georgia native scored Nashville’s first-ever MLS goal in the club’s inaugural league match, a 2-1 win over Atlanta United on February 29, 2020. Zimmerman went on to captain the Boys in Gold to their first-ever trophy, lifting the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. During his time in Nashville, the U.S. international was named MLS Defender of the Year twice (2020, 2021), an MLS All-Star three times (2021, 2022, 2023) and an MLS Best XI honouree four times (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023). Zimmerman will miss Saturday’s clash at GEODIS Park through yellow card accumulation after picking up his fifth caution of the season against St. Louis CITY SC on Saturday.
On the other side, Daniel Lovitz was selected 24th overall (second round) by TFC in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft out of Elon University. The Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania native registered four assists in 47 combined appearances during his three seasons with the Reds (2014-16). Now in his seventh season with the Boys in Gold, Lovitz has registered two assists in 26 appearances, including 18 starts, during the 2026 MLS campaign.
