SEASON PREVIEW: Is Toronto FC finally ready to step out of MLS’s wilderness in 2026?
Is this the year that Toronto FC returns to relevance in MLS after years of struggles?
Certainly, you can’t help but look at some of the moves they’ve made over the last year and be reminded of how they built one of the best teams in MLS history between 2016 and 2018, especially in the way they’ve targeted talented, experienced domestic players.
Therefore, while this team doesn’t yet have their Sebastian Giovinco or Jozy Altidore, you can see that they’ve at least tried to acquire their Michael Bradleys, Drew Moors, and Mark Delgados, which is a good start.
As a result, after missing the playoffs in five straight seasons, they feel that they’re ready to return to the postseason and are only a few signings away from becoming a contender again
At the same time, it’s worth noting that this Toronto team is in a strange place. They’ve spent most of their offseason pursuing a big-money signing that hasn’t panned out, when they could’ve perhaps been out making other moves to improve a roster that still lacks depth.
Because of that, while the ceiling of this team has improved with some of their new arrivals, they don’t appear to have the top-end pieces to compete with the big teams in the Eastern Conference, and still don’t have the floor to make them a playoff lock yet, either.
The good news, though, is that this team has the flexibility to make moves. On paper, this Toronto FC team could become very good in the next 12 to 24 months if they build their team properly.
That doesn’t mean much for the short-term, but it’s good news in the long-term, even if many will be quick to point out that it’s one thing to go from the concept of a team to actually building one, as a lot can go wrong in a rebuild - especially considering Toronto’s reputation for wanting to chase big pieces and shortcuts.
2025 record:
MLS: 6W-14D-14L (32 PTS), Missed playoffs
Canadian Championship: Preliminary round
2026 Expectations:
After missing the playoffs in five straight seasons, making the postseason appears to be the big goal for this TFC side, although it’s worth noting that they finished 21 points behind the last playoff spot last year, so they certainly have some work to do.
At the same time, given some of the acquisitions they made last summer and this winter, they’re on the right track to improve, even if they don’t have all of the top-end talent that they’d like.
That’s worth noting, because this team drew 14 games last year, showing that being competitive in matches wasn’t an issue, but they instead lacked the talent to decide those sorts of close games.
The advanced numbers backed that up, too, as they were dead-last in MLS in xG for, but middle of the pack in xG against, showing that they were defensively competent enough to be competitive, but lacked the offensive talent to win games (#s via WyScout).
Otherwise, the big goal for TFC will be to win the Canadian Championship, especially after getting knocked out in the preliminary round of last year’s tournament to rivals CF Montréal. The rules of the draw were changed to ensure they wouldn’t meet Montréal as early in the competition again, but they’ll now want to make a deep run as they chase their first win since the 2020 title they won in 2022.
For a team that won seven Voyageurs Cups between 2009 and 2018, they’ll be immensely frustrated to have won just one out of the last seven tournaments, with their last win in a full tournament coming in 2018. Safe to say, they’ll have their eyes on changing that in 2026, as they’ll know that winning a trophy would be a good way to accelerate their rebuild, too.
How will they play?
Based on last year, TFC made it a priority to be a lot more solid defensively, although that came at a high cost at the other end of the pitch, as seen above.
Yet, that can be the challenge of coaching a rebuilding team, as you’ll often need to sacrifice exciting offensive play to create a solid defensive foundation, and head coach Robin Fraser saw that firsthand last year.
Because of that, his big challenge will be to get more offence out of this team, while continuing to build a foundation that makes TFC hard to play against.
At the Colorado Rapids, Fraser was able to find that balance, especially in the 2021 season, when the Rapids finished second in MLS thanks to their excellent defensive play and solid offensive output.
Therefore, look for TFC to start to show more teeth in the attack this year, as they try to hold the ball and be more dynamic with it. They’re likely to stick with the 4-2-3-1 they used for most of last year, but they’ll perhaps ask their full-backs to play more aggressively, especially now that they’ve got a bit more depth and solidity in midfield, giving them a bit more balance on both sides of the ball.
Star player: Djordje Mihailović
It’s now the Djordje Mihailović show in Toronto, as the American attacking midfielder is getting set for his first full season with the club after his surprising acquisition last summer.
Acquired via MLS’s new cash transfer mechanism, as Toronto paid the Colorado Rapids $8 million to acquire his services, he’s expected to be the foundation around which this team is built going forward.
On paper, that’s a shrewd bet, as he has generated 44 goals and added 49 assists across 195 MLS appearances for the Chicago Fire, CF Montréal and the Rapids, and at 27, he’s still very much in his prime.
Now, the challenge will be to surround him with the right talent, especially at striker, but part of the reason TFC coveted Mihailović is due to his ability to create goals for both himself and his teammates, meaning that he isn’t as reliant on good service to be productive (as some #10s are). He proved that in his first games for TFC, too, scoring four goals and adding two assists in 10 appearances last year, so it’s hoped that he has a big role to play this season, even if he doesn’t get the help he needs up front.
Underrated contributor: Alonso Coello
Quietly, Alonso Coello is creeping up on 100 appearances for TFC, as he’s become a steady rock in midfield for this side.
Now heading into his fourth full season with the club’s first team, look for him to further demonstrate his importance to this team, as he’ll have a big role to play in midfield, where he’ll hope to pair nicely with TFC’s other big midseason acquisition from 2025, José Cifuentes.
With the uncertainty around Cifuentes’s future, given that he’s on loan from Rangers until the summer, Coello will want to step up and be a leader in midfield, helping turn the position from an area of weakness to one of strength.
Breakout candidate: Malik Henry
It was a pretty successful first full season with Toronto FC for Malik Henry, who started the year on the club’s MLS Next Pro roster and finished the year with a first-team contract.
Through his 19 Next Pro appearances and nine first-team appearances, in which he had six combined assists (five in Next Pro and one in MLS), he gave a glimpse of what he can do on the wing, which gives TFC depth at a position where they could certainly use it.
Certainly, the CanMNT have taken notice, as they called him up to their ‘Camp Poutine’ last month (where he also impressed), so it wouldn’t be surprising to see the 23-year-old take a further step forward this year. At the very least, he’ll get the opportunity to do that, due to TFC’s depth in the attack, and based on what he’s shown over the last 12 months, he’s not one to miss the chance to showcase himself in a bigger role.
Biggest addition: Walker Zimmerman
Ideally, this section would be about an American striker who is currently contracted to Norwich City, but as of writing, that deal still hasn’t happened despite TFC’s persistence and the persistence of said striker (which is Josh Sargent, for those who have been out of the loop of MLS transfer rumours).
Because of that, the big signing to watch is Walker Zimmerman, who comes to TFC with all sorts of pedigree, having established himself as one of MLS’s best defenders across his stints with FC Dallas, LAFC and Nashville SC.
A two-time MLS Defender of the Year winner and five-time Best XI inclusion, Zimmerman will feel he still has plenty to bring to the table at 32 years of age, even if he struggled with injuries in 2025.
For a TFC team looking to further solidify an already strong defensive identity, he’ll be a key leader, one who could elevate the team to new heights in that department if he plays up to his level.
Otherwise, keep an eye on TFC's last minute acquisiton of veteran MLS winger Dániel Sallói, who should be a good depth contributor. He's put up some great numbers for Sporting Kansas City in past seasons, and could be a nice addition to boost TFC's attacking corps.
What is a good season?
If Toronto FC makes the playoffs and wins the Canadian Championship, you’d have to think that’d be an undeniably great season, as that would offer significant improvement over the last few seasons, while giving the club a good launching pad to build off of. In particular, lifting a trophy would be a big success for a club that had once made that sort of thing a regular habit.
It won’t be easy to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference, which has become a bit of a gauntlet in recent years, but TFC will feel it’s not unreasonable for them to finish among the top nine teams and to secure a playoff berth.
Then, in the Canadian Championship, there is no reason why they can’t make some noise there, even if they’ll be in tough to dethrone the Whitecaps. One advantage that they have over the Whitecaps is that they can invest a bit more time and energy into the competition, allowing them to play stronger lineups without worrying about MLS play (it’s a lot less impactful to drop points in a race for ninth compared to a race for first). 
What is a bad season?
It’s not necessarily ‘playoffs or bust’ for TFC, as they’ve been so far away from achieving that goal in recent seasons, so it feels like the bigger worry is if they don’t make any progress as a team.
After the signings they’ve made, this is a team that shouldn’t look that far off competing, so the worry would be if they end the year as a bottom-feeder in the Eastern Conference once again, which is a sign of how things have changed for TFC over the last half-decade.
Otherwise, it must be said that it feels like TFC must at least reach the final of the Canadian Championship, even if they don’t win it. Considering that they wouldn’t face the Whitecaps and CF Montréal until a final, there is no excuse for them not to get past the teams on their side of the bracket.
