A rematch nobody saw coming back this fast
Nashville SC has already done what no other club in the league has managed this season: clinch a playoff spot. A 3-0 win over Chicago Fire last weekend sealed it, Nashville’s third victory in four games since a result that still stings. Toronto FC stunned MLS’s best team 2-1 earlier this month, Emilio Aristizabal burying a stoppage-time winner that snapped Nashville’s seven-game unbeaten run and handed the Reds their first win over the club since 2022. Saturday night at Geodis Park is the first chance for revenge.
“It’s a great moment to just take a pause and say, ‘All right, the body of work is good enough that we were able to hit this milestone,’” coach BJ Callaghan said of clinching a playoff berth. “And then you get back to work and worry about Toronto.”
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Surridge in form, Toronto falling apart
Sam Surridge has been the engine behind Nashville’s response, scoring three goals in his last two matches and pushing his season tally to 16. Nashville also salvaged a 2-2 draw with Inter Miami before the win over Chicago, evidence the shock loss to Toronto never truly rattled the league leaders.
Toronto has not been as fortunate. Since beating Nashville, the Reds have shipped three goals twice more, losing 3-0 to Orlando and 3-1 to St. Louis, a game in which they failed to register a shot attempt until the 87th minute. Toronto now sits three spots and four points behind Cincinnati for the East’s last playoff berth, and center back Walker Zimmerman is suspended on yellow-card accumulation. Coach Robin Fraser knows the pressure is mounting. “It’s easy to say, ‘I’m sitting here, I don’t have to deal with it,’ but they’re under a lot of pressure,” he said. “But in order to beat a team that is playing with that sort of pressure, we have to individually be able to retain the ball a bit more.”
Absences pile up on both sides
Toronto will also be missing Djordje Mihailovic, Richie Laryea, Markus Cimermancic and Benjamin Kuscevic, Zimmerman’s usual partner at the back, all away on international duty. Nashville has its own gaps to fill, with goalkeeper Brian Schwake sitting out a league match for the first time, backup Xavier Valdez and midfielder Patrick Yazbek also away, and Warren Madrigal still sidelined by a lower-body injury.
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