While the NHL has lately enjoying COVID-19’s good fortune in their respective Canadian bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton, Toronto FC will continue on this path on behalf of the MLS on Tuesday night when it hosts the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Like the NHL bubbles, this contest, as well as Sunday’s rematch at BMO Field, will take up position in an empty stadium. They are part of the season’s revised regular schedule for Phase 1 of the league among the 3 Canadians in the league where they will play six games each.
Toronto FC (2-0-3) had great functionality at the MLS Is Back tournament in Orlando, recording one win and two draws before losing to New York City FC 3-1 in the 16th circular on July 27. Much of the Reds’ good luck was for Ayo Akinola, who scored five of the team’s seven goals in all four games.
Alejandro Pozuelo has scored four of the only goals, and the challenge for Greg Vanney’s team is to catch up on two games in 4 days.
“It’s the maximum overall stretch we’ve had in a long time, when you think about the last week or 10 days,” talisman Michael Bradley said, “and you see what the next four or five weeks will look like. as if you were going to exercise every day on our premises, play houses at BMO and make trips in general. It’s exciting. When you think about what the last five or six months have been, just a general appearance in terms of each and every one is fine, it’s exciting.
“We talk a lot as an organization about the desire to do things.”
The three weeks between matches allowed some players, adding ahead of Akinola, Jozy Altidore and Jonathan Osorio, to be fine for TFC. Akinola, who was forced to lose in the 16-year circular to NYCFC due to a hamstring injury, is debatable for this game and can save coach Greg Vanney from teaming up with Altidore in the first XI.
Since the organization’s games counted for Toronto’s normal season record, the Reds have an undefeating streak of 15 games in the normal season (6-0-9) since 2019.
Vancouver (2-0-3) also discovered his way to mlS Is Back’s 16-year drive, but managed to drive 16 before leaving in opposite consequences to Sporting KC an unexpected positive given the absences of incumbents Lucas Cavallani, Fredy Montero and Tosaint Ricketts, while the 3 chose not to play in Orlando.
Whitecaps coach Marc Dos Santos will have to stay up-to-date, as goalkeeper Thomas Hasal continues to update injured No. 1 Maxime Crepeau, sidelined with a damaged thumb. Hasal did not score in either of his two STARTS in MLS Is Back and made eight saves against Sporting while kicking penalties.
“This first game opposed to Toronto is really important. The more problems we have, it gives us conviction, an advantage,” Dos Santos told The Vancouver’s official website. “We played for trouble in the Canada Championship, but we also play for problems that will affect our MLS ranking. The club needs to be in the Champions League, and I hope we can put ourselves in that position.”
This will be Ricketts’ first game against his former team, having played for Toronto FC from 2016 to 2018 before joining Vancouver in August 2019. He has two and two assists in 10 games with the Whitecaps in all competitions.
The groups drew 1-1 in B.C. in his only game last year when Nick DeLeon’s 90th-minute purpose oversized a Montero penalty six minutes earlier. The groups have split 10 games in all time, winning 4 times with two draws.