After leaving coach 'angry,' Toronto aims for redemption vs. Nashville

Field Level Media|published: Tue 18th June, 19:37 2024

May 29, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Toronto FC head coach John Herdman reacts against the Philadelphia Union during the second half at Subaru Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Toronto FC host Nashville SC on Wednesday night with both teams coming off starkly different results.

Toronto (7-8-3, 24 points) has just one victory in its last seven matches (1-4-2), with a 4-1 loss to the Chicago Fire on Saturday marking its second straight defeat at home.

It's worth noting that Toronto was short-handed: Richie Laryea and Jonathan Osorio (Canada), plus goalkeeper Sean Johnson (United States), were with their respective countries in preparation for Copa America. Leading scorer Federico Bernardeschi (seven goals) was serving a red-card suspension.

That was hardly an excuse for an "angry" John Herdman, who implied that his team possibly underestimated the Fire.

"I've never been this disappointed in 30 years of my coaching career," the first-year Toronto FC head coach said after the match. "Women, men, youth teams, whatever. This one sucks ... For the fans, we apologize (because) we weren't at the level."

Meanwhile, Nashville (4-5-8, 20 points) played to a 0-0 stalemate at the New York Red Bulls on Saturday, keeping a clean sheet for the fourth time in six matches.

But while its defense has held strong in recent outings, Nashville's 20 goals are tied for fourth-fewest in MLS. Sam Surridge leads the team with five goals but has not found the scoresheet since a May 4 hat trick against CF Montreal. Hany Mukhtar (four goals, six assists) is off his pace of 15 goals and 11 assists a season ago.

Heading into Wednesday's match, interim head coach Rumba Munthali is anticipating a Toronto team desperate to bounce back from such a humbling loss.

"I think it's always tough to go and play teams that had a negative result or a result they didn't want," Munthali said on Tuesday. "I expect them to be full of energy and concentrated on making sure that they try to get a positive result against us."

Anibal Godoy (Panama), Jacob Shaffelburg (Canada) and Shaq Moore (United States) are out for Nashville due to Copa America. Randall Leal (hip) and Lukas MacNaughton (ankle) remain injured with no timetable for a return, per Munthali.

--Field Level Media

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