Preview: Toronto FC @ DC United
Toronto FC comes to Audi Field with a new coach but not a lot else to show for the offseason
After a long offseason, DC United is finally back in action.
Actually, for someone like me who grew up watching the NFL, the actual MLS offseason feels incredibly short. It’s less than three months since MLS Cup! Alas, DC United didn’t reach MLS Cup, or indeed the playoffs at all, so they’ve had a much longer layoff. As have their first opponent.
Two years ago, DC also started the season with a home match against Toronto. Ted Ku-Dipietro tied the game with an assist to Benteke and then won it with a thrilling stoppage-time goal. You probably remember that. It’s still hard to believe Ku-Dipietro won’t be wearing DC United colors this year.
Did you also remember that Ku-Dipietro’s goal was assisted by Mohanad Jeahze? You know, not all change is bad!
A quick note about coverage. As with last season, I plan on only posting game reviews when DC United wins or draws. This year I plan to separate analysis that’s not closely tied to games into separate articles, so they’ll appear a little later in the week, but probably still only when DC wins or draws. I’m not sure if I’m going to do game previews like this one each week regardless of the previous game’s outcome, but probably at least for the early season. We’ll see.
Projected Lineup
Jackson Hopkins, Hakim Karamoko, and Conner Antley are out with long-term injuries.
Jared Stroud is out as well, but Lesesne hopes he’ll be back next week. Nearly the only thing we’ve heard about the preseason games that didn’t come from someone employed by the team was Steven Goff saying Kijima looked really good, so people are excited. I think he’ll start on the left like he did in the final preseason game where Stroud was also unavailable.
Matti Peltola got injured on international duty late last year. He played a fair amount in preseason, so he’s most of the way back, but in a press conference he mentioned he’s not quite 100%. He didn’t play with the first team in the final tuneup game, so I’m going to guess that newcomer Brandon Servania replaces him in central midfield and debuts with DC against his former teammates.
Peglow is questionable. When Stroud was available, Peglow played on the left wing opposite Stroud on the right (Peglow also played on the left for the Brazilian U-17 team, so maybe that’s his preferred side). I’ll guess Peglow can’t start and that Jacob Murrell will replace him on the right.
The signings of Gavin Turner and Rida Zouhir were both officially announced today. Since they were with the team in preseason, I’m assuming they’ll be ready and on the bench against Toronto.
Tom Bogert reported that DC is getting Fidel Barajas, an exciting youth prospect, on loan but Steven Goff hasn’t even mentioned it, much less the team, so I don’t think he’ll be there yet.
Backup goalkeeper: Luis Burraza
Attacking subs: Randall Leal, Dominique Badji, Gavin Turner, Rida Zouhir
Defensive subs: Matti Peltola, Lukas MacNaughton, Derek Dodson, Garrison Tubbs
This actually gives the team a full bench. If Peltola can’t go at all, we could still see Jordan Farr as the dreaded second goalkeeper sub, or if Peltola is there and Peglow is also on the gameday roster, than a healthy field player won’t dress (either Turner or Zouhir, I guess).
The Opposition: Toronto FC
Here’s my summary of the matchup from the week 1 preview in my leaguewide newsletter:
Toronto was very bad last year, but I admit I forgot that in the end, they only finished three points behind DC United. MLS is a vast sea of parity. However, whereas DC United has brought in a ton of new players, Toronto’s biggest move was trading Prince Owusu to CF Montreal. You probably haven’t heard of him, but he was their leading goalscorer last year with 9 goals.
They still have Federico Bernardeschi, though, and he’s a dangerous player who works hard and doesn’t really deserve to be tarred with the same brush as Lorenzo Insigne. Much like Carles Gil, on a good day Bernardeschi can win a game by himself. Statistically he looked worse than he actually was last season because he spent a lot of time playing wingback, but this season Toronto’s new coach has him playing at winger again.
As for Lorenzo Insigne, he’s one of the highest-paid players in the league. From the way Toronto fans complain about him, you’d think he’s been completely useless, but when he feels like it, he can be quite dangerous as well. The good news: he doesn’t feel like it. Or maybe he does, but the team doesn’t? I don’t want to rehash all the drama again, but suffice to say he’s feuding with the team and they left him at home.
When DC fans fret about other teams getting better, it’s not Toronto they’re talking about. Their biggest incoming move was that six days ago they announced a forward arriving on loan, Ola Brynhildsen. I don’t think he’s all that intimidating, but I don’t think it matters for this game as I don’t think there’s any way his visa paperwork will have him ready to play. MLS being MLS, I can’t find anything authoritative about this. In the US, it definitely takes longer than that to get a work visa, but maybe Canada is more efficient.
Tom Bogert says Toronto is going to make more moves, so those could be impactful, but they haven’t happened yet.
The Stakes
This is a must-win game.
Seriously.
The whole season rides on this one match.
Okay, okay, this is MLS, the 20th game of the regular season doesn’t even matter all that much for the playoff race, much less the first.
But unlike Toronto (maybe), DC United is probably finished making major moves. Plus Baraja and minus whatever injuries happen, this is the team Ally Mackay and Troy are rolling with until the midseason transfer window.
They are playing what everyone thinks is the worst team in the league, at home, while that team’s temperamental but still talented DP is out of the picture, and before that team makes any real additions. Anything less than 3 points is going to be a huge disappointment.
DC’s first four games, in fact, are all extremely winnable. It’s time to bank points.
Alas, it probably won’t be that easy given the parity of MLS, DC United’s bizarrely poor 2024 home form, and DC United…just being DC United. Two years ago, that wonderful Ku-Dipietro finale was made slightly bittersweet by the obvious fact that Toronto was extremely poor (they would go on to “win” the Wooden Spoon) and it was a very bad sign that it required a minor miracle for Rooney’s 2023 DC United to beat them at home.
The home game last year was also nuts, as you can tell just from FBref’s scoreline:
Vikas from the Capital City Soccer Show podcast made a good point about this game. If we assume that Bernardeschi will line up on the right wing, he’ll be matched up against David Schnegg. That’s going to be a big test. In his very limited minutes last season, Schnegg looked really impressive going forward. It’s exciting that he’s finally healthy and ready to contribute. I do remember a few shaky moments on defense, however. Maybe he just needed some time to settle in. This game could tell us a great deal.
It’s a classic example of how the DP system makes playing fullback in MLS a thankless job. DC is playing the leading contender for the Wooden Spoon, a team that—as presently constituted—will be outmatched in raw talent against anyone. Yes, including DC United. And yet David Schnegg has to defend against a guy with more than sixty starts for Juventus. All while being expected to get forward to help the attack!
After a preseason where we never saw DC United play for more than a few seconds at a time, we’re finally going to get a full game to think about. I’m sure I’ll be back soon with plenty of thoughts. Unless DC loses.