Toronto FC will be in Chicago on Saturday evening, taking on the Fire in their final match before Major League Soccer pauses for seven weeks for the North America-hosted World Cup.

After Saturday’s match, Toronto will be out of action until they visit rivals CF Montreal at Stade Saputo on July 16, the day after the World Cup semifinals wrap up, getting a second preseason of sorts in between.

The Reds will want to end this first stretch of the season on the right note, having not won a game since beating the Colorado Rapids 3-2 at home at the beginning of April. Seven league games have come and gone without victory since, as well as a Canadian Championship defeat to CPL side Atlético Ottawa, so a win heading into the break would be a big morale boost.

It will also be a boost to the squad to have some players back after a whopping 13 missed last week’s defeat to Charlotte FC. Most notably, Josh Sargent is close to a return from a thigh problem that has kept him out of the last three matches.

Courtesy: Shaun McLeod/Waking The Red

Theo Corbeanu, Jules-Anthony Vilsaint and Deandre Kerr are “all very close”, and a decision about how involved each of them can be will be made on Friday or pregame Saturday. Corbeanu has not played yet this season after undergoing a knee surgery during preseason.

“We want to get something out of the game, I feel like every game is somewhat crucial that you’re trying to get points out of,” said TFC head coach Robin Fraser to reporters on Thursday. “Certainly we feel like after the break our roster will look more complete, as opposed to our injury list looking like it does. We’re looking forward to that, for sure, but it’s not even slightly overlooking this game.

“It is important that we get points. It is a tough team, conference rival, so it’s important that we play a lot, and we know it’s going to be important to play well.”

The Reds won’t have it easy against a Chicago Fire side that has won its last two games, including a 2-0 win over CF Montreal last time out.

Fire striker Hugo Cuypers is true to his team’s name, on a red-hot pace to start his 2026 season. Cuypers has made 10 league appearances in 2026, scoring in every single one of them. His 13 goals across those 10 appearances gives him the lead in the Golden Boot race, ahead of FC Dallas striker Petar Musa and Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi, who are tied on 12 goals each.

Cuypers, as well as his partner-in-crime Philip Zinckernagel — who scored the other goal against Montreal last weekend — will cause trouble for Toronto FC’s defenders, especially if several first-choice defenders remain unavailable like they were against Charlotte.

Related Reading: Can Toronto FC stop Chicago Fire striker Hugo Cuypers’ 10-game scoring streak?

More to come.