Robin Fraser believes Richie Laryea can make a positive impact for Toronto FC, having been a part of Canada’s World Cup campaign over the summer.
Laryea started all five of Canada’s World Cup games, with Jesse Marsch’s side reaching the knockout stages of the competition for the first time in their history.
However, they were beaten 3-0 by Morocco in the last 16, with Laryea’s attention now focused on helping Toronto improve their recent league form against rivals CF Montreal.
Toronto are 13th in the Eastern Conference after taking 14 points from their opening 14 games of the season, and are level on points with their next opponents.
“Richie is always the same guy,” Fraser said of the Toronto full-back. “He shows up, he competes like crazy.
“He could be playing in an under-12 game, he could be playing in a World Cup game, his mentality is the same, he’s always going to dominate his opponent.
“It’s funny, Richie is the nicest guy in the world off the field and people who only watch him on the field must think, ‘This guy’s crazy’.
“But he plays with the sort of fire and passion that you need to be successful and to play at that level. We’re pleased to have him back and looking forward to his contributions.”
Richie is home pic.twitter.com/bhFacbwVYF
— Toronto FC (@TorontoFC) July 13, 2026
Despite entering the World Cup break by going three MLS games without a win, Montreal do have confidence after reaching the Canadian Championship semi-finals.
Montreal beat Vancouver FC 4-2 on aggregate to reach the final four, with fellow MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps waiting for a spot in the showpiece match on October 21.
Interim Montreal boss Philippe Eullaffroy was pleased to see his team return to winning ways, acknowledging the improvement in performance as key before facing Toronto.
“It was important for many, many things because, already, the performance of the first leg had been rather average in terms of content,” Eullaffroy said.
“So, we wanted to see real progress, real improvement. On a purely sporting level, you want to qualify for the semi-finals, and that’s what we managed to do.
“Of course, we also have a responsibility when we play at home to show a very good face in terms of football. So, it was a little bit of all that.
“To make sure that we had resumed the rhythm of the competition ahead of our return to MLS action.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Montreal – Daniel Rios
Montreal played out a 4-4 draw with D.C. United before the World Cup break, with Prince Owusu starring with three goals and one assist during the eight-goal thriller.
However, his impressive contribution came at a cost. He picked up his fifth yellow card and will serve a one-match suspension, meaning Rios is likely to lead the attack.
Rios has two goals in 11 league appearances this season, and the pressure will be on him to perform for Montreal here.
Toronto – Daniel Salloi
From one Daniel to another, Toronto’s Salloi has been the standout performer for his team, with his seven goal involvements (four goals, three assists) more than any of his team-mates.
His 14 chances created are only bettered by Alonso Coello (30), though Salloi has failed to score in his three MLS appearances against Montreal.
MATCH PREDICTION: CF MONTREAL WIN
Toronto have won three of their last four regular-season meetings with Montreal after going winless in the previous seven (D1 L6). They have won their last two league road games at Montreal, with their only previous three-match road winning streak coming in 2019-20.
Fraser’s side did, however, collect only one point from their final five matches before the break (D1 L4) and lost the last three in a row. The Reds had lost only three of their previous 19 league matches before losing four of five.
Montreal, meanwhile, have lost only two of their last seven regular-season matches (W3 D2) dating back to mid-April. They opened the season by losing six of their first seven league games (W1).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
CF Montreal – 47.6%
Draw – 24.7%
Toronto FC – 27.7%
