Red Bulls Preparing For Toronto FC Road Trip

By Daniel Feuerstein | March 12th, 2026 | Harrison, NJ

After earning their first loss of the season last weekend, against Montreal. Red Bull New York is getting ready to face another Canadian side as they travel to the Province of Ontario and take on Toronto FC at BMO Field. For the club, they are currently at two wins and a loss; their young players are looking to avenge that loss by not making the same mistakes they made in the last match. While Toronto might not be back as a powerhouse from the past, they are building something after their first win of the season away at FC Cincinnati in TQL Stadium. This match is Toronto FC’s home opener, and it’s already a big test for the club, as the emotions in front of Toronto’s fans will be on a high.

For Head Coach Michael Bradley, this will be a homecoming for him after he returned from Europe to play in Toronto and helped the club earn an MLS Cup Championship and get them to reach a CONCACAF Champions Cup Final, but fell at BMO Field to Guadalajara Chivas when it was a two-legged final. He retired from the club and is now the head coach of the Red Bulls. You wonder if Bradley will expect something from the fans when he makes his first return at BMO Field.

“I have no idea what kind of reception I’ll get, John. I’m not worried about that at all. I’m excited to come back to Toronto. A lot of good people there, a lot of good people in and around the club. BMO is a great stadium. It’s their home opener. And so I think it’ll be a great afternoon, and so I’m excited. I’m excited for the game. And I’ve said this a lot of different ways, a lot of different times. I gave everything I had in my time in Toronto from the second I got there until the second I left. And I think what we did and what we were able to accomplish… Buzzz. pretty unique and pretty special, and ultimately speaks for itself; how Anybody wants to look at that, evaluate that, or feel about that after the fact is completely up to them. I know I know how I feel about it, and I know what a lot of the people who were on the inside of that feel about it as well,” said Bradley.

The head coach of Toronto FC is Robin Fraser, a former player for the Los Angeles Galaxy and Toronto FC. He’s known as an assistant coach and was at the Red Bulls under Mike Petke, became the Head Coach of the Colorado Rapids, and is now running Toronto. We know Bradley is ready to battle wits with Fraser inside the Technical Area. It will be interesting to see how Bradley can get a result against a coaching veteran like Fraser.

“I know Robin pretty well. He was an assistant coach in Toronto for a long time when I was there. We spent a lot of good days together, had a lot of success together, so that part was special for sure. Robin is a good man. He has real experience in the league. In a lot of different ways, as a player, as an assistant coach, as a head coach, at different clubs. And so he is somebody who has played. You know, a big part. Clubs where he has spent time, so it’ll be. It’ll be good to see Robin and good to see a lot of people in Toronto.“

The media met with Red Bull New York Captain Emil Forsberg. After facing that tough loss to CF Montreal, many are wondering how the players are feeling and how quickly they removed that feeling from their heads and prepared for this big matchup against Toronto FC. This is the home opener for Toronto FC, and they will be amped up for the chance to get the full three points in front of their fans.

“A lot of lessons for us in those kinds of games where you play against a team. We’ll play a little bit differently than we do. But I think… The spirit, the mentality this week has been really good. I think we know what we have to do to bounce back. I have a very good feeling for Toronto, but as you said, we worked on some stuff this week, and learned a lot of things in the game, what is unnecessary to do, and what we don’t have to do all the time in those kinds of games, because it will sometimes cost us points to do those things. As I said, the spirit has been very good this week. We’re excited to go on Saturday,” said Emil Forsberg.

Forsberg has a new midfield partner in Adri Mehmeti, and so far, he’s had a front row seat playing with him on the pitch. Obviously, this young and talented player has shown his skills for the two team and has already turned heads in MLS. You wonder if Forsberg is excited to play with such a talented player and share the space with him when they have the ball attacking the opposition’s net.

“It’s a lot of fun to see every young guy on the team taking steps to be better every day, not just in games, but also in the dressing room, in the training. So I’m very happy. He’s a young guy. He listens. He wants to do better every day. He has a lot of potential and, as we could see in these kinds of games, it’s fun to watch, but we gotta realize he’s only 16 still. So we’re trying to try to just make him have fun on the pitch, not to put too much pressure on that. So just go out there, enjoy the time on the pitch, and have fun. “

Their short rise to the top of the Eastern Conference was nice, but they have fallen slightly in the standings. Still early in the season to fix things, but right now, progress in their performance and learning from a tough loss are the mainstays for this Red Bulls side. Hoping for a strong performance, and they are ready to go in Toronto.

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