A date with Mexico's Pachuca in Leagues Cup play offers Toronto FC a welcome albeit difficult new challenge.
"Everyone's excited, to be honest," said Toronto defender Nickseon Gomis. "Because it's a cup."
"Personally I've never played against a Mexican team so I'm looking forward to it," added the 22-year-old Frenchman.
For Toronto coach John Herdman, Sunday's game at BMO Field is another chance to focus on football rather than the drone spying scandal involving the Canadian women at the Paris Olympics. Canada Soccer has pointed the finger at Herdman, a former Canadian men's and women's coach, for having started the practice of spying on rival teams, with an independent investigation now underway.
Herdman has said his record is clean at World Cups and Olympics, where he won two bronze medals with the Canadian women. But he continues to be dogged by the issue.
The moderator of Herdman's pre-game availability Saturday told journalists only questions regarding the Leagues Cup would be accepted.
But asked how he was managing given the speculation swirling around him, Herdman said he is focusing on the task at hand.
"For me, I get up every day and give it my best with my players." he said.
"In football, you have to learn to tune out the outside news … Through my football career, you've had outside noise in different moments," he added. "Sometimes the results are going well and it comes in. And sometimes it's going poorly and you have to respond with the same process, that you can control everything you can control that's in front of you and the people that you're responsible for.
"So we've just been putting in a shift in this week, enjoying being on the grass and focusing on Toronto FC."
If he needs a more concrete snapshot of his emotions, he pointed to his Oura Ring, a smart ring used to track sleep and physical activity.
The Leagues Cup features 47 teams, 29 from Major League Soccer and 18 from Mexico's Liga MX.
Sunday's matchup will determine first place in East Group 6 with the Red Bulls already eliminated from advancing after penalty shootout losses to both Toronto and Pachuca.
The Toronto-Pachuca winner will play at defending champion Inter Miami in the round of 32 on Thursday while the loser will face Tigres, likely on Wednesday. Toronto would host that game.
Tigres defeated Miami 2-1 Saturday to claim first place in East Group 3.
Miami won the cup last year behind newly signed Lionel Messi. The Argentine star led all players at the tournament with 10 goals in seven games.
Pachuca currently sits 12th in Liga MX at 1-2-1 but showed its mettle in June when it blanked MLS champion Columbus 3-0 to win the CONCACAF Champions Cup. Pachuca also won CONCACAF's elite club competition in 2002, '07, '08, '10 and '17.
Pachuca defender Bryan González, midfielders Alan Bautista, Nelson Deossa and Oussama Idrissi and forward Salomon Rondon were all part of the Liga MX all-star team that beat their MLS counterparts 4-1 with Idrissi among the scorers July 24 in Columbus.
The 34-year-old Rondon's resume includes stints in England with West Bromwich Albion, Newcastle and Everton as well as Argentina's River Plate. He has also played in China, Russia and Spain as well as his native Venezuela.
The Venezuela captain won the CONCACAF Champions Cup Golden Boot Award with nine goals en route to the title.
But the Mexican side is missing defender Ari Contreras and midfielders Alexei Dominguez and Elias Montiel who are with Mexico at the CONCACAF Men's U-20 Championship. Mexico takes on the U.S. on Sunday in the final of the CONCACAF competing in Leon, Mexico.
And Uruguayan coach Guillermo Almada says the Champions Cup run took its toll, with players needing time off in the run-up to the Mexican season and new players looking to integrate with the squad.
"We're looking for the best version of the team, considering all those factors," Almada said through an interpreter.
He called Toronto "a very good team with great players and coach" capable of playing various styles.
The forecast calls for 28 Celsius, feeling like 34 C, for the 8 p.m. local time kickoff. Almada says adapting to the conditions has been an issue for his team
"We suffered the other day, especially in the first half," he said, referencing Tuesday's game against the Red Bulls in Harrison, N.J. "We come from a totally different place in terms of climate … There is no way to adapt yourself to humidity, for example, overnight."
The win over the Red Bulls was the first in Leagues Cup play for Toronto, which exited after the group stage in its first participation following losses to New York City FC (5-0) and Mexico's Atlas (1-0).
Toronto trained Saturday to the sound of the nearby Veld Music Festival, a three-day event billed as Canada's biggest electronic dance music festival. Performing artists include Swedish DJ Alesso, America DJ/producers Steve Aoki and Marshmello and Dutch DJ Martin Garrix.
