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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. New York City FC: Player Grades and Man of the Match

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8 years ago

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Orlando City fell for the second straight game, only picking up one point in its first three games of the season. After a pretty even match-up, the game was decided in the final half hour on two bad giveaways by Joe Bendik and Sacha Kljestan.

On the plus side, the game saw the debuts of three key players in Kljestan, Lamine Sané, and Josué Colmán. All three are expected to play important roles as the season continues. Here is how I graded each player for the performance in today’s game.

Starters

GK, Joe Bendik, 4 — As good as Joe Bendik usually is for Orlando City, he wasn’t on this day. It would usually be too much to blame a player on one play, but as little as goalkeepers touch the ball, you have no choice. The defining moment for Bendik came in the 62nd minute when the ball was played back to the goalkeeper and a poor clearance found Ismael Tajouri, who slid it past him for the opening goal. That play in itself is enough to say Bendik had a bad day.

D, RJ Allen, 5 — RJ Allen tried to get involved in the attack to help his new team defeat his old team, but his efforts were to no avail. He had some decent crosses and played well in defending the outside but didn’t have much of a say in the game.

D, Jonathan Spector, 5.5 — Jonathan Spector played well early in the back, clearing a dangerous opportunity in the sixth minute with his head, but his game ended early in this one. A clash of heads with NYCFC’s Maxime Chanot in the 16th minute forced the center back to receive medical treatment. He would finish the first half but would then be replaced by Lamine Sané. Hopefully, it doesn’t turn out to be serious for the Lions’ captain.

D, Amro Tarek, 6.5 (MOTM) — It was a poor team performance in New York this afternoon, but the bright spot is that the center backs did look good. Spector played well before being injured and Sané was terrific in his debut. Tarek also displayed a strong performance, keeping tight in the back with both of his partners for another impressive showing. Given the fact that he played so well in the back, and played the whole game, I’ll give Tarek the nod over Sané.

D, Mohamed El-Munir, 4.5 — The trend of Mohamed El-Munir losing his man continued this afternoon and it nearly cost Orlando City in the first half. In the 34th minute, the left back lost his man as Rodney Wallace ran right past him and headed a ball off of Joe Bendik’s post. Defending wasn’t the only trouble for El-Munir as he also struggled to get into the attack, though he did have two shots.

MF, Cristian Higuita, 4 — Cristian Higuita’s tough play early made it look as though he may be sent off before the first half ended, but his hard tackles soon changed into soft passes and turnovers that resulted in NYCFC opportunities. In fact, it was his turnover that forced Yotún into winning the ball back, before he and Bendik combined to gift NYCFC the opening goal.

MF, Yoshimar Yotún, 4.5 — Usually one of Orlando City’s best players, Yoshi Yotún had one of the worst games to date for the club. Poor decisions was what he’ll be known for in this one. His bad decision to send a soft pass to Bendik in the 62nd minute put pressure under the goalkeeper, causing his poor clearance and NYCFC’s first goal.

MF, Will Johnson, 5.5 — It’s generally a decent game for Johnson when you don’t notice him and this was one of those matches. He passed at an 88% clip, fired off two shots (hitting the crossbar late), and contributed three tackles, two interceptions, and four clearances. However, he also didn’t manage to create any chances and lost the ball three times.

MF, Sacha Kljestan, 5 — Much was made of the return of Sacha Kljestan, who served a two-game suspension to start the season. It was a disappointing debut for the midfielder, who never really got into the game. He did get involved in the turnover party late though, playing some nice balls to the men in blue, including the one that led to the second goal against. He still passed well (86%) and created three chances.

F, Justin Meram, 5.5 — Other than the center backs, Justin Meram probably had one of the better games for Orlando City. He was aggressive up top and put pressure on the NYCFC defense, attempting three of the Lions’ 11 shots. He nearly opened the scoring in the 52nd minute, but the shot was just wide. However, he must be held accountable for failing to convert as a forward, which lowers his grade. He also passed poorly (53%), particularly in the final third.

F, Chris Mueller, 5 — It’s difficult to expect too much from the rookie who played in just his third professional game this afternoon. Playing up top, Mueller didn’t really have any big chances to break the deadlock, aside from just after the start, when he had a shot blocked out for a corner from a good spot. He also wasn’t able to get the Lions back into the game when they fell behind. For that reason, it was an easily forgettable game for the young striker.

Substitutes

D, Lamine Sané (45’), 7 — Coming on at halftime for Spector, Sané was very good in his debut for the Lions. From shielding off defenders as the ball rolled toward Bendik, to strong clearances, there’s not much bad you can say about one of Orlando City’s new additions. The decision of who to start between Spector, Tarek, and Sané is a good problem for Jason Kreis.

MF, Richie Laryea (67’), 5 — Like several others, it was a forgettable game for Richie Laryea, who couldn’t really find his way into the game. He didn’t have any egregious plays like Kljestan or Yotún, but also was unable to find a way to inject life into the team as Kreis undoubtedly wanted when he brought him on.

MF, Josué Colmán (76’), N/A — The last substitute for Orlando City in this one was the long-awaited debut of Josué Colmán. The young midfielder showed some nice moves and passing, but was ultimately unable to make anything happen after coming on with just 14 minutes to go.

You can vote for your Man of the Match below and let us know how you saw the player performances in the comments.

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Amro Tarek31
Lamine Sané 55
Jonathan Spector8
Other (Comment Below)17

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Chicago Fire: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Lions look to cool down the red-hot Fire at home.

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6 hours ago

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August 19, 2026

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Image of Tyrese Spicer watching the ball approach him against the Chicago Fire.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your match thread and preview for a Wednesday night matchup between Orlando City (6-10-3, 21 points) and the Chicago Fire (10-6-2, 32 points) at Inter.co Stadium (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). This is the first of two meetings this season between the two Eastern Conference clubs, with the Lions making the return trip to Chicago on Oct. 28. You are forgiven if you forgot this is a rematch of a 2025 playoff game, because Orlando City wasn’t in the postseason very long..

Here’s what you need to know about the match.

History

The Lions are 8-6-8 in 22 MLS regular-season meetings with the Fire and 8-8-8 in all competitions. Orlando City is 3-3-5 against the Fire on the road in the regular season and 3-5-5 away vs. Chicago in all competitions.

The teams last met in the wild card matchup to start the 2025 Eastern Conference playoffs. The Fire ended Orlando’s season with a 3-1 win, blowing open a game that was scoreless at the break. Brian Gutierrez struck early in the second half and Hugo Cuypers added a brace. Tyrese Spicer spoiled the playoff shutout.

The most recent regular-season meeting took place in Orlando on May 31, 2025, with Chicago winning 3-1 at Inter&Co Stadium. Orlando did not cover itself in glory, with Pedro Gallese allowing Philip Zinckernagel’s shot to slip right between his hands and in for the first goal. Cuypers scored a brace just a minute apart with Rodrigo Schlegel a mere passenger for both goals as Chicago built a 3-0 lead in the first half. Alex Freeman scored a consolation goal for the Lions. Assistant Coach Diego Torres skippered the Lions that night in place of the suspended Oscar Pareja.

The first meeting of last season took place May 3. Despite Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady getting sent off before halftime for fouling Duncan McGuire and denying him a goal-scoring opportunity, the teams played to a 0-0 draw, as Orlando City simply couldn’t find any precision in front of goal.

These two teams met in Orlando on June 22, 2024, with the Lions capturing a 4-2 home victory. Facundo Torres scored a brace, with Luis Muriel (from the penalty spot) and Ivan Angulo adding goals to offset a penalty by Maren Haile-Selassie (after a Schlegel handball in the box) and a goal by Cuypers.

The two sides clashed at Soldier Field on May 29, playing to a 1-1 draw. Torres opened the scoring early, and the Lions should have had a penalty late in the first half when Angulo was clipped while in alone on a goal after rounding the goalkeeper, but the video assistant referee did not overturn the no-call on the field, and referee Malik Badawi did not look at the play himself. The Fire tied the match in the final 20 minutes on a Cuypers goal.

The Lions swept the two-game season series in 2023 by identical 3-1 scorelines. On Aug. 21, Orlando City got goals from Wilder Cartagena, Angulo, and Torres (from the penalty spot) to overcome a 1-0 deficit supplied by Mauricio Pineda, winning 3-1 on the road.

When the teams met in Orlando, the Lions rode a Torres brace to a 3-1 win on July 1. Xherdan Shaqiri pulled a goal back from the penalty spot after a Kyle Smith foul in the box against Gutierrez, but Ramiro Enrique added an insurance goal.

Orlando City claimed a 1-0 victory at Exploria Stadium on April 9, 2022 on Ercan Kara’s first MLS goal. The two sides met at Soldier Field just over a month prior to that match and played, officially, to a 0-0 draw on March 5. The game is another Orlando City match that will live in infamy due to the Professional Referee Organization’s statement after the game that Junior Urso’s goal should not have been overturned upon video review by Ismir Pekmic due to Kara not having clearly and obviously handled the ball in the buildup in any of the available replay angles. Alas…

The teams met in Orlando on Aug. 21, 2021, with a second-half Benji Michel strike lifting the Lions to a 1-0 victory. Tesho Akindele set up the play by forcing a turnover. In that year’s meeting at Soldier Field, the Fire got the better of the Lions to the tune of 3-1 on July 7. Andres Perea scored his first career MLS goal to open the scoring, but a defensive lapse in first-half stoppage allowed Boris Sekulic to equalize just before the break. Chicago rode that momentum, adding goals by Robert Beric and Chinonso Offor.

The Lions were 0-4-4 in the eight meetings before smashing the Fire 4-1 in Orlando on Sept. 19, 2020. Orlando City withstood two Chicago penalties and saw two Fire goals overturned by video review in that rain-soaked match. (Weird things usually happen when Chicago visits Orlando.) The Lions got goals from Chris Mueller, Nani, Urso, and Michel, while Chicago had only a Beric penalty to show for an otherwise good offensive performance.

The last meeting of 2019 was the last time the Fire won on the road in the series. It was a debacle for the Lions, who lost defender Robin Jansson to a back/neck injury early and shipped a handful of goals in a 5-2 home loss in the regular-season finale. Orlando got goals from Akindele and Michel but largely played like a team that couldn’t wait to end its season. Chicago got an own goal from Orlando’s Smith and strikes from CJ Sapong, Aleksandar Katai, and Przemyslaw Frankowski (twice) in the rout.

Orlando City was seconds away from a road win on March 9, 2019 before Sapong’s free header in the 95th minute leveled things in a 1-1 draw in Chicago. Dom Dwyer scored Orlando’s goal.

In 2018, the Fire swept the season series. Orlando fell 2-1 at home on May 26, 2018, with Alan Gordon’s wondergoal breaking a 1-1 deadlock. The return leg in Chicago that September was an abysmal performance by Orlando in a 4-0 Fire victory.

Chicago went 1-0-1 in 2017, with the teams playing to a 0-0 draw on June 4, 2017, with the Lions reduced to nine men. The previous 2017 meeting was the Fire’s 4-0 beatdown of Orlando on June 24 of that year. David Accam figured in all four goals, with a hat trick and an assist on Nemanja Nikolić’s goal.

The teams split the points in 2016, drawing both meetings, 1-1 in Orlando and 2-2 in Chicago.

The teams met once in Orlando in 2015, with the Lions and Fire battling to a 1-1 draw. You may recall that five-hour, weather-delayed affair with Eric Gehrig’s own-goal canceling out an Accam strike. The other three meetings came in Chicago, with City winning 3-2 and 1-0 in MLS matches and falling 3-1 in U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal action.

Overview

The Lions are coming off a 1-1 home draw against FC Cincinnati on Saturday. Pavel Bucha opened the scoring in the first half and Spicer tied the match shortly after halftime. While Orlando has drawn two straight and is winless (0-1-2) in all competitions, the Lions also have earned points in three of the four MLS matches since the league restarted after the World Cup break. Orlando City looks better overall, but the defensive lapses continue to be a problem — the kind of problem a good team like the Fire can exploit. The Lions are 4-3-2 at home during the regular season, and Spicer is riding a three-match goal-scoring streak in MLS play.

The good news is that Cuypers has left Chicago and is now in Liga MX. The bad news is that the Fire replaced him with Robert Lewandowski.

Chicago enters tonight fresh off a 2-1 win at home over the Portland Timbers on Sunday, so Orlando has one extra day of rest on tonight’s visitors. The Fire have won five straight games in all competitions, including a three-game sweep of Liga MX competition in Leagues Cup. Chicago is an even 3-3-2 on the road this season after losing its last two away matches to New York City FC and Miami.

Beating Chicago means trying to contain a dynamic offense led by Lewandowski, Zinckernagel, Jonathan Bamba, and others, including fullback Andrew Gutman, who has played particularly well of late. And yet, only Nashville has conceded fewer goals than Chicago in the Eastern Conference this season, so it’s a complete team and can be difficult at either end or both in any given game.

“It is going to be a really good game,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said ahead of the match. “I think it’s something that this league and some teams like us or Chicago bringing this level of players (like Antoine Griezmann and Lewandowski, respectively) are doing, and it’s great. For us, it’s about, as we always say, we respect every opponent, we’re at home, and we will prepare the game and we will try to win it.”

The Lions will be without Martin Ojeda (thigh), Braian Ojeda (foot), Bernardo Rhein (thigh), while Eduard Atuesta (thigh) and Nolan Miller (knee) are questionable. Chicago will be without André Franco (lower body), Mbekezeli Mbokazi (lower body), Chris Mueller (non-injury related), and Sergio Oregel Jr. (lower body), while Zinckernagel (lower body) is questionable.

Match Content

Projected Lineups

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Adrian Marin, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Luis Otavio, Joran Gerbet, Tyrese Spicer.

Forwards: Justin Ellis, Antoine Griezmann.

Chicago Fire (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Chris Brady.

Defenders: Andrew Gutman, Jack Elliott, Sam Rogers, Leonardo Barroso.

Midfielders: Robin Lod, Dje D’Avilla, Anton Saletros.

Forwards: Maren Haile-Selassie, Robert Lewandowski, Philip Zinckernagel.

Referees

REF: Rosendo Mendoza.
AR1: Ryan Graves.
AR2: Diego Blas.
4TH: Ben Meyer.
VAR: Ismail Elfath.
AVAR: Tom Felice.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Inter.co Stadium — Orlando.

TV/Streaming: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the game. Go City!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 8/19/26

Orlando City match day, Colin Guske reportedly being loaned to RSL, Banda is an MVP candidate, and more.

Published

9 hours ago

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August 19, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City B / Mark Thor

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. Orlando City plays in a midweek match that thankfully isn’t a Leagues Cup match. There are those who will say they’re sad the Lions are out of Don Garber’s cash grab competition, but I’m not one of them. The U.S. Open Cup and the MLS regular season provide plenty of fixtures for now. The schedule congestion is real, as we can see this week. Let’s get to the links.

Orlando City Match Day

Orlando City hosts Robert Lewandowski and the Chicago Fire tonight in an Eastern Conference clash. Defending against Lewandowski and Philip Zinckernagel will be a tough task for the Lions’ defense. Orlando City will need its offense to keep pace with the Fire if the Lions are going to take any points from the match. It will be interesting to see both Antoine Griezmann and Lewandowski on the pitch at the same time. Here is your official match guide from the club. Our match preview will drop later this morning at 11 a.m. You can also listen to our thoughts on the match on The Mane Land PawedCast.

Go West, Young Guske

It appears that Orlando City is loaning midfielder/defender Colin Guske to Real Salt Lake, according to Tom Bogert. This is not entirely surprising given how crowded Orlando City’s defensive midfield is with Joran Gerbet and Wilder Cartagena healthy and Luis Otavio rounding into form, not to mention Eduard Atuesta and Braian Ojeda once they return. It’s a good opportunity for Guske to get some minutes, given he’s a bit down on the depth chart with the senior team — far enough down to see more minutes recently at center back with the first team than in the midfield.

MVP Candidate Banda

Despite being away for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and not scoring in her first game back, Barbra Banda maintains her slim lead in the Golden Boot competition and is still a League MVP candidate. If she hopes to win either of those accolades, she will need to resume scoring. The upcoming match against the Washington Spirit this Sunday is the perfect opportunity to extend that lead.

U.S. National Team News

USMNT defender Mark McKenzie is reportedly returning to the Philadelphia Union and will occupy a Designated Player spot. Real Salt Lake’s 19-year-old forward Zavier Gozo has been signed by Premier League club Crystal Palace. Of course, there are other USMNT players already playing in Europe, and some are making a quick return to form following the World Cup. USWNT players are also experiencing ups and downs in the NWSL.

Free Kicks

  • Former Lion Nicholas Gioacchini is headed to CE Sabadell FC of the Segunda División in Spain.

That will do it for today. You can follow The Mane Land on Bluesky for match updates and we will also have a recap of the match. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 8/18/26

Americans in midweek action, WAFCON takeaways, senior FIFA official fired, and more.

Published

1 day ago

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August 18, 2026

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Image of Barbra Banda holding off a Washington Spirit defender.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Good morning, everyone. It wasn’t a great weekend for Orlando’s soccer teams, as the three outfits combined to take just one point from the nine on offer. Fortunately, Orlando City gets an immediate opportunity to bounce back against the Chicago Fire Wednesday night, before all three teams are back in action over the weekend. We’ve got plenty to talk about today, so let’s have a look at the links.

Americans in Midweek Action

There are a number of Americans playing games during the working week, so get some of the highlights marked down on your calendar. Things get started later today when Tanner Tessmann and Lyon face Fenerbahce in UEFA Champions League qualifying. Wednesday features Johnny Cardoso and Atletico Madrid kicking off their La Liga season against Malaga, before Folarin Balogun and Monaco face Gornik Zabrze in UEFA Conference League qualification play. The week then wraps up on Friday when Haji Wright and Coventry City open the Premier League season against Arsenal.

Takeaways from WAFCON

WAFCON 2026 is officially in the books, so what did we learn from this year’s tournament? For one thing, expanding from 12 teams to 16 was largely successful, as Cameroon won the trophy after getting into the tournament on the strength of its world ranking after being eliminated during qualifying. We also saw a competitive tournament that had some upsets, with first-time participants Malawi making a run all the way to the final, and Zambia failing to get out of the group stage despite racking up six points. That said, attendance was non-existent for matches not involving host Morocco, and the video review process wasn’t exactly speedy for the most part. Still, it was mostly a great tournament and a great showcase for African women’s soccer.

Kevin Lamour Leaves Position as FIFA Executive

Kevin Lamour has been fired from his position as FIFA’s chief operating officer just several weeks after strongly condemning Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors. Lamour said that FIFA’s leadership had been “deceived” when it came to the plan and that losing his job over his opposition to it would be worth it since he would at least be able to sleep well at night. Before his two years at FIFA, Lamour had previously worked alongside Infantino when the two men were at UEFA. FIFA confirmed his departure with a brief statement on Monday afternoon.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

Most summer transfer windows will be closing soon, but we’ve still got plenty of rumors to discuss. We begin with a piece close to home, as Breel Embolo has reportedly rejected the personal terms offered to him by Atlanta United and is said to be negotiating with Ipswich Town. Speaking of the Premier League, Manchester City is reportedly still in pursuit of a deal for Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez despite missing the Blues’ stated deadline of Aug. 14 to get a deal done. Moving to Spain, Real Madrid is reportedly interested in signing Martin Zubimendi from Arsenal and has already had contact with his representatives. Finally, Inter Milan is said to be interested in signing Liverpool’s Curtis Jones.

Free Kicks

That’s all I’ve got for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!

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