Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Atlanta United: Player Grades and Man of the Match
Orlando City traveled to Georgia to take on their northern rival, Atlanta United FC. With so many injuries and international absences, Óscar Pareja was forced to make numerous changes to his preferred starting lineup. Pedro Gallese, and Sebas Méndez are away on international duty. João Moutinho, Uri Rosell, Mauricio Pereyra, Tesho Akindele, Dom Dwyer, and Ruan are all out with injuries. With a potential 10-match unbeaten streak on the line, Pareja needed the youngsters to step up. Let’s see how they did!
Starters
GK, Brian Rowe, 6.5 — Brian Rowe is exactly the backup keeper any team would want. He lost the starting job, but continued to work hard and was ready when called to start. He made a huge reaction save in the 18th and 71st minutes to keep a clean sheet. He finished with three saves, attempted 19 passes, had an 89.5% passing rate, and completed one long ball.
D, Kamal Miller, 7 — Miller did a very good job dealing with Brooks Lennon on the left side all match. He deservedly earned a yellow card in the 77th minute on a late challenge, but otherwise played very solid defense. He had four tackles, two clearances, five interceptions, and committed the one foul. He attempted 75 passes and had an 86.7% passing rate.
D, Robin Jansson, 6.5 — Jansson put in his usual solid shift leading the defense. He also made a point perfect long pass to Nani that almost resulted in a goal. He recovered well when in defensive transition throughout the match. He made three clearances, one tackle, and committed one foul. Jansson attempted 71 passes at a 91.6% passing rate, and completed two long balls.
D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 6 — Schlegel has grown into his role as one of three center backs for Orlando City. In conjunction with the Beefy Swede, Schlegel helped keep Atlanta off the scoreboard. Defensively, he made one tackle, one interception, two clearances, and committed one foul. Schlegel attempted 77 passes, with a 90.9% passing rate, and completed one long ball.
D, Kyle Smith, 6.5 — Smith has been Pareja’s multi-purpose tool this season. He again showed a willingness to get forward into the attack even if he couldn’t do it as quickly as Ruan. As such, he had a perfectly placed cross in the 11th minute that Daryl Dike got a diving header on, but was unable to finish. Smith also took a long distance shot in the 30th minute though Brad Guzan was up to the task. Defensively he made one tackle, one clearance, and committed one foul. Smith attempted 29 passes, had an 89.7% passing rate, and put in a total of three crosses.
MF, Joey DeZart, 6 — DeZart got his first start for the Lions, thanks to the number of injuries Orlando City is dealing with at this point in the season. The rookie did well given the amount of playing time he’s had. His performance wasn’t mistake free, but he accorded himself well. He took one shot at goal in the 91st minute but Guzan was able to grab it. He attempted 61 passes with an 83.6% passing rate, and attempted one long ball.
MF, Junior Urso, 7 — Urso put in a good shift, and battled Franco Escobar the entire time he was in the match. The Bear drew three fouls, including one just before being subbed off. He attempted 32 passes with a 93.8% passing rate, made two key passes, and attempted two long balls. Urso attempted two shots, with one on target, nearly scoring late in the match. On defense he made three tackles, one interception, and one clearance.
MF, Andrés Perea, 7.5 (MotM) — Perea had one of his best shifts as a Lion. He took five shots with one on goal. Perea made a nice run into the left side of the box after taking it off the foot of an Atlanta player, but with no help available he turned it into a corner kick. He made two tackles, two clearances, and committed one foul. He attempted 23 passes, had a 91.3% passing rate, and put in three crosses.
MF, Robinho, 4 — It was quite obvious that Robinho has not had a ton of minutes so far this season. While he started the game brightly, hitting the post on a good scoring opportunity, he fell off pretty quickly. He had a muffed corner kick attempt that went high and behind the goal and then he had a cross that also went high and behind the goal. He held onto the ball too long too many times, and just didn’t seem to be able to get into the flow of the match. Robinho was credited with two shots, with one on target, seven crosses, committed two fouls, and suffered two fouls. He attempted 25 passes with an 80% passing rate, and completed one long ball.
F, Daryl Dike, 6.5 — Dike might have gotten the start since he’s the only striker available, but he again showed that even when he doesn’t score he’s putting in the work. He almost made a massive header from a Smith cross in the 11th minute, but Guzan was able to make the save. He continued his excellent hold-up play, using his size to his advantage, including drawing three fouls. Statistically, he took one shot (on target), made one tackle, and committed no fouls. Dike attempted 16 passes with a 62.5% passing rate, and one key pass. Defensively, he made one tackle, two clearances, and committed two fouls.
F, Benji Michel 5 — It was a quiet night for Michel, as he only had 23 touches. He had one shot, was dispossessed three times, and committed one foul. It’s rare that Michel disappears quite as much as he did, but it was that kind of game. He only attempted nine passes with a 66.7% passing rate, and attempted one long ball, often struggling with his first touch.
Substitutes
MF, Chris Mueller (59’), 5.5— Mueller came on for the struggling Robinho. He only managed 18 touches despite coming on with nearly 30 minutes to play. Statistically, he made two clearances, and attempted 10 passes with a 90% passing rate, one key pass, and three crosses.
D, Alex De John (59’), 6.5 — De John came on for Smith. He made a great block in the 85th minute, and also had one clearance. He made 12 passes with an 83.3% passing rate, with one key pass.
MF, Nani (70’), 6.5 — Nani’s woodwork woes continued when a shot in the 78th minute deflected off an Atlanta defender and bounced off the crossbar. The captain took two total shots (neither on target), and made one key pass. He made eight passes with an 87.5% completion rate. Despite coming on late he still had an impact on the match.
MF, Antônio Carlos, (87’), N/A — Carlos came on late, and only had five touches, each of which was a pass for a 100% passing rate.
That was how I saw it. Vote for your Man of the Match in the poll, and comment below.
Polling Closed
| Player | Votes |
| Andrés Perea | 4 |
| Junior Urso | 4 |
| Kamal Miller | 4 |
| Brian Rowe | 50 |
| Robin Jansson | 2 |
| Other (put in comments) | 4 |
Orlando City
Orlando City vs. San Diego FC: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
The Lions welcome San Diego FC to Orlando for the first meeting ever between the two clubs.
Welcome to your match preview and live thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (7-11-4, 25 points) and San Diego FC (8-8-6, 30 points) at Inter.co Stadium in Orlando (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). It’s the first-ever meeting between these two teams from different conferences
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.
History
As mentioned above, tonight’s meeting between the Lions and San Diego is the first in the series history, so there is no history. The Lions are 2-2-1 against Western Conference teams this season, which means little to nothing in this particular match, and San Diego is going to be Orlando City’s final opponent from the opposite conference in MLS regular-season play this season.
Overview
The Lions are coming off a wild 3-3 road draw at Minnesota United a week ago, in which Daryl Dike and Antoine Griezmann scored on either side of halftime on Orlando’s first two shot attempts to put their team up 2-0 in the 64th minute. Minnesota stormed back with three goals off defensive errors in a four-minute span to take a late 3-2 lead. Just when the Loons appeared to be headed for all three points, Tyrese Spicer scored in stoppage time, forcing Minnesota to split the points. Orlando has a modest 1-0-1 unbeaten streak entering tonight, and the Lions are 5-4-2 at home in 2026.
San Diego is coming off a 3-1 home win over the LA Galaxy despite having Jeppe Tverskov sent off. Tonight’s visitors have won two straight games, but both were at home. They lost their last home game 3-1 at Portland on Aug. 19 and are 2-5-3 away from home this season.
The key for Orlando City tonight will be to mark Anders Dreyer, which is far easier said than done, as he has emerged as one of the league’s best playmakers. His eight goals and 11 assists give him 19 total goal contributions to lead his team. Marcus Ingvartsen is Dreyer’s favorite teammate to combine with, as the Danish forward has converted 11 times, leading San Diego in goals, and has added five assists. However, Ingvartsen is listed as out with a lower body injury. Midfielder Onni Valakari has chipped in four goals and seven assists.
“We respect San Diego, but as well we prepare our game,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said ahead of the match. “We know how strong we are, especially at home, so now we go.”
Orlando City will be without Braian Ojeda (foot) and Adrian Marin (thigh), while Bernardo Rhein (thigh), has been upgraded to questionable. San Diego will be without the aforementioned Ingvartsen (lower body) and Tverskov (suspension).
Match Content
- Our latest episode of The Mane Land PawedCast features our key match-ups and score predictions for tonight’s match.
- Our Ben Miller wrote about his three keys to an Orlando City win over San Diego.
Official Lineups:
Orlando City (4-4-2)
Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.
Defenders: Bernardo Rhein, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, Griffin Dorsey.
Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Joran Gerbet, Eduard Atuesta, Justin Ellis.
Forwards: Antoine Griezmann, Daryl Dike.
Bench: Javier Otero, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Luis Otavio, Tiago, Marco Pasalic, Martin Ojeda, Tyrese Spicer.
San Diego FC (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper: C.J. dos Santos.
Defenders: Kieran Sargeant, Ian Murphy, Manu Duah, Oscar Verhoeven.
Midfielders: Gabriel Pirani, Anibal Godoy, Alejandro Alvarado.
Forwards: Elias Achouri, Onni Valakari, Anders Dreyer.
Bench: Duran Ferree, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Christopher McVey, Bryan Zamble, David Vazquez, Ian Pilcher, Alex Mighten, Bryce Duke, Amahl Pellegrino.
Referees:
REF: Joe Dickerson.
AR1: Corey Parker.
AR2: Justin Howard.
4TH: Rodrigo Albuquerque.
VAR: Daniel Radford.
AVAR: Jeff Muschik.
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 match. Go City!
Orlando City
Orlando City vs. San Diego FC: Three Keys to Victory
Here’s what Orlando needs to do in order to return to winning ways against San Diego.
After the disappointment of two dropped points against Minnesota on Saturday, Orlando City is back home with an opportunity to get things back on track. The Lions need to keep picking up points if they want to keep pace in an increasingly crowded Eastern Conference, and Saturday’s game is a good chance to start September off on the right note. San Diego FC stands in the way of that good start, and what follows are three things that I believe Orlando needs to do in order to emerge victorious from this game.
Stay Strong on the Left
The left side of the defense has been a question mark for the Lions for much of the year. Adrian Marin, Bernardo Rhein, and Zakaria Taifi have all spent time at left back lately and have done so with varying degrees of success. Regardless of who suits up there on Saturday, that area of the field will be under scrutiny once again, since they’ll be tasked with stopping San Diego right winger Anders Dreyer. He has eight goals and 11 assists in 21 appearances this year, has played 60 key passes during that time, and is generally the lynchpin through which the San Diego offense operates. He hasn’t quite been on the same pace that saw him bag 19 goals and 19 assists in the regular season last year, but with four goal contributions in his last three MLS appearances, he’s extremely capable of wreaking havoc from the wing. A lot of the goals OCSC has conceded lately have come down the left side of the defense, and if that area of the field can’t be taken care of better, the Lions will likely be in for a difficult night.
Do Damage in Transition
Orlando’s current style of positionless, fluid, attacking soccer is at its best when it comes up against teams that want to come out and play. It struggles mightily against defensive bunkers but shines when the Lions can get out and run, target open spaces, and combine with teammates in unexpected areas. Fortunately for OCSC (in theory), San Diego is a team that likes to have the ball, as it has the highest average possession in the league. That means the Lions will have opportunities to force turnovers and break the other way at pace. In order to make that happen though, OCSC will need to be both disciplined and effective when it comes to applying its press. Then, if/when the Lions win the ball, correct decision-making and clinical execution in the final third will be key to avoid letting any chances slip through their fingers (paws?).
Clean Up the Self-Inflicted Errors
Orlando has dealt with more than its fair share of general defensive struggles this year, but avoidable errors have been a particular problem in recent weeks. Whether it’s been an ill-advised challenge, passing to the opposition in the defensive third, or leaving men unmarked in the box, unnecessary mistakes have cost OCSC points time and again. Against lesser opposition it hasn’t always mattered, as the Lions were able to rescue three points against Real Salt Lake, but if Orlando wants to make a playoff push, it needs to make a habit of playing cleaner games, plain and simple. San Diego is a good team with dangerous offensive players, and Saturday’s visitors will very likely take advantage of any opportunities that the Lions gift-wrap for them. Keeping things mistake-free will go a long way.
We’ve got ample proof this season that nothing is guaranteed, but if the Lions can lock down the left side of the defense, make hay in transition moments, and limit unforced errors, then they should be in a good position to take all three points from Saturday’s game. Vamos Orlando!
Lion Links
Lion Links: 9/4/26
Martin Ojeda details his recovery from injury, Anna Moorhouse loaned to Manchester City, Orlando City’s U.S. Open Cup journey, and more.
Three straight days of Orlando soccer starts tonight with Orlando City B’s road match against Inter Miami II at 7 p.m. Hopefully, Orlando’s teams do well over the next few days as crunch time is upon us when it comes to making the playoffs, especially for MLS NEXT Pro. For now though, let’s jump right into today’s links from around the soccer world!
Orlando City Prepares for San Diego FC
Orlando City will take on San Diego FC on Saturday in the first-ever game between the two clubs, and one of the storylines to keep an eye on is how much Martin Ojeda plays as he works his way back from injury. The Designated Player came off the bench late in Orlando’s 3-3 draw against Minnesota United in his first appearance since May 23. Not often injured, Ojeda spoke on how being off the field for over a month has shifted his perspective while training to return.
“You learn to value the moment much more. You learn to value every training session because, when you’re training on your own and you’re not available to your teammates, you feel uncomfortable,” Ojeda said. “You value being healthy more. It’s like everything in life. When you feel good, you live life almost on autopilot, so to speak. You go to work, you go home, you come back, you sleep. However, when you or someone close to you goes through an illness or something like that, you value the moment much more and become more conscious of what you’re experiencing.”
Pride Loan Anna Moorhouse to Manchester City
The Orlando Pride loaned goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse to Manchester City through January of 2027. Moorhouse joined the Pride prior to the 2022 season and helped the club win both the NWSL Championship and Shield in 2024. However, she has struggled this year alongside the rest of the Pride’s defense. Moorhouse hasn’t played in the past two games for the Pride, with Cosette Morche starting in her place. Her current contract with the Pride lasts through the 2027 NWSL season, so we’ll have to wait and see what her future with the club is when the loan ends.
Orlando City’s U.S. Open Cup Journey
Between the World Cup, regular season, and Leagues Cup this summer, it can be easy to forget that Orlando City is still in contention to win this year’s U.S. Open Cup. The Lions are in the semifinals of the tournament after crushing Atlanta United 4-1 in the quarterfinals back on May 19. The Lions won much tighter affairs prior to that win, with Javier Otero coming up with seven saves in a 1-0 win over FC Naples and Zakaria Taifi scoring in stoppage time to beat the New England Revolution 4-3 in the following match. Orlando will be on the road for its semifinal match against the Columbus Crew on Sept. 16, but the offense has received a boost due to the arrivals of Antoine Griezmann and Daryl Dike this summer.
MLS Transfer News Roundup
MLS signings continue to pour in as teams look to improve their squads for the rest of this season and beyond. The Colorado Rapids signed Ghanaian winger Ibrahim Sadiq from AZ Alkmaar, where he recorded 18 goals and seven assists in 85 appearances across three seasons with the Dutch club. San Diego also added an attacker by signing forward Cedric Bakambu, who joins as a free agent after playing at Real Betis. As for other notable moves from across the league, Real Salt Lake signed winger Dusan Zagar as an MLS U22 Initiative player, forward Lyle Foster joined the Houston Dynamo on loan, and the Columbus Crew continued to improve on offense by signing Moroccan winger Anass Zaroury on loan from Panathinaikos.
Free Kicks
- Former Orlando Pride player Christina Burkenroad is retiring from professional soccer and Monterrey will have Saturday’s game against Toluca be a send-off match for her.
- North Carolina Courage forward Ashley Sanchez was named NWSL Player of the Month after recording five goals and two assists in August.
- The Kansas City Current signed Cameroonian defender Maeve Nyadjou, who just helped her nation win the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations for the first time and was named 2026 WAFCON Best Young Player.
- Becky Sauerbrunn is joining the Portland Thorns as a technical consultant for the remainder of the 2026 NWSL season.
- Edin Dzeko announced that he will retire from international soccer following Bosnia and Herzegovina’s UEFA Nations League qualifier against Sweden on Oct. 2. That will be his 152nd match for Bosnia, wrapping up a 19-year-old international career that included 73 goals.
That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!
Orlando City vs. San Diego FC: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
Orlando City B vs. Inter Miami II: Final Score 4-1 as OCB Claims Three Huge Points in South Florida
Orlando City vs. San Diego FC: Three Keys to Victory
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