Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Nashville SC: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
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Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday night match-up between Orlando City (2-1-2, 8 points) and Nashville SC (2-2-1, 7 points) at Exploria Stadium (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+). It’s the first meeting of 2023 between the two sides, with the Lions making the return trip to Nashville on Wednesday, Oct. 4. Nashville is back in the Eastern Conference this season, so a big three points are on the line.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.
History
The Lions are 1-1-4 against Nashville in MLS matches and 1-2-5 in all competitions. Orlando is 1-1-1 at home in the series in league play and 1-1-2 at Exploria Stadium in all competitions. The odd quirk continues between the two sides in that the team to score first has never won the match.
The teams did not meet in regular-season play last year, meeting only in the U.S. Open Cupin Orlando on June 29, 2022. Hany Mukhtar scored in the 52nd minute and that looked like it would be enough until Rodrigo Schlegel equalized deep in stoppage time. After a scoreless 30 minutes of extra time, the Lions won the ensuing penalty shootout, 6-4.
The teams last met in the 2021 postseason in Tennessee, with Orlando scoring first through Daryl Dike’s early goal but Nashville won 3-1 on Nov. 23, 2021 to knock the Lions out of the playoffs. Mukhtar tied it up before halftime on a fluky deflected goal off of Antonio Carlos and then put his team up in the 74th minute on a counter attack. Jhonder Cadiz put things away deep in stoppage time.
The last time the teams met in the regular season came on Oct. 3, 2021 and ended in a 1-1 draw after referee Allen Chapman’s Halloween Heist chalked off Andres Perea’s apparent stoppage-time winner. The referee’s excuse for overturning the goal was an imagined foul on Daryl Dike, who, if anything, was the fouled party. The decision cost the Lions a valuable home playoff match, which instead sent Orlando to Nashville. Mukhtar scored for Nashville to equalize in the second half after Dike’s first-half goal.
The teams met in Nashville on Sept. 29, 2021 with a late rally by the Lions earning the team a 2-2 road draw at Nissan Stadium. The hosts had taken a 2-0 lead on goals by Mukhtar — scoring off the rebound of his own saved penalty — and Randall Leal, but a penalty by Dike and a stoppage-time own goal by Brian Anunga turned the game around. On Aug. 18 the teams finished in another 1-1 draw. C.J. Sapong put the hosts ahead in the first half and Carlos leveled the score in the second half. The Lions, who played poorly in the opening 45, were the better team throughout the second half and Tesho Akindele’s shot off the crossbar was inches from providing a winner for Orlando.
The teams met on Decision Day of 2020 at Exploria Stadium, with Orlando melting down late, allowing two goals from the 88th minute on, and falling 3-2 at home on Nov. 8, 2020 — the team’s only home loss on the season. Dike and Nani goals sandwiched a strike by Daniel Lovitz, giving the Lions a lead until late. Headers by Mukhtar (in the 88th minute) and Cadiz (in the 93rd minute) turned the game on its head.
In the Lions’ first trip to Nissan Stadium, the teams played to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 2, 2020. Benji Michel put the Lions ahead with a stunner of a goal, but Leal knotted things up and that’s the way the match ended.
That 1-1 draw came a week after a 3-1 Orlando City win on Aug. 26 at Exploria Stadium. Dave Romney had opened the scoring for Nashville with a header off a free kick but Orlando scored the last three. Dike took a star turn for Orlando City, scoring a brace, and Chris Mueller also scored for the Lions.
Overview
The Lions are coming off a 2-1 win at Philadephia last Saturday night. That victory snapped a three-match winless streak (0-1-2) in league play and a five-game skid (0-1-4) in all competitions for Orlando City. The club is 1-1-1 at home this year in MLS and 1-1-2 in all competitions at Exploria Stadium, with just two goals in the run of play — plus a Facundo Torres penalty in the opener — and only one in MLS competition.
Tonight’s visitors have seven straight results in all competitions against Orlando (2-0-5) and five consecutive in the regular season (1-0-4). Nashville enters tonight’s game off of a 1-0 home loss to FC Cincinnati a week ago. The club has lost two consecutive 1-0 games and is 0-1-1 away from Nashville this season. This is a team that is in every game because it doesn’t concede. Nashville has allowed only two goals through five matches — tied with Seattle for the fewest in the league.
As usual against Nashville, the Lions’ concentration will be tested for 90+ minutes tonight and any success Orlando may have will be tied to not giving the ball away. Nashville’s biggest threat is Mukhtar on the counter attack and since he hasn’t gotten a goal yet this year — and loves to score against the Lions — ball security is vital. Gary Smith’s team has made a living out of staying compact defensively and simply letting his forwards do their thing in transition, where they have been lethal.
On the other side, Orlando City has to find a way to score goals. The Lions have always struggled to put more than one goal in the net against Nashville since the first meeting and they’ve not managed more than two goals in any game this season. Orlando did score twice in the first nine minutes last week but then blew several chances to put the match away.
With Nashville preferring to play without the ball, it seems like a chance to get rookie striker Duncan McGuire back in the starting lineup against those big center backs, including USMNT defender Walker Zimmerman.
“Nashville is like any other team in the league (in) that we have faced each other (already), and since they have a coach that has been there for a while — it’s the same with us, and we know each other,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said. “(Nashville) is a team that has very bold characteristics too, as Philadelphia had, in the way that they do things. We would like to have control of those things, and with the experiences that we’ve had with them we can expose them and we can use the good attributes of our team to hurt them. That is our focus.”
Striker Ercan Kara (thigh) remains questionable on Orlando’s availability report. Nashville lists two players out — Leal (lower body injury) and Nick DePuy (lower body injury).
Mandatory Match Content
With our domain transfer in flux, anything we link right now will likely turn into a broken link later, so let’s just say you can read Dave Rohe’s three keys to an Orlando City victory and Ben Miller’s Intelligence Report on either this site or our old one and you can listen to our key match-ups and score predictions on this week’s episode of The Mane Land PawedCast, along with our interview with McGuire — available on this site, the old site, or wherever podcasts are available.
Official Lineups:
Orlando City (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.
Defenders: Luca Petrasso, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Kyle Smith.
Defensive Midfielders: Felipe, Cesar Araujo.
Attacking Midfielders: Martin Ojeda, Mauricio Pereyra, Ivan Angulo.
Forward: Ramiro Enrique.
Bench: Mason Stajduhar, Rafael Santos, Abdi Salim, Antonio Carlos, Wilder Cartagena, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Gaston Gonzalez, Facundo Torres, Duncan McGuire.
Nashville SC (4-4-2)
Goalkeeper: Joe Willis.
Defenders: Daniel Lovitz, Jack Maher, Walker Zimmerman, Shaq Moore.
Midfielders: Luke Haakenson, Sean Davis, Anibal Godoy, Fafa Picault.
Forwards: Hany Mukhtar, C.J. Sapong.
Bench: Elliot Panicco, Taylor Washington, Josh Bauer, Dax McCarty, Tah Anunga, Jan Gregus, Jacob Shaffelburg, Teal Bunbury.
Referees
Ref: Chris Penso.
AR1: Kathryn Nesbitt.
AR2: Jeremy Hanson.
4th: Kevin Klinger.
VAR: Geoff Gamble.
AVAR: Cameron Blanchard.
How to Watch
Match Time: 7:30 p.m.
Venue: Exploria Stadium — Orlando.
TV/Streaming: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.
Radio: Real Radio 104.1 FM (English), Acción 97.9 FM, 810 AM (Spanish).
Twitter: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow along at @TheManeLand, as well as Orlando City’s official Twitter feed (@OrlandoCitySC).
Enjoy the game. Go City!
Orlando City
Orlando City Announces Signing of Norwegian Midfielder Heine Gikling Bruseth as MLS U22 Initiative Player
The Lions add depth in central midfield with a promising young prospect.
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Orlando City SC announced today the long-reported signing of midfielder Heine Gikling Bruseth from Norwegian side Kristiansund BK. The deal was completed prior to the MLS secondary transfer window closing last week, but the club can’t announce signings until the paperwork has been completed. Bruseth will occupy an MLS U22 Initiative slot, signing a deal through the 2026 season with club options for 2027 and 2028. The signing is pending receipt of Bruseth’s P-1 Visa and International Transfer Certificate (ITC).
“We’re very happy to welcome Heine to Orlando. He is a young player with tremendous upside, and we’re very excited to continue his development here in Central Florida,” Orlando City SC Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Luiz Muzzi said in a club press release. “Heine adds another element of creativity, vision and depth to our midfield, coming in at an important time as we push for another appearance in the postseason. We look forward to seeing him in purple soon.”
The 20-year-old native of Gjemnes, Norway, made his debut at age 17 with Kristiansund during the 2020-2021 Eliteserien season. Bruseth has made 37 appearances with Kristiansund, scoring two goals and adding two assists. He graduated to the first team after developing in the Kristiansund academy. Bruseth also played eight matches on loan with Levanger FK in 2022, registering one assist.
Internationally, Bruseth has appeared for Norway’s national team at the U-19, U-20, and U-21 levels.
What It Means for Orlando City
Central midfield wasn’t an area of need for the Lions, with Cesar Araujo and Wilder Cartagena locking down starting spots in Oscar Pareja’s 4-2-3-1 and Jeorgio Kocevski and Felipe on the bench. However, young talent is young talent. This move could allow the Lions to develop Bruseth without having to rush him onto the pitch and provide flexibility if clubs are calling Orlando City about Araujo and/or Cartagena.
The signing may impact Kocevski’s minutes and the few that have been given to Felipe as well. It seems to be a signing geared more toward the future than helping with the present, although it’s never bad to have depth for the stretch run.
Bruseth will occupy an international slot but that’s no issue since the Lions already had an open slot (per MLS) prior to Ramiro Enrique receiving his green card. He will wear jersey No. 18.
Lion Links
Lion Links: 8/20/24
Amanda Allen called up, USMNT announces friendly, Americans in midweek action, and more.
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Happy Tuesday, everyone! This week sees the Orlando Pride and Orlando City back in action, while Orlando City B will try to extend a three-game unbeaten streak. Before we get to today’s links, let’s all wish a happy birthday to Orlando City Assistant Coach Martin Perelman!
Amanda Allen Called Up
The Orlando Pride’s Amanda Allen has been called up to represent Canada for the upcoming U-20 Women’s World Cup. The 19-year-old has made eight appearances this season, tallying one assist. Allen became the youngest player to appear for the Pride when she made her debut on May 6, 2023, at 18 years, two months, and 15 days of age. Canada’s first match of the tournament will be against Brazil on Aug. 31, and we wish Allen the best of luck!
USMNT Announces Friendly Against Mexico
The United States Men’s National Team will play a friendly against Mexico on Oct. 15 in Guadalajara. Something noteworthy about this match is that it will be the first friendly game between the two teams to take place in Mexico since 2012. The game will be the fourth and final match that the USMNT will play in the fall, and the only one not taking place stateside. The other USMNT friendlies will be against Canada on Sept. 7 in Kansas City, New Zealand on Sept 10. in Cincinnati, and Panama on Oct. 12 in Austin.
Americans in Midweek Action
With European leagues back in the swing of things, there are several American players who will be competing this week, so make sure you have everything marked on your calendar. Johnny Cardoso and Real Betis face off against Ukrainian club Kryvbas in Europa Conference League qualifying on Thursday. On Friday, Joe Scally and Borussia Monchengladbach kick off the Bundesliga season against reigning champion Bayer Leverkusen.
European Transfer Happenings
The summer transfer window is still open in Europe, which means a number of teams have their eyes on adding to their rosters before time runs out. We start with Chelsea, which have reportedly agreed to a deal with Atletico Madrid to sign Joao Felix, with Conor Gallagher moving the other way. Elsewhere in the Premier League, Mexican forward Santiago Giminez is reportedly in talks to join Nottingham Forest. Finally, Manchester City is reportedly interested in signing former player Ilkay Gundogan from Barcelona, which is said to be looking at selling players to help comply with La Liga’s financial regulations.
Free Kicks
- The Colorado Rapids have sold defender Moise Bombito to Nice in a deal worth a reported $7.7 million, and $10.7 million after add-ons. That transfer fee would be a club record and also a league record for the sale of a center back.
- Racing Louisville has traded captain Jaelin Howell and $50,000 in Allocation Money to the Seattle Reign in exchange for Bethany Balcer.
- Thierry Henry has resigned from his role as the manager of France’s youth teams after leading his side to the silver medal at the Paris Olympics.
That’s all I’ve got for you today. Vamos Orlando!
Lion Links
Lion Links: 8/19/24
Orlando Pride acquire Carson Pickett, OCB wins against New York City FC II, Leagues Cup semifinals are set, and more.
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Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. It was another busy week for me while working at Wrigley Field for the Green Day Concert and Chicago Cubs games. Our only team in action this weekend was Orlando City B, but Orlando City and the Orlando Pride are back in action this week. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.
Orlando Pride Trade For Carson Pickett
The Orlando Pride brought back former Pride defender Carson Pickett via a trade with Racing Louisville FC in exchange for $75,000 in Allocation Money. Pickett had previously played with the Pride from 2018 through 2020. Pickett was with Racing Louisville for two seasons, making 36 appearances, scoring one goal, and adding an assist. Pickett was also with the North Carolina Courage before joining Louisville, recording a goal and 11 assists in 45 appearances. Pickett earned NWSL Best XI honors and was an NWSL Defender of the Year finalist in both of her seasons with the Courage. The Pride now have a player that can boost their defense at left back and serve quality set piece deliveries into the box as Orlando attempts to win its first trophy.
OCB Wins at Home Against New York City FC II
Orlando City B defeated New York City FC II 3-2 at Osceola County Stadium. The Young Lions were trailing before they scored a pair of back-to-back goals right before halftime to take the lead. OCB added another in the second half to extend its lead, and managed to hold on for the win despite conceding another goal. It was a crucial win at home for OCB’s playoff aspirations. The team remains in 10th in the Eastern Conference with 31 points and sits just two points behind Inter Miami CF II, which holds the eighth and final playoff spot. OCB’s next match is on Friday on the road against Atlanta United 2.
Leagues Cup Semifinals Are Set
The Columbus Crew, Colorado Rapids, LAFC, and the Philadelphia Union all won their respective Leagues Cup quarterfinal matches over the weekend. LAFC shut out the Seattle Sounders on the road 3-0 to punch their ticket to the semifinals. The club has outscored its opposition 9-1 in its three knockout round matches. The Crew trailed 1-0 early in the first half to New York City FC, but Cucho Hernandez scored the equalizer just before halftime. Still tied after 90 minutes, the Crew won the shootout to advance. The Union also needed a shootout win to advance, defeating Mazatlan after the match ended in a 1-1 draw. The Rapids continued their run in the Leagues Cup by winning 9-8 on penalties against Club America to eliminate the last Liga MX team remaining after a scoreless draw. That’s the fourth straight win for Colorado against a Liga MX side. In the semifinals, the Rapids will face LAFC and the Crew will take on the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday.
Catching Up With the Americans Abroad
With many European leagues kicking off their seasons over the weekend, there were plenty of Americans in action abroad. Let’s start in Italy, where AC Milan was down 2-0 to Torino before a late comeback secured a 2-2 draw for Milan. Yunus Musah helped set up Milan’s tying goal with a great assist, while fellow USMNT teammate Christian Pulisic started the match and played 73 minutes. Josh Sargent scored a goal in the EFL Championship, as Norwich City got a 2-2 draw at home against Blackburn Rovers. Haji Wright scored the game-winning goal for Coventry City to seal a 3-2 win against Oxford United.
It was not a good weekend for goalkeeper Ethan Horvath though, as he conceded an own goal and didn’t make a save in Cardiff City’s 5-0 loss on the road to Burnley. American goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina and Donovan Pines led Barnsley to a 2-1 win over Lincoln City to claim their first three points in the EFL League One.
New Premier League Season Begins
The new English Premier League season kicked off over the weekend and there were some notable matches. Manchester United got a 1-0 win against Fulham, with Joshua Zirkzee scoring the lone goal. Liverpool and Arsenal secured 2-0 victories over Ipswich Town and Wolves, respectively, while Aston Villa edged past West Ham 2-1. Brighton & Hove Albion manager Fabian Hurzeler got his first win in the Premier League, leading his side to a 3-0 win against Everton. Elsewhere in the league, Brentford defeated Crystal Palace 2-1, and Manchester City won 2-0 on the road against Chelsea. The lone Premier League match to wrap up the first week of matches will be later today when Leicester City host Tottenham Hotspur.
Free Kicks
- Former Pride players Jordan Listro, Kristen Edmonds, and Erika Tymrak started in the opening match for Tampa Bay Sun FC in the inaugural USL Super League season. The Sun drew 1-1 at home to Dallas Trinity FC.
- Former U.S. men’s U-20 head coach Mikey Varas will reportedly lead the USMNT on an interim basis for its upcoming friendlies in September against Canada and New Zealand.
- In case you missed it, the San Diego Wave named former USMNT legend Landon Donovan as their interim head coach for the remainder of the NWSL season.
- Kylian Mbappe’s La Liga debut with Real Madrid got off to a rough start, as his side could only get a 1-1 draw on the road against Mallorca.
That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday and I’ll see you next time.
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