Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Inter Miami, Leagues Cup: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
The Lions head south for their first meeting with the Herons since Lionel Messi’s arrival.
Welcome to your match thread for a midweek Tropic Thunder matchup between Orlando City and the team’s Publix Enemies, Inter Miami CF in Leagues Cup Round of 32 action at DRV PNK Stadium (8 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+). It’s the second meeting between the sides this season and the second time they’ve met in South Florida. The Herons are scheduled to make the return trip north on the Florida Turnpike on Sept. 24 in MLS regular-season play.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.
History
Orlando City is 5-3-3 in this fledgling series in all competitions, but only 2-3-0 on the road. The most recent meeting took place at DRV PNK Stadium back on May 20, with Orlando City winning, 3-1. Ercan Kara’s early goal was canceled out by Leonardo Campana shortly before the hour mark, but Martin Ojeda and Rafael Santos found the net in the second half to power the Lions.
Inter Miami won at home, 4-1, on Oct. 5, 2022. Campana scored in the game’s first minute and Orlando City never settled in. Gonzalo Higuain added two goals — one from the spot — and Ariel Lassiter also scored before Kara pulled one back to spoil the shutout.
The first regular-season meeting of 2022 resulted in a 1-0 Orlando City win at Exploria Stadium on July 9 as a stoppage-time own goal by Damion Lowe was the difference between the Lions earning just one point or all three. The ball was sent into the box by Jake Mulraney.
The teams also met at Exploria Stadium on May 25, 2022 in U.S. Open Cup action, with the two sides needing extra time after a scoreless 90 minutes. In extra time, Miami got a goal from Jean Mota against the run of play, but Facundo Torres quickly equalized for Orlando. The match ended 1-1 and Orlando won the ensuing penalty shootout, 4-2. Bryce Duke was denied by Mason Stajduhar and DeAndre Yedlin missed the net during the spot kicks, while all four Orlando shooters scored.
The intrastate rivals played to a scoreless draw in Orlando on Aug. 27, 2021. Tesho Akindele missed a penalty in the match, but the Lions had several other good opportunities to score (but didn’t) in a wasteful performance. Orlando and Miami battled to a 1-1 draw at Exploria Stadium on Aug. 4, 2021. Antonio Carlos scored in first-half stoppage time but was knocked into concussion protocol on the play by Kelvin Leerdam. Kieran Gibbs equalized in the 66th minute on a header in front of a less-than-attentive Ruan. Akindele had a goal called back after video review for being offside and the teams split the points. Earlier in the season, the Lions came from behind in Fort Lauderdale to win 2-1 on a pair of brilliant goals by Chris Mueller and Nani on June 25, 2021.
In the final meeting of 2020, the Lions saw their 12-match unbeaten streak end on Oct. 24 in a 2-1 road loss in Fort Lauderdale. Miami defender Leandro Gonzalez Pirez’s header in the 89th minute was the difference after a Daryl Dike goal and an own goal off Robin Jansson saw the game tied up at halftime. The teams met in Orlando on Sept. 12 of 2020 with Orlando battling to a 2-1 win on Mauricio Pereyra’s goal. The Lions had taken the lead on an own goal by Andres Reyes. Former Lion Brek Shea tied things up in the 65th, before Pereyra answered with a nice goal off the left post in the 69th minute.
The first meeting in Fort Lauderdale opened Phase 1 of Major League Soccer’s return to regular-season play after the MLS is Back Tournament. That one was an uncharacteristically sloppy match for the Lions, who fell 3-2 in Inter Miami’s first-ever home match. It was Miami’s first franchise win after an 0-5-0 start. Orlando trailed by more than one goal for the first time all season in that game. Dike and Nani provided the offense for Orlando but Julian Carranza’s brace and Rodolfo Pizarro’s insurance goal were enough to lift the Herons.
The first Tropic Thunder match went Orlando City’s way, with Nani scoring late to lift the Lions to a 2-1 win over the upstarts from South Florida in the opening match of the MLS is Back Tournament. Despite it being a tournament match, it was also a league game. Juan Agudelo opened the scoring for the Herons, but Mueller equalized, setting the stage for Nani’s 97th-minute winner.
Overview
The Lions are playing on shorter rest, coming off Saturday’s thrilling 3-2 home win over Santos Laguna. That win pushed Orlando City to the top of the South 2 group. The reward for winning the group was becoming the only group winner from MLS to then have to play on the road and these two teams are the only group winners that had to play a group winner in the Round of 32. The Lions went 1-0-1 in Leagues Cup group play, winning their shootout after their draw against Houston, although a terrible penalty call was the only reason that match went to spot kicks. Orlando City is 5-3-3 on the road in league play, but did lose on the road in the team’s only U.S. Open Cup match of 2023.
Inter Miami destroyed Atlanta United in its most recent match on July 25, so the Herons are well rested after going 2-0-0 in group play. They opened the tournament with a stoppage-time snatch-and-grab by beating Cruz Azul 2-1 in the 94th minute on a Lionel Messi free kick goal. Miami is 4-5-2 at home in the regular season and 8-5-2 in home matches in all competitions. The Herons were 0-3-3 in their six matches prior to Messi’s arrival and appear to be a much more confident team since the league’s major financial partners helped their owner finance their new signing.
Oh, and they hired a new coach too, as former Atlanta United coach Gerardo Martino returns to MLS after a bit of a mixed career with the Mexican Men’s National Team.
It’s a rivalry game, so anything can happen. History suggests it’ll be tight.
The Lions will have their hands full tracking, Messi whether he has the ball or not, but they must also not allow Sergio Busquets time to pick out a target from the back either. Then there’s the matter of Campana and former Atlanta United star Josef Martinez.
So far this season, Martinez leads the club in goals (6) during the regular season, just ahead of Campana (4), but of course Messi has already chipped in three goals in two games since his arrival. Suffice it to say, the Lions will need to bring their best game to this rivalry this time around.
“We are very excited to participate in this tournament [Leagues Cup], not just because of the importance of the Florida Derby and the attention that the game itself is going to bring, but also because of the position where our players have taken the club,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said. “We are in a position where we can be very optimistic about advancing in (tonight’s) game and to the next round. We are excited, prepared, and ready to play.”
The Lions will be without Michael Halliday (thigh) or Gaston Gonzalez (thigh), while Junior Urso (lower leg) is listed as questionable. Miami will not have Christopher McVey (red card suspension), Gregore (Lisfranc), or Jean Mota (knee).
Match Content
Here’s your match content for this one:
- The most recent episode of the PawedCast includes our key matchups and predictions for tonight.
- Our David Rohe provided his three keys to an Orlando City victory.
Official Lineups:
Orlando City (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.
Defenders: Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, Kyle Smith.
Defensive Midfielders: Cesar Araujo, Wilder Cartagena.
Attacking Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Mauricio Pereyra, Facundo Torres.
Forward: Duncan McGuire.
Bench: Mason Stajduhar, Adam Grinwis, Luca Petrasso, Abdi Salim, Rodrigo Schlegel, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Felipe, Martin Ojeda, Shak Mohammed, Ramiro Enrique, Jack Lynn, Ercan Kara.
Inter Miami (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper: Drake Callender.
Defenders: Noah Allen, Kamal Miller, Sergii Kryvstov, DeAndre Yedlin.
Midfielders: Benjamin Cremaschi, Sergio Busquets, Dixon Arroyo.
Forwards: Robert Taylor, Joseph Martinez, Lionel Messi.
Bench: Cole Jenson, CJ dos Santos, Jordi Alba, Ryan Sailor, Harvey Neville, Victor Ulloa, Diego Gomez, David Ruiz, Edison Azcona, Robbie Robinson, Shanyder Borgelin, Leonardo Campana.
Referees:
REF: Ivan Barton.
AR1: David Moran.
AR2: Henry Pupiro.
4TH: Keylor Herrera.
VAR: Ricardo Montero.
How to Watch
Match Time: 8 p.m.
Venue: DRV PNK Stadium — Fort Lauderdale.
TV/Live Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.
Radio: FM 96.9 The Game (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!