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Orlando City vs. Inter Miami, Leagues Cup: Final Score 3-1 as Lions Exit the Tournament

A tie score from halftime was broken by yet another soft penalty given to an Orlando opponent and the Lions are done with Leagues Cup.

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3 years ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Anyone who wants to see what the Lionel Messi era in MLS is going to be like had only to watch the way the game was officiated when Inter Miami defeated Orlando City 3-1 at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale tonight. Offside calls that weren’t, downy soft penalty calls, an ignored blatant foul right in front of the referee by the league’s new star man, and free kicks that should never have been given were the rule of the night.

But the Lions are not only out of Leagues Cup because of that. Orlando City also neglected to capitalize on chances in the loss, getting just one goal through Cesar Araujo — who had a second waved off for offside in the buildup. That wasn’t enough to overcome Messi’s brace and a Josef Martinez penalty that should never have been awarded. The latter broke a 1-1 deadlock just after halftime and was an obvious source of frustration for the team.

“I think we have to be clear. The game was disputed by the two teams and then analyzed tactically and analyze what could happen here and there. But we have to start with the reality of the call of the PK and other calls that were ridiculous,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “I don’t want to say that the attention that we’re getting here with all that is happening, it becomes a circus. Today was a circus. The PK is unbelievable. It’s unbelievable. I don’t know if the VAR came today. So, if the VAR came today and we have the referee there, then we have to be on it and go see it (at the replay monitor), because the game deserved it.”

Pareja boldly made no changes whatsoever to the team that played four nights ago at home against Santos Laguna. Pedro Gallese took his customary spot in goal behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Kyle Smith. Wilder Cartagena and Araujo manned the central midfield behind an attacking line of Ivan Angulo, Mauricio Pereyra, and Facundo Torres, with Duncan McGuire up top.

A lengthy delay for severe weather threw a damper on the proceedings, causing kickoff to push back from its 8 p.m. scheduled start time to 9:35 p.m.

Orlando City started with a good press and controlled play for the opening few minutes but Miami settled in and Martinez smashed a shot from outside the box that Gallese parried away in the fifth minute.

Two minutes later, Messi opened the scoring when Araujo got caught ball watching. The Argentine waited until Araujo’s attention waned and made a run into the box with no one on him. Robert Taylor lofted in a ball for him and it was an easy finish from point-blank range to make it 1-0.

The Lions responded well, sending in some crosses over the next few minutes but couldn’t get on the end of them.

Martinez fired over the bar in the 14th minute and then McGuire was sent down the left side of the box a minute later but his shot was always going left. Just after that, Araujo won a foul on the right and Sergio Busquets knocked it behind for a corner.

The Lions scored on the ensuing set piece. Orlando City played a corner short and Angulo darted toward the end line and sent the ball in front of goal. Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender knocked it away but it went straight to Araujo, who smashed it on goal. Callender got a piece of it but couldn’t keep it out as the Lions leveled the game in the 17th minute.

The next 15 minutes were back and forth and the Lions started to get to Messi as he was booked in the 21st minute for fouling Cartagena from behind. The next decent look fell to Orlando when McGuire sent a shot too close to Callender in the 22nd minute. Pereyra then got an opportunity a few minutes later but couldn’t dig the pass out of his feet.

Messi nearly restored Miami’s lead when he fired off the outside of the left post in the 32nd minute. That was followed by a good Orlando attack that should have resulted in a corner but the offside flag wrongfully came up. McGuire managed to hold his run but the assistant referee made an assumption on the play and the replay showed that assumption was clearly wrong.

Taylor fired just wide of the right post in the 41st minute after being given too much space outside the box. Gallese followed with a huge save to deny a Messi free kick in the 45th minute on a soft foul about 25 yards out just seconds after Pereyra seemed to be fouled from behind further up the pitch.

In stoppage time, Messi blatantly fouled Araujo and perhaps should have gotten a second yellow card, but the ref let it go and then booked Kyle Smith afterwards instead with both teams pushing and shoving.

Busquets put his hand to Smith’s throat in the scrum after the play but was not cautioned or penalized for it in any way. Miami was then allowed to take the free kick and play 30 seconds beyond the two minutes of stoppage time, with Benjamin Cremaschi firing just wide on the last kick of the half.

Miami dominated possession in the first half (71.9%-28.1%), fired more shots (7-5), and passed more accurately (90.5%-78.8%). The Lions won more corners (4-1), and both teams got three shots on target.

Referee Ivan Barton tilted the field in Miami’s favor just after the break. A through ball that Martinez had no shot at getting to was collected by Gallese as the former Atlanta forward fell in the box. A penalty was awarded immediately despite there being only the slightest contact. It was extremely soft and Barton did not go to the monitor to look at it himself. The VAR did not overturn it so the penalty stood and Martinez scored to make it 2-1.

“It’s not clear,” Pareja said. “The PK…the game doesn’t deserve that. (The match officials) don’t need to be protagonists. Just go and see it. The people want to see soccer and things have to be fair, and today was not the case.”

Chasing the game, Pareja sent Dagur Dan Thorhallsson and Ramiro Enrique on for Smith and McGuire. Orlando won a couple of set pieces but did nothing with them and then Pereyra fired a shot off a teammate and out for a goal kick in the 64th minute. That was the captain’s last involvement in the game as he was subbed out a minute later for Martin Ojeda, who was less than effective in his roughly half hour of work. He fired a shot in the 68th minute that was nowhere near the goal frame.

Moments later, Messi put the game to bed on the counter. A bad giveaway in the attacking third caught the Lions with numbers forward. The Lions tried to get back but a good quick layoff from Martinez to Messi confused Cartagena and Jansson, who both ended up on Martinez, only to see it get sent to Messi for the insurance goal.

To add insult to injury, Barton did go to the monitor late in the game after Araujo scored his second goal off a wicked cross by Santos. The ball bypassed Enrique, who had a shoulder offside but Callender was already hugging his near post and the ball passed out in front of everyone to Araujo at the back post for the finish. There’s no way that Enrique’s presence was an issue for Callender, given his positioning on the play but Barton ruled the Lions offside. It’s funny how going to the monitor can change one’s perspective and funnier still how selective referees in Orlando City games are about doing it.

“It doesn’t make sense at all,” Pareja said of the inconsistency in the referee going to the monitor or not. “I’d rather just be talking about the soccer tactics. We’re confused. We don’t know why he didn’t go see (the penalty review). Because he has the chance to see it, because that’s what the VAR is for. And then in the second one, there is a body (part) that was offside. It was not intervening that much, but he was offside and then he went (to the monitor) and that’s what he should have done. He has to be more consistent for sure, because the players get frustrated with those things.”

The final whistle on the charade blew moments later and the Lions were out of Leagues Cup.

Miami finished with more possession (63.8%-36.2%), shots (12-11), shots on target (5-3), and passing accuracy (89.1%-83.6%). The Lions won more corners (5-1).

In the end, Orlando City’s finishing wasn’t good enough and once the penalty changed the game, it was a difficult rest of the match.

“We were not sharp up front. We probably could have been more aggressive when we had the ball,” Pareja said. “And we’re going to take as well the blame on our team, that we couldn’t score. And then they opened the scoring in the first half and the second half very early. We could have avoided that. But honestly we are very disappointed in the game because of those two plays. This is not what we need.”

Orlando City will have a long rest now, as the next match isn’t until a visit to the Chicago Fire on Aug. 20. Inter Miami will take its sideshow to FC Dallas in the Round of 16.

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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.

Published

9 hours ago

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September 5, 2026

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Image of Joran Gerbet playing against Minnesota United.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

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

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!

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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.

Published

1 day ago

on

September 4, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

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!

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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.

Published

2 days ago

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September 4, 2026

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Image of Martin Ojeda celebrating a goal against New England.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

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.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

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