Orlando City vs. Inter Miami: Five Preseason Takeaways

Orlando City wrapped up the 2025 preseason in Tampa at Raymond James Stadium against in-state rival Inter Miami on Valentine’s Day. The two squads played to a 2-2 draw which saw Head Coach Oscar Pareja roll out essentially his opening-day lineup for the clash against the Herons. Orlando looked strong against Messi and Co. for the most part in several facets of the game but also showed that some things need to be cleaned up and addressed in the final week of preparation before the 2025 Major League Soccer season kicks off.

What follows are my five takeaways from the final preseason match.

Solid Start for Gallese

In the early part of the 2024 season, there was a quiet rumble regarding the form that Orlando City keeper Pedro Gallese demonstrated. The Peruvian No. 1 all but squashed those worries over the second half of last season, and by the end of the year, he was back to his old ways of making highlight reel plays. The final preseason game saw Gallese much in the same form he ended last season as opposed to how he started it. Gallese made several strong saves and was in good command of his goal for most of the night. Playing against a team of Miami’s caliber meant that Orlando City was going to spend a good portion of the night defending. Gallese, to his credit, made the saves he needed to in the moment, including a great reaction save on a Messi chip (which ultimately didn’t count due to the offside flag coming up).

Santos Struggles

The final preseason match is likely one that left back Rafael Santos will want to quickly forget. The Brazilian product struggled on the night and was caught either ball watching or out of position on several occurrences, which opened the door to quality chances for the Herons. Something just seemed off about his communication with his fellow defensive mates and he wound up being beaten badly on the equalizing goal for Miami in the first half.

The start of the 2025 season will effectively mark the third season in a row with more or less the same back line players, and the hope is that communication breakdowns are a thing of the past. Still, for Orlando City, Santos must improve his quality of play quickly as many teams in the Eastern Conference bolstered their attacking fronts during the off-season and will be looking to take advantage of any weak spots in the OCSC defense.

Ojeda Cooks

If Designated Player Martin Ojeda can consistently put in the type of effort that he showcased against Miami, the Orlando City attack might start in a better place than many had projected following the sale of Facundo Torres. Ojeda demonstrated good chemistry down the left side of the field with Colombian speedster Ivan Angulo and was responsible for the opening goal and then added an assist on Enrique’s goal.

The season changed last year when Ojeda was injected into the starting lineup, and against the 2024 Supporters’ Shield winners, the Argentinian looked confident. My boldest prediction for the 2025 season is that Ojeda will put up career numbers for goals and assists, and I cannot wait to be proven correct.

Go-Ahead Goal

Ramiro Enrique’s motor reminds me of the scenes from The Fast and The Furious franchise when the main characters effectively shift their cars into 14 gears as they race down the road. Enrique just never stops and seemingly can shift into more gears than the opposition’s defense is prepared to handle. After a mistake at the back from Miami, Ojeda found himself and Enrique in a 2-v-1 situation and played a well-weighted ball to Enrique, who took one touch and then calmly picked out the bottom right corner. At the time that Ojeda recovered the ball, Enrique was easily 10 to 12 yards behind the play, broke out into a dead sprint while running past three Miami defenders, and then had the composure to find the back of the net. Enrique was subbed off in the second half after picking up what appeared to be a cramp.

For the Love of VAR

The outcome of a preseason match matter doesn’t matter much, but it sure could have been a nice feather in the Orlando City cap if the Lions had defeated their foes from the south in a match in which Messi went almost 80 minutes. While the game became a tad sloppy over the final 15 minutes after numerous substitutions on both sides, Orlando City was in a great position to win. However, multiple failed clearances in the last minute of stoppage time allowed Robert Taylor a shot on net that was cleared off the line (by Colin Guske) to Fafa Picault, who found the garbage time equalizer. Had it been a regular-season match with video review, the play likely would have been negated as Santiago Morales committed an obvious handball in the buildup.

Those are my five takeaways from the final match of the preseason and one that saw Orlando City play competitively. What moments stood out to you from the game? Let us know in the comments below and as always, vamos Orlando!