Orlando City vs. Inter Miami, Leagues Cup: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Welcome to your match thread for a Wednesday night Leagues Cup semifinal Tropic Thunder matchup between Orlando City and the team’s Publix Enemies, Inter Miami CF at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale (8:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, Apple TV+). It’s the third meeting between the sides this season and the second time in history they’ve met in Leagues Cup — both in South Florida.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.

History

Orlando City is 7-5-5 in the series in all competitions, 7-4-4 in MLS play, 0-1-0 in Leagues Cup play, and 3-5-0 in all competitive matches on the road.

The most recent meeting took place only a couple of weeks ago, on Aug. 10, when the Lions blew out the Herons 4-1 in Orlando to sweep the regular-season series. Luis Muriel scored early, only to see Yannick Bright equalize moments later. Muriel and Martin Ojeda scored eight minutes apart early in the second half to blow open a close game, and Marco Pasalic added an insurance goal.

Back on May 18 in Fort Lauderdale, Orlando City got its first win over a Lionel Messi-led Herons side. The Lions got goals from Muriel, Pasalic, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson to win 3-0 at Chase Stadium.

Just about one year to the day before that meeting, the teams played to a scoreless draw at Inter&Co Stadium on May 15, 2024. The Lions’ trip to South Florida last year resulted in a forgettable 5-0 loss for the Lions at Chase Stadium on March 2. Luis Suarez and Messi scored braces and Robert Taylor added a goal in a match Orlando City was never in, as it was already 2-0 just 11 minutes after kickoff.

The two Florida rivals played to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 24, 2023. Duncan McGuire brought Orlando back from a 1-0 deficit after David Ruiz had given the Herons a 1-0 lead early in the second half. On Aug. 2 of that year, the teams met in Leagues Cup action. The Herons were fortunate to not see Messi sent off with a second yellow late in the first half, and even more fortunate to get a soft penalty call on Antonio Carlos, as they won, 3-1. Messi opened the scoring after being ignored in the box early. Cesar Araujo made up for his uncharacteristic defensive lapse on the first goal by scoring 10 minutes later. Josef Martinez put Miami back on top with the Downy-soft penalty just after halftime, and Messi sunk in the dagger in the final 20 minutes.

The teams also met in Fort Lauderdale in MLS play on May 20, 2023, with Orlando City winning, 3-1. Ercan Kara’s early goal was canceled out by Leonardo Campana shortly before the hour mark, but Ojeda and Rafael Santos found the net in the second half to power the Lions to victory.

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. 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, 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 second half, 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 coming off a horrendous 5-1 loss at the hands of Nashville SC on the road Saturday night. If you believe in omens, you will not want to hear that prior to the last meeting between these teams, Orlando City had won its most recent match in a dominant 5-1 destruction of Necaxa to close out the League Phase of the 2025 Leagues Cup. However, the squad that lost Saturday consisted of several backups, including left back Adrian Marin, who made his MLS debut.

Orlando got to this point in the tournament by going 2-0-1 in the League Phase, drawing Pumas and losing the ensuing penalty shootout before beating Atlas and Necaxa. Orlando then went to Los Angeles a week ago and survived a scoreless draw against Toluca by winning the shootout. The Lions are 6-3-5 on the road in MLS play this season and 7-3-6 in all competitive matches away from Inter&Co Stadium.

Inter Miami is coming off a poor result as well, drawing 1-1 at D.C. United on Saturday. Messi did not play in that match and as of this writing, his status for tonight was unknown. However, it’s at home and a Concacaf Champions Cup spot is on the line, so expect him to play. The Herons cruised through the Leagues Cup break with wins over Pumas and Atlas and a draw with a postgame penalty shootout win against Necaxa. Miami then beat Tigres 2-1 in the quarterfinals without scoring in the run of play. Suarez scored both goals from the penalty spot following handball calls on Tigres.

Miami is 7-2-3 at home in leagues play, but one of those losses was to Orlando City.

Whether Miami has Messi or not, the Lions must do what they can to limit chances, especially by paying close attention to Suarez whenever he arrives near the penalty area. Suarez has double-digit assists in the regular season to go along with six goals, so the Uruguayan has been hurting opponents with his passing almost twice as often as he has with his shooting. Telasco Segovia and Tadeo Allende each have seven goals on the season. Miami has plenty of firepower to withstand an absence by Messi, and the Herons’ formidable attack helps the team’s defense, as it is often difficult to dispossess them and maintain extended spells of possession long enough to get at Inter Miami’s back line. Orlando should look to get forward quickly in transition tonight to take advantage of the Herons pushing up in support of the attack.

It’s a rivalry game, so anything can happen.

“It’s the same character of us. It’s a game that obviously brings a lot of attention, not that the other matches didn’t,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the match. “It’s very important for our position in the league, but now we’re displaying it in a semifinal. It’s very meaningful for all of us, as well as both of the clubs. So, it’s very important. We are working hard and trying to get ready for the match, and we’ll do what we can to advance”

The Lions will be without Duncan McGuire (shoulder), Wilder Cartagena (Achilles), and Yutaro Tsukada (knee).

Match Content

• The most recent episode of the PawedCast includes our key matchups and predictions for tonight’s match.

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Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.

Defenders: David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Alex Freeman.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Cesar Araujo, Eduard Atuesta, Marco Pasalic.

Forwards: Luis Muriel, Martin Ojeda.

Bench: Javier Otero, Carlos Mercado, Adrian Marin, Zakaria Taifi, Kyle Smith, Colin Guske, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Joran Gerbet, Tyrese Spicer, Nico Rodriguez, Ramiro Enrique, Duncan McGuire.

Inter Miami (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Oscar Ustari.

Defenders: Jordi Alba, Gonzalo Lujan, Maximiliano Falcon, Ian Fray.

Midfielders: Baltasar Rodriguez, Sergio Busquets, Yannick Bright, Rodrigo De Paul.

Forwards: Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi.

Bench: Rocco Rios Novo, William Yarbrough, Marcelo Weigandt, Noah Allen, Ryan Sailor, Tomas Aviles, David Ruiz, Santiago Morales, Benjamin Cremaschi, Telaso Segovia, Tadeo Allende, Fafa Picault.

Referees:

Ref: Walter Castellanos.
AR1: Keytzel Mojica.
AR2: Helpys Feliz.
4th: Ismael Meléndez.
VAR: Armando Villarreal.

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How to Watch

Match Time: 8:30 p.m.

Venue: Chase Stadium — Fort Lauderdale.

TV/Live Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, Apple TV+.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).

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.

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Enjoy the game. Go City!