Orlando City vs. Inter Miami: Three Keys to Victory

It didn’t take long for the first edition of Tropic Thunder to arrive in 2026 as Orlando City hosts in-state rival Inter Miami on Sunday. The Herons are coming off an opening day loss to LAFC and will want to prove they are still the top team in MLS. Orlando City is also coming off a loss on opening day — to the New York Red Bulls at home. Neither team will want to start 0-2-0. What must Orlando City do to earn all three points against Inter Miami this Sunday night?

An Early Goal…or Three

Last season, Orlando City was able to take both regular season matches from Inter Miami. The Lions were able to do so by scoring the first goal, and then tacking on a couple more. Teams can score on Miami as LAFC showed last week when it defeated the Herons 3-0. Orlando City also has the ability to score goals and must do so first.

Big-time players make big-time plays, so I’m looking to team captain Martin Ojeda to lead the way. I don’t care if he’s scoring the goals himself or providing assists, as long as he is contributing. It’s time for Duncan McGuire to remind everyone why Europe came knocking a few seasons ago, and Marco Pasalic needs to shake off whatever issues he had last week so he can use that devastating left foot.

A Strong Back Line

The biggest concern we had after we learned Robin Jansson would miss time thanks to surgery, was how the bac kline would look with new faces. We got two answers last week. Oscar Pareja admitted Iago was not ready to start, and I hope he remembers that this weekend. Nolan Miller did a better job when he came on for the young Brazilian, and while I’m not thrilled that a rookie will have to help David Brekalo lock down Miami’s attack, I’d rather it was Miller than Iago, at least for now.

Looking to the edges, Adrian Marin had a mixed performance against New York, but the Lions just need him to be solid. He doesn’t have to win the match, but he can’t lose it either. Griffin Dorsey got his first start for Orlando City after being with the club for just a few days. Given that, he didn’t look too bad. He will now have a full week of training with the club, so I’m hoping he’ll be even better. He’s an experienced MLS fullback and is used to the league.

How well these players do individually and as a group will almost certainly dictate the outcome of this match.

Keeper Showdown

Maxime Crepeau was our Man of the Match in both our Player Grades column and on The Mane Land PawedCast for his performance against the New York Red Bulls. I hope it doesn’t come down to his shot-stopping ability again, but I have a feeling it might. Crepeau will have plenty of motivation to perform well against Inter Miami.

On the other side of the pitch is Dayne St. Clair in goal for the Herons. St. Clair and Crepeau are competing to be the starting keeper for the Canadian Men’s National Team in the World Cup this summer. Winning the head-to-head matchup against St. Clair is one way Crepeau can prove he should be the starter. Given Miami’s firepower, he should have plenty of opportunities to show his quality.

That is what I will be looking for Sunday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!