I think we can confidently say Orlando City’s Wednesday night excellence has come to an end after last night’s loss. I’m not going to claim the new kits are cursed after just two games, but I’ve bought some sage just in case. Before we get to that match and more in today’s links, let’s all wish a happy birthday to Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman.

Orlando City Falls at Home

The Lions hosted the Chicago Fire and got burned in a 2-1 loss that included a lengthy weather delay that paused things right before halftime. The Fire struck first with an early goal, but Orlando leveled things after the lightning storm passed. However, Robert Lewandowski converted a penalty kick from a needless foul in the box for the winner, with the Lions failing to claw their way back a second time. It’s a disappointing result at home and Orlando will need to figure things out before hosting Real Salt Lake on Saturday.

Simone Jackson Heads to Sweden on Loan

The Orlando Pride loaned forward Simone Jackson to FC Rosengard in Sweden through June of 2027. Jackson was signed by the Pride in 2025 after four years playing collegiately at the University of Southern California and she has since made 20 appearances for the club. Hopefully this move gives her some more minutes to develop her game abroad so that she can make an impact with the Pride when she returns next summer.

U.S. U-20 Women’s World Cup Roster Announced

United States U-20 Women’s National Team Head Coach Vicky Jepson called up 21 players for the U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland next month, including eight from NWSL clubs. Goalkeeper Evan O’Steen, midfielders Kennedy Fuller and Nyanya Touray, and forward Emeri Adames are a few of the U.S. players to keep an eye out for this tournament.

The team will be without notable eligible players like Lily Yohannes, Claire Hutton, and Jordyn Bugg though, as youth tournaments take place outside of official FIFA windows when teams are required to release players. United States Women’s National Team Head Coach Emma Hayes also spoke on the importance of tournaments like this one to develop talent while uncertainty looms over the event due to UEFA’s boycott of FIFA competitions. The U.S. is set to start its campaign on Sept. 6 against Italy.

Americans to Watch in the English Premier League

The English Premier League season kicks off this weekend and there are a number of Americans to root for across the league. Bournemouth midfielder Tyler Adams, Crystal Palace defender Chris Richards, and Fulham defender Antonee Robinson are all still in the league but have new managers at the helm of their respective teams. Brenden Aaronson and Leeds United avoided relegation last season and will look to build on that, while Haji Wright and Coventry City will fight to stay after earning promotion last season. Unfortunately, Wright will miss multiple weeks at the start of the season due to a quad injury.

Free Kicks

• Alhassan Yusuf scored a hat trick in the New England Revolution’s 3-0 win over D.C. United, with Jack Harrison recording three assists.
• Americans Cameron Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty both played every minute of Celtic’s 3-0 win over LASK in the first leg of its matchup against the Austrian club in UEFA Champions League qualifying
• Bay FC announced that the club and midfielder Tess Boade mutually agreed to terminate her contract, which was set to end after this season. Boade had been with the club since being selected in the 2024 NWSL Expansion Draft and was the captain last season.
• Aston Villa signed goalkeeper Zion Suzuki from Parma for a reported $40 million transfer fee. Suzuki played for Japan at the recent World Cup and it will be interesting to see what this move means for Emiliano Martinez’s future at the club.
• Brighton is covering the cost of tickets for its fans who will be making the trip to the Arctic Circle for its UEFA Conference League playoff match against Tromso in Norway.

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That’s all I have for you all this time around. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!

A foul on captain Robin Jansson led to the winning penalty kick goal for Robert Lewandowski as Orlando City (6-11-3, 21 points) fell 2-1 at home to the Chicago Fire (11-6-2, 35 points) tonight in a wet match in front of 20,102 at Inter.co Stadium. The visitors struck early in the game on a poor clearance through Puso Dithejane and the game stayed that way until a lengthy weather delay late in the first half. Once play resumed, Orlando pulled level on a set piece goal by David Brekalo, but the defensive mistake allowed the visitors to take all three points home.

The Lions are winless in their last two home league games (0-1-1) and their last four at home in all competitions (0-2-2).

“Of course, disappointed with the result. Very, very disappointed because we were playing at home and we want to win,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said after the match. “I think it was a game that we could have done a different result. It’s over. Nothing to do. We played against a good team. We couldn’t score (on the) chances we created. They were effective.”

Perelman’s lineup featured Maxime Crepeau in goal behind a back line of Adrian Marin, Jansson, Brekalo, and Griffin Dorsey. Luis Otavio and Wilder Cartagena started in central midfield between Ivan Angulo and Tyrese Spicer out wide with Justin Ellis and Antoine Griezmann leading the attack.

Orlando City looked to control possession and work combinations to get chances. It nearly worked right off the jump with Dorsey taking a pass in the middle near the top of the box. His first touch popped up on him and the fullback tried a shot on the half volley, but he made poor contact and sent his shot well wide of the left post in the second minute.

Unfortunately, the Fire took the lead two minutes later. Chicago attacked down the left and Jonathan Bamba sent a cross to the right to Lewandowski, who easily lost track of a ball-watching Marin. Lewandowski headed it back across the box where Brekalo failed to clear it and David Poreba picked it up and found Dithejane. No Lions closed him down and the forward smashed a goal inside the right post to open the scoring.

Electric start for Chicago ⚡

Puso Dithejane finds the opener less than five minutes in.

📺 Apple TV: https://t.co/3vBpbVxOK1 pic.twitter.com/oaUWdu6Oh1

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 19, 2026

Much of Orlando’s first-half success getting into the final third involved sending Spicer down the left flank, but the speedy forward lacked precision and timing on his crosses throughout the half. His first chance came in the 12th minute, when he blazed down the left channel and was too impatient to hold play up for his teammates. Instead, he sent a cross way too far out in front of Angulo, who made a lung-busting run to try to get to the back post.

Chicago’s defense was excellent in coverage throughout the half, blocking several shots, including a drive from Griezmann in the 17th and attempts from Ellis in the 31st and 34th minutes. The latter set up Orlando’s first corner, and although the ball was headed back and forth across the box by both teams, it eventually went behind for a second corner. Chicago cleared on the second one.

Chicago nearly got a cheap second goal in the 37th minute when Marin fell asleep and didn’t track Dithejane’s run from midfield. Dithejane tried to beat Crepeau from distance, but the Canadian international made a diving save.

Orlando finally got an attempt on target in the 41st minute on a long-distance free kick. Griezmann’s ball into the area found Brekalo, but Chris Brady was able to save the defender’s header. Two minutes later, space opened up for Griezmann outside the box. The Frenchman tried to pick out the inside of the right post from distance but Brady made a good diving save.

The thunderstorm that had been coming for a few minutes finally arrived, and referee Rosendo Mendoza sent the teams to the locker rooms for inclement weather just two minutes and 10 seconds from halftime.

After the lengthy delay for lightning of nearly two hours, the game resumed with Tiago, Zakaria Taifi, and Marco Pasalic replacing Spicer, Marin, and Cartagena. The Lions nearly equalized in the couple of minutes remaining in the first half when Dorsey sent an entry ball through the box. Griezmann flicked it on toward the back post but Tiago couldn’t quite get to it at the back post, and moments later, the teams took a short break for halftime.

At the break, Orlando City had the advantage in possession (50.5%-49.5%), shots (9-4), and corners (2-0). Chicago led in passing accuracy (89.5%-89.2%). Both teams put two shots on target.

The Lions started the second half brightly, looking to combine but not creating much. Pasalic made a difference as an active player working well off of Dorsey outside and inside to Griezmann, Ellis, and Angulo. The Croatian created a corner kick with a cross that was blocked behind and Orlando made it pay off.

Griezmann sent in a good cross on the set piece. Brekalo made a diagonal run from left to right through the box before rising and meeting the delivery, flicking it past Brady to pull Orlando level in the 52nd minute.

David Brekalo equalizes it off Griezmann's corner! 💪

Orlando is back in it. pic.twitter.com/1mhw1ppGoc

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 20, 2026

Rather than energizing Orlando, the goal seemed to wake Chicago up. The Fire started keeping more of the ball and winning set pieces from that possession. Tiago gave up an unnecessary free kick near the sideline in the 58th minute, but the Lions withstood it.

Taifi, playing on his weaker left side on the back line, was repeatedly taken advantage of by Chicago in the second half. The Homegrown defender got burned in the 62nd minute, allowing his man to get to the end line before slipping a pass through Jansson’s legs that Brekalo knocked away for a corner. The Lions dealt with the set piece.

Lewandowski changed the game in the 66th minute when he made a good run between defenders and got onto a through ball on the left. From a tight angle as he approached the end line, it seemed the Chicago star would either have to settle for a low-percentage shot or turn wide and look for help, but Jansson gambled that he could get the ball cleanly and lost. Sliding in to try to nick the ball from behind in his own penalty area, the Swede got Lewandowski’s foot and conceded a penalty. Lewandowski took the spot kick himself, sending Crepeau left and putting it just inside the post on the other side to make it 2-1 in the 69th minute.

Lewandowski puts Chicago back in front from the spot ☝️ pic.twitter.com/TLcBfS0pIV

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 20, 2026

From that point on, Orlando City wasted the chances it created and Chicago looked for opportunities to come forward in transition and kill the game.

Angulo fizzed a shot just over the bar in the 73rd minute, although Brady had it covered as the effort was right down the middle.

Dorsey did well to block a Lewandowski shot from just inside the top of the area in the 75th minute after Taifi got baited into stepping up, leaving room behind for the Fire to break. Taifi got beat again down the left side a minute later, but Jansson was there to block the cross behind for a corner, and it nearly paid off for the Lions rather than the Fire.

Orlando cleared the corner kick cross and second-half sub Daryl Dike played it into space for Griezmann near midfield. Griezmann was caught from behind by Jonathan Dean, but he held the defender off long enough and sent a shot just wide of the right post.

Much of the rest of the game consisted of a bit of hero ball, with Orlando looking to play long balls over the top that weren’t connecting or firing hopeful shots from long range. Pasalic created space for himself from about 25 yards out in the 81st minute but blazed his shot just over the bar. Dike tried his luck from outside the box four minutes later, but he too missed the target. Pasalic shook free near the top of the area in the 88th minute, and although he got his shot on frame this time, he sent his effort straight at Brady for a comfortable save.

The Lions could do nothing with the six minutes of added time except send long balls over everyone and out of play, and the game came to an end.

At the final whistle, Orlando City held the advantage in possession (55%-45%), shots (17-6), shots on target (4-3), and passing accuracy (89.7%-86%). Both teams won three corners in the match.

“We started not as precise as we want, then we were able to to improve a little bit,” Perelman said. “We couldn’t score. It’s not easy, of course, to score. We were there, creating some chances. Some ones more clear than other ones, and then again, they found those goals in those situations. They have talented players. Game over.”

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Orlando City has yet another quick turnaround as Real Salt Lake visits on Saturday.

Welcome to your match thread and preview for a Wednesday night matchup between Orlando City (6-10-3, 21 points) and the Chicago Fire (10-6-2, 32 points) at Inter.co Stadium (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). This is the first of two meetings this season between the two Eastern Conference clubs, with the Lions making the return trip to Chicago on Oct. 28. You are forgiven if you forgot this is a rematch of a 2025 playoff game, because Orlando City wasn’t in the postseason very long..

Here’s what you need to know about the match.

History

The Lions are 8-6-8 in 22 MLS regular-season meetings with the Fire and 8-8-8 in all competitions. Orlando City is 3-3-5 against the Fire on the road in the regular season and 3-5-5 away vs. Chicago in all competitions.

The teams last met in the wild card matchup to start the 2025 Eastern Conference playoffs. The Fire ended Orlando’s season with a 3-1 win, blowing open a game that was scoreless at the break. Brian Gutierrez struck early in the second half and Hugo Cuypers added a brace. Tyrese Spicer spoiled the playoff shutout.

The most recent regular-season meeting took place in Orlando on May 31, 2025, with Chicago winning 3-1 at Inter&Co Stadium. Orlando did not cover itself in glory, with Pedro Gallese allowing Philip Zinckernagel’s shot to slip right between his hands and in for the first goal. Cuypers scored a brace just a minute apart with Rodrigo Schlegel a mere passenger for both goals as Chicago built a 3-0 lead in the first half. Alex Freeman scored a consolation goal for the Lions. Assistant Coach Diego Torres skippered the Lions that night in place of the suspended Oscar Pareja.

The first meeting of last season took place May 3. Despite Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady getting sent off before halftime for fouling Duncan McGuire and denying him a goal-scoring opportunity, the teams played to a 0-0 draw, as Orlando City simply couldn’t find any precision in front of goal.

These two teams met in Orlando on June 22, 2024, with the Lions capturing a 4-2 home victory. Facundo Torres scored a brace, with Luis Muriel (from the penalty spot) and Ivan Angulo adding goals to offset a penalty by Maren Haile-Selassie (after a Schlegel handball in the box) and a goal by Cuypers.

The two sides clashed at Soldier Field on May 29, playing to a 1-1 draw. Torres opened the scoring early, and the Lions should have had a penalty late in the first half when Angulo was clipped while in alone on a goal after rounding the goalkeeper, but the video assistant referee did not overturn the no-call on the field, and referee Malik Badawi did not look at the play himself. The Fire tied the match in the final 20 minutes on a Cuypers goal.

The Lions swept the two-game season series in 2023 by identical 3-1 scorelines. On Aug. 21, Orlando City got goals from Wilder Cartagena, Angulo, and Torres (from the penalty spot) to overcome a 1-0 deficit supplied by Mauricio Pineda, winning 3-1 on the road.

When the teams met in Orlando, the Lions rode a Torres brace to a 3-1 win on July 1. Xherdan Shaqiri pulled a goal back from the penalty spot after a Kyle Smith foul in the box against Gutierrez, but Ramiro Enrique added an insurance goal.

Orlando City claimed a 1-0 victory at Exploria Stadium on April 9, 2022 on Ercan Kara’s first MLS goal. The two sides met at Soldier Field just over a month prior to that match and played, officially, to a 0-0 draw on March 5. The game is another Orlando City match that will live in infamy due to the Professional Referee Organization’s statement after the game that Junior Urso’s goal should not have been overturned upon video review by Ismir Pekmic due to Kara not having clearly and obviously handled the ball in the buildup in any of the available replay angles. Alas…

The teams met in Orlando on Aug. 21, 2021, with a second-half Benji Michel strike lifting the Lions to a 1-0 victory. Tesho Akindele set up the play by forcing a turnover. In that year’s meeting at Soldier Field, the Fire got the better of the Lions to the tune of 3-1 on July 7. Andres Perea scored his first career MLS goal to open the scoring, but a defensive lapse in first-half stoppage allowed Boris Sekulic to equalize just before the break. Chicago rode that momentum, adding goals by Robert Beric and Chinonso Offor.

The Lions were 0-4-4 in the eight meetings before smashing the Fire 4-1 in Orlando on Sept. 19, 2020. Orlando City withstood two Chicago penalties and saw two Fire goals overturned by video review in that rain-soaked match. (Weird things usually happen when Chicago visits Orlando.) The Lions got goals from Chris Mueller, Nani, Urso, and Michel, while Chicago had only a Beric penalty to show for an otherwise good offensive performance.

The last meeting of 2019 was the last time the Fire won on the road in the series. It was a debacle for the Lions, who lost defender Robin Jansson to a back/neck injury early and shipped a handful of goals in a 5-2 home loss in the regular-season finale. Orlando got goals from Akindele and Michel but largely played like a team that couldn’t wait to end its season. Chicago got an own goal from Orlando’s Smith and strikes from CJ Sapong, Aleksandar Katai, and Przemyslaw Frankowski (twice) in the rout.

Orlando City was seconds away from a road win on March 9, 2019 before Sapong’s free header in the 95th minute leveled things in a 1-1 draw in Chicago. Dom Dwyer scored Orlando’s goal.

In 2018, the Fire swept the season series. Orlando fell 2-1 at home on May 26, 2018, with Alan Gordon’s wondergoal breaking a 1-1 deadlock. The return leg in Chicago that September was an abysmal performance by Orlando in a 4-0 Fire victory.

Chicago went 1-0-1 in 2017, with the teams playing to a 0-0 draw on June 4, 2017, with the Lions reduced to nine men. The previous 2017 meeting was the Fire’s 4-0 beatdown of Orlando on June 24 of that year. David Accam figured in all four goals, with a hat trick and an assist on Nemanja Nikolić’s goal.

The teams split the points in 2016, drawing both meetings, 1-1 in Orlando and 2-2 in Chicago.

The teams met once in Orlando in 2015, with the Lions and Fire battling to a 1-1 draw. You may recall that five-hour, weather-delayed affair with Eric Gehrig’s own-goal canceling out an Accam strike. The other three meetings came in Chicago, with City winning 3-2 and 1-0 in MLS matches and falling 3-1 in U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal action.

Overview

The Lions are coming off a 1-1 home draw against FC Cincinnati on Saturday. Pavel Bucha opened the scoring in the first half and Spicer tied the match shortly after halftime. While Orlando has drawn two straight and is winless (0-1-2) in all competitions, the Lions also have earned points in three of the four MLS matches since the league restarted after the World Cup break. Orlando City looks better overall, but the defensive lapses continue to be a problem — the kind of problem a good team like the Fire can exploit. The Lions are 4-3-2 at home during the regular season, and Spicer is riding a three-match goal-scoring streak in MLS play.

The good news is that Cuypers has left Chicago and is now in Liga MX. The bad news is that the Fire replaced him with Robert Lewandowski.

Chicago enters tonight fresh off a 2-1 win at home over the Portland Timbers on Sunday, so Orlando has one extra day of rest on tonight’s visitors. The Fire have won five straight games in all competitions, including a three-game sweep of Liga MX competition in Leagues Cup. Chicago is an even 3-3-2 on the road this season after losing its last two away matches to New York City FC and Miami.

Beating Chicago means trying to contain a dynamic offense led by Lewandowski, Zinckernagel, Jonathan Bamba, and others, including fullback Andrew Gutman, who has played particularly well of late. And yet, only Nashville has conceded fewer goals than Chicago in the Eastern Conference this season, so it’s a complete team and can be difficult at either end or both in any given game.

“It is going to be a really good game,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said ahead of the match. “I think it’s something that this league and some teams like us or Chicago bringing this level of players (like Antoine Griezmann and Lewandowski, respectively) are doing, and it’s great. For us, it’s about, as we always say, we respect every opponent, we’re at home, and we will prepare the game and we will try to win it.”

The Lions will be without Martin Ojeda (thigh), Braian Ojeda (foot), Bernardo Rhein (thigh), while Eduard Atuesta (thigh) and Nolan Miller (knee) are questionable. Chicago will be without André Franco (lower body), Mbekezeli Mbokazi (lower body), Chris Mueller (non-injury related), and Sergio Oregel Jr. (lower body), while Zinckernagel (lower body) is questionable.

Match Content

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

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Official Lineups

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Adrian Marin, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Luis Otavio, Wilder Cartagena, Tyrese Spicer.

Forwards: Justin Ellis, Antoine Griezmann.

Bench: Javier Otero, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Eduard Atuesta, Joran Gerbet, Harvey Sarajian, Marco Pasalic, Tiago, Daryl Dike.

Chicago Fire (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Chris Brady.

Defenders: Andrew Gutman, Jack Elliott, Joel Waterman, Jonathan Dean.

Midfielders: David Poreba, Dje D’Avilla, Anton Saletros.

Forwards: Jonathan Bamba, Robert Lewandowski, Puso Dithejane.

Bench: Josh Cohen, Viktor Radojević, Sam Rogers, Mauricio Pineda, Leonardo Barroso, Jason Shokalook, Sam Williams, Robin Lod, Maren Haile-Selassie.

Referees

REF: Rosendo Mendoza.
AR1: Ryan Graves.
AR2: Diego Blas.
4TH: Ben Meyer.
VAR: Ismail Elfath.
AVAR: Tom Felice.

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.

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Enjoy the game. Go City!