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

The Lions head south for their first meeting with the Herons since Lionel Messi’s arrival.

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Welcome to your match thread for a midweek Tropic Thunder matchup between Orlando City and the team’s Publix Enemies, Inter Miami CF in Leagues Cup Round of 32 action at DRV PNK Stadium (8 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+). It’s the second meeting between the sides this season and the second time they’ve met in South Florida. The Herons are scheduled to make the return trip north on the Florida Turnpike on Sept. 24 in MLS regular-season play.

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

Orlando City is 5-3-3 in this fledgling series in all competitions, but only 2-3-0 on the road. The most recent meeting took place at DRV PNK Stadium back on May 20, with Orlando City winning, 3-1. Ercan Kara’s early goal was canceled out by Leonardo Campana shortly before the hour mark, but Martin Ojeda and Rafael Santos found the net in the second half to power the Lions.

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. Antonio 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 of 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 65th, 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.

The Lions are playing on shorter rest, coming off Saturday’s thrilling 3-2 home win over Santos Laguna. That win pushed Orlando City to the top of the South 2 group. The reward for winning the group was becoming the only group winner from MLS to then have to play on the road and these two teams are the only group winners that had to play a group winner in the Round of 32. The Lions went 1-0-1 in Leagues Cup group play, winning their shootout after their draw against Houston, although a terrible penalty call was the only reason that match went to spot kicks. Orlando City is 5-3-3 on the road in league play, but did lose on the road in the team’s only U.S. Open Cup match of 2023.

Inter Miami destroyed Atlanta United in its most recent match on July 25, so the Herons are well rested after going 2-0-0 in group play. They opened the tournament with a stoppage-time snatch-and-grab by beating Cruz Azul 2-1 in the 94th minute on a Lionel Messi free kick goal. Miami is 4-5-2 at home in the regular season and 8-5-2 in home matches in all competitions. The Herons were 0-3-3 in their six matches prior to Messi’s arrival and appear to be a much more confident team since the league’s major financial partners helped their owner finance their new signing.

Oh, and they hired a new coach too, as former Atlanta United coach Gerardo Martino returns to MLS after a bit of a mixed career with the Mexican Men’s National Team.

It’s a rivalry game, so anything can happen. History suggests it’ll be tight.

The Lions will have their hands full tracking, Messi whether he has the ball or not, but they must also not allow Sergio Busquets time to pick out a target from the back either. Then there’s the matter of Campana and former Atlanta United star Josef Martinez.

So far this season, Martinez leads the club in goals (6) during the regular season, just ahead of Campana (4), but of course Messi has already chipped in three goals in two games since his arrival. Suffice it to say, the Lions will need to bring their best game to this rivalry this time around.

“We are very excited to participate in this tournament [Leagues Cup], not just because of the importance of the Florida Derby and the attention that the game itself is going to bring, but also because of the position where our players have taken the club,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said. “We are in a position where we can be very optimistic about advancing in (tonight’s) game and to the next round. We are excited, prepared, and ready to play.”

The Lions will be without Michael Halliday (thigh) or Gaston Gonzalez (thigh), while Junior Urso (lower leg) is listed as questionable. Miami will not have Christopher McVey (red card suspension), Gregore (Lisfranc), or Jean Mota (knee).

Here’s your match content for this one:

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.

Defenders: Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, Kyle Smith.

Defensive Midfielders: Cesar Araujo, Wilder Cartagena.

Attacking Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Mauricio Pereyra, Facundo Torres.

Forward: Duncan McGuire.

Bench: Mason Stajduhar, Adam Grinwis, Luca Petrasso, Abdi Salim, Rodrigo Schlegel, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Felipe, Martin Ojeda, Shak Mohammed, Ramiro Enrique, Jack Lynn, Ercan Kara.

Goalkeeper: Drake Callender.

Defenders: Noah Allen, Kamal Miller, Sergii Kryvstov, DeAndre Yedlin.

Midfielders: Benjamin Cremaschi, Sergio Busquets, Dixon Arroyo.

Forwards: Robert Taylor, Joseph Martinez, Lionel Messi.

Bench: Cole Jenson, CJ dos Santos, Jordi Alba, Ryan Sailor, Harvey Neville, Victor Ulloa, Diego Gomez, David Ruiz, Edison Azcona, Robbie Robinson, Shanyder Borgelin, Leonardo Campana.

REF: Ivan Barton.AR1: David Moran.AR2: Henry Pupiro.4TH: Keylor Herrera.VAR: Ricardo Montero.

Match Time: 8 p.m.

Venue: DRV PNK Stadium — Fort Lauderdale.

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

Radio: FM 96.9 The Game (English), Acción 97.9 FM, 810 AM (Spanish).

Twitter: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow along at @TheManeLand, as well as Orlando City’s official Twitter feed (@OrlandoCitySC).

Enjoy the game. Go City!

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flying dog

August 2, 2023 at 5:46 pm

VAMOS Orlando!

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Pride lose in stoppage time, OCB readies for Inter Miami II, Orlando City Academy boasts six international call-ups, and more.

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Welcome to the weekend, Mane Landers! With no first-team matches to be had today, my wife and I are taking it as a chance to get out and do some volunteer work today. If you’ve never given it a shot, I highly recommend it. Not only does it boost personal morale to help out those who need it, the world could just generally use more people doing awesome things for others. After that, we should be home in time to tune into the Young Lions at 6 p.m. playing at DRV PNK Stadium. Let’s get to the links!

The Orlando Pride played their final home game of the NWSL Challenge Cup against the Washington Spirit. The match played to a late 1-0 loss as Mariana Speckmaier broke the deadlock in the eighth minute of stoppage time catching Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorehouse off her line. Speckmaier’s strike was her first career shot on goal.

SPECKMAIER SPIRIT STOPPAGE STUNNERMariana Speckmaier's first career shot on goal is a game-winner in Orlando!! pic.twitter.com/ZAyYzNU3yu

The match came just a few days early for Orlando’s international players to be cleared to play upon returning from the World Cup. Marta, Adriana, Mariana Larroquette, and Rafaelle will all be welcome additions for the back stretch of the regular season as the Pride struggled to hit the back of the net and gave up yet another late goal.

The Young Lions of OCB have made their way south to take on the Pink Chicks of Inter Miami II. The match is set to begin at 6 p.m. in the latest installment of the reserve rivalry. The last meeting that took place in Fort Lauderdale was on May 25, when Orlando forward Jack Lynn finished off a pass from Alex Freeman for the sole goal in the match. Now up to 12 goals this season, Lynn currently sits tied atop the league in the Golden Boot race — level with Atlanta United 2’s Nick Firmino. This match will be Inter Miami’s ninth home game of the season, with the club looking to rebound following its loss on the road against Toronto FC II in its most recent match. With an Orlando City victory, the Lions would sweep the regular-season series against Inter Miami II.

The City Beautiful’s soccer future is bright as six Orlando City Development Academy players have received the call from their international teams to participate in the Concacaf Under-15 Championship. This is the fourth edition of the Concacaf Boys’ U-15 Championship and boasts 41 participating teams from 39 Concacaf member associations and two guest nations from the Asian Football Confederation. The competition will be played in a three-League format (A, B, and C), starting with group stage play, followed by a knockout stage.

If you are looking to catch any of the League A action tomorrow, Jarell Bonilla and El Salvador are set to kick off at 2 p.m. in Group A, Dylan Judelson will be representing Canada in Group C at 4 p.m, and our four Puerto Rican representatives begin at 6 p.m in Group D. Fans can follow all the action through Concacaf Go.

Answering the call ☎️ Congrats to our SIX players called up to represent their national teams for the Concacaf U15 Championship! pic.twitter.com/NzNKLPR9ME

After a nervy ending to the group stage of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the United States Women’s National Team will begin its knockout run in the Round of 16 tomorrow against Sweden. The USWNT and Jamaica were the only two Concacaf teams to advance to the knockout round. For those of us watching locally, it will be a very early morning, as we will need to be up and tuned in by 5 a.m. Sweden advanced to the knockout rounds as the winners of Group G, defeating South Africa, Italy, and Argentina along the way. This will be Sweden’s fourth consecutive Women’s World Cup in which it advanced out of the group, and its eighth overall among its nine tournament appearances. However, the United States has now advanced out of the group in all nine of its own trips to the Women’s World Cup.

Dreams to reality💙 I’m a BLUE https://t.co/E5pByJhKDJ

That’s all I have for you folks. I hope you enjoy your weekend. And if you get the chance, make a stranger’s day and be the change you want to see in the world. Vamos Orlando!

A two-week break before its next game could prove very beneficial for Orlando City.

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Orlando City did not want to exit Leagues Cup. It definitely didn’t want to exit it to Inter Miami, and it especially didn’t want the loss to come hand in hand with some…interesting officiating decisions. What’s done is done though, and now that the Lions are out of the running, their exit from the competition doesn’t have to be a bad thing. OCSC won’t play another game of competitive soccer for a little over two weeks, when the team travels to the Midwest to take on the Chicago Fire. In my opinion, though it stings to be out of Leagues Cup courtesy of the pink team to the south, a two-week layoff could hardly come at a better time for the Lions.

For one thing, although the injury list isn’t a mile long, Orlando doesn’t have a clean bill of health either. Gaston Gonzalez and Mikey Halliday were both listed as out on the availability report for the Inter Miami match, and while Junior Urso was listed as questionable with a right lower leg issue, he did not make the matchday roster, and has yet to do so since his re-signing. Halliday has been a starter when fit, Gonzalez was beginning to look more impactful coming off the bench before going down injured, and Urso will almost certainly slot in as the first defensive midfielder off the bench once he’s healthy. Having some extra time to get those guys fit, and potentially even reintegrated into training with the squad, is never going to be a bad thing.

Then, there’s the issue of rest for the guys who are currently healthy. The season is a long one, and Oscar Pareja has a tendency to eschew rotation once he finds a formation and starting XI that he really likes. Papi has deployed the same lineup in three of the Lions’ last four games, with the only change coming against the Houston Dynamo when Martin Ojeda got the start instead of Mauricio Pereyra. Those minutes add up during the hot, grueling slog of summer and these two weeks are valuable time for guys with a lot of minutes on their legs to rest and recover.

The Lions did a startlingly good job of navigating the summer months that are typically absolutely brutal for them. OCSC finds itself sitting fifth in a crowded Eastern Conference table with 11 games left to play in the season. The tricky thing is that six of those 11 games are against teams currently above the playoff line, and two of those are road matches against Supporters Shield leaders FC Cincinnati and a Nashville SC team that Orlando always has a tough time against. It isn’t the worst possible finish to the season, but it’s a long way from being a cake walk. That means that having extra time to rest, get healthy, and work on any areas of concern on the training ground could prove to be invaluable.

It sucks to be out of the running for a trophy, but I think a lot of fans and people involved with the club dearly want to improve on OCSC’s record in the playoffs. It isn’t enough to just make the playoffs and bow out after a game. This team and its fans want to see a deep run in the postseason. If the chips fall the right way, having a breather before entering the home stretch of the season might be exactly what this team needs to make that happen.

Orlando Pride face the Washington Spirit tonight, analyzing Sweden before match with USWNT, MLS transfer news, and more.

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How’s it going, Mane Landers? The end of the week is finally in sight, we just have to get through a good chunk of today before we can kick back and relax. I don’t have many weekend plans beyond staying up to watch some soccer and trying something new at the Venezuelan bakery up the road from me. It should be a nice next few days. Let’s get to the links!

The Orlando Pride will aim for their first win of the 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup when they take on the Washington Spirit at 7 p.m. at Exploria Stadium tonight. Both teams have already been eliminated from reaching the knockout stage of the tournament. The last time they faced off was on July 1 in the regular season, with the Pride winning 3-0 on the road. The Pride also beat the Spirit 2-1 on May 20 at home, but fell 4-2 to them on May 10 earlier in the tournament. Nearly every Pride player has participated in this year’s Challenge Cup, with young players like rookies Messiah Bright and Summer Yates receiving useful minutes. Defender Haley McCutcheon’s next appearance will be her 25th as a member of the Pride and 125th across all NWSL competitions.

After finishing second in its group, the United States Women’s National Team will take on a tough Swedish team that won all of its group games. Sweden’s defense has been both physical and resolute this tournament, only conceding once thus far. The USWNT will have to find a way to deal with center back Amanda Ilestedt, who has impressed on both sides of the ball and is a force to be reckoned with in the air. Sweden’s offense is spearheaded by Arsenal’s Stina Blackstenius, with Barcelona’s Fridolina Rolfö and Chelsea’s Johanna Kaneryd attacking through the wings. It will be a tough match, but the USWNT may be able to find the same kind of success counter attacking that South Africa did against the European nation.

American winger Matthew Hoppe is headed to MLS, joining the San Jose Earthquakes on a year-long loan from Middlesbrough. The 22-year-old has had trouble finding playing time abroad, so it’ll be interesting to see how he does for the Earthquakes. The LA Galaxy also made some late moves in the summer transfer window, trading away up to $600,000 in General Allocation Money for FC Dallas midfielder Edwin Cerrillo and trading its first pick in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft and up to $50,000 in conditional GAM to the Colorado Rapids for forward Michael Barrios. They notably added Japanese veteran defender Maya Yoshida to bolster their back line as well.

Elsewhere in the league, Jan Gregus is headed back to Minnesota United after the Loons made a trade with Nashville SC, D.C. United added Panamanian forward Jose Fajardo, and FC Dallas signed midfielder Asier Illarramendi, who has played 350 matches for Real Sociedad and Real Madrid. LAFC also transferred Jose Cifuentes to Rangers in Scotland.

The Women’s World Cup’s Round of 16 is set, with the group stage done and dusted. Morocco came up with a crucial 1-0 win over Colombia that resulted in both teams qualifying for the knockout stage. Germany is eliminated from the tournament after drawing with South Korea in a match it had to win. It’s a tough break for the Germans considering they beat Morocco 6-0 earlier in the tournament, but that’s just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. Morocco will face France on Monday morning, while Colombia will take on Jamaica on Tuesday. Of the seven debutants for the expanded tournament, Morocco was the only one to reach the Round of 16.

That’s all I have for you today. I hope you all have a wonderful Friday and rest of your weekend.

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