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Welcome to your match thread for Saturday afternoon’s Tropic Thunder showdown between Orlando City and Publix Enemies, Inter Miami CF at Chase Stadium (4:30 p.m., FOX, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+). It is the first of two scheduled meetings between the teams this season with the second leg in Orlando scheduled for Wednesday, May 15. It is the only meeting scheduled in Fort Lauderdale.
Here’s what you need to know before the game.
History
Orlando City is 5-4-4 in the series in all competitions, 2-3-0 on the road in the MLS regular season and 2-4-0 on the road in all competitions. The most recent meeting resulted in a 1-1 draw in Orlando on September 24, 2023. Duncan McGuire rallied Orlando from a 1-0 deficit after David Ruiz gave the Herons a 1-0 lead early in the second half.
The most recent meeting in South Florida took place on August 2 of last year in the Leagues Cup. The Herons were lucky not to see Lionel Messi sent off with a second yellow card late in the first half and even luckier to receive a soft penalty on Antonio Carlos. they won 3-1. Messi opened the scoring after being ignored early in the area. César Araujo made up for his unusual defensive error by scoring 10 minutes later. Josef Martínez put Miami back on top with Downy’s soft penalty just after halftime and Messi sank the dagger in the final 20 minutes.
The teams also met in Fort Lauderdale in the MLS match on May 20, 2023, with Orlando City wins, 3-1. Ercan Kara’s early goal was disallowed by Leonardo Campana just before the hour mark, but Martín Ojeda and Rafael Santos found the net in the second half to give the Lions a boost.
Inter Miami won at home, 4-1on October 5, 2022. Campana scored in the first minute of the game and Orlando City never calmed down. Gonzalo Higuaín added two goals, one from a penalty, and Ariel Lassiter also scored before Kara pulled one back to spoil the shutout.
The first meeting of the 2022 regular season resulted in a 1-0 victory for the city of Orlando at Exploria Stadium on July 9, as a Damion Lowe own goal in added time was the difference between the Lions winning just one point or all three. The ball was sent into the area by Jake Mulraney.
The teams also met at Exploria Stadium on May 25, 2022 in the US Open Cup, with both teams needing extra time after a goalless 90 minutes. In overtime, Miami got a goal from Jean Mota against the run of play, but Facundo Torres quickly equalized for Orlando. The match it ended 1-1 and Orlando won the penalty shootout., 4-2. Bryce Duke was denied by Mason Stajduhar and DeAndre Yedlin missed the net during point shots, while all four Orlando shooters scored.
Intrastate rivals played for goalless draw in Orlando on August 27, 2021. Tesho Akindele missed a penalty in the match, but the Lions had other good opportunities to score (but didn’t) in a wasted performance. Orlando and Miami fought for 1-1 draw at Exploria Stadium on August 4, 2021. Carlos scored in first-half stoppage time, but Kelvin Leerdam put him in concussion protocol on the play. Kieran Gibbs equalized in the 66th minute with a header against an inattentive Ruan. Akindele had a goal disallowed 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 from Chris Mueller and Nani on June 25, 2021.
In the last meeting of 2020, the Lions saw their 12-game unbeaten streak end on October 24 in a 2-1 road loss in Fort Lauderdale. Miami defender Leandro González Pirez’s header in the 89th minute was the difference after a goal from Daryl Dike and an own goal from Robin Jansson tied the game at halftime. The teams met in Orlando on September 12, 2020 with Orlando fighting for a 2-1 victory about Mauricio Pereyra’s goal. The Lions had taken the lead with an own goal from Andrés Reyes. Former León Brek Shea tied the score in the 65th, before Pereyra responded with a beautiful goal from the left post in the 69th.
The first match in Fort Lauderdale opened Phase 1 of Major League Soccer’s return to the regular season after the MLS is Back Tournament. That was an unusually sloppy game for the Lions, who fell 3-2 in Inter Miami’s first home game. It was the Miami franchise’s first 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 Julián Carranza’s brace and Rodolfo Pizarro’s sure goal were enough to lift the Herons.
Tropic Thunder’s first game went well for Orlando City, with Nani scoring late to lead the Lions to a 2-1 victory over the upstarts from South Florida in the opening game of the MLS is Back Tournament. Despite it being a tournament match, it was also a league match. Juan Agudelo opened the scoring for the Herons, but Mueller equalized, setting the stage for Nani’s game-winning goal in the 97th minute.
General description
The Lions are coming off a 3-1 win over Cavalry FC of the Canadian Premier League on Tuesday. That victory gave Orlando City a 6-1 aggregate score in two games and the Lions advanced to the round of 16 of the Concacaf Champions Cup. Despite the heavy rotation, Orlando got goals from Nico Lodeiro, Ramiro Enrique and Kyle Smith to advance.
Orlando City last played a regular season game a week ago at home against CF Montreal, drawing 0-0. Tonight’s game represents Orlando’s first road game of the 2024 MLS season.
Inter Miami is coming off a 1-1 away draw against LA Galaxy last Sunday. The Herons (stop me if you’ve heard this before) got a huge break when Mark Delgado was sent off with a second yellow card in the 87th minute. Messi scored five minutes later against the shorthanded Galaxy and Miami claimed a point. Delgado’s second yellow card was, of course, unanimously overturned by the MLS Disciplinary Committee, but the damage has already been done.
The Herons are 1-0-0 at home, having dispatched Real Salt Lake 2-0 in Inter Miami’s home opener on February 21.
Miami is one of the favorites in 2024 and plays with confidence under Gerardo Martino and is one of the league’s big favorites to win the MLS Cup. The lions must do what they can to limit Messi’s involvement as much as possible. Miami’s attack is formidable enough to help the team’s defense, as it is often difficult to dispossess the Herons and maintain prolonged periods of possession long enough to reach Inter Miami’s defensive line. That’s exactly what the Lions love to do, so today’s game will be an interesting battle of wills.
It’s a rivalry game, so anything can happen. History suggests it will be difficult.
“We are very optimistic after advancing in the Champions Cup and because of the performance we had (at home) in the first game,” said Orlando City head coach Oscar Pareja. “We are very confident in moving forward on this journey. I know we’ll be busy in the next few weeks, but the boys are ready. We are ready to compete. Now we focus on going to Miami, the first time against our rival and getting a result there. Then we will think about Tuesday’s game (against Tigres), but first we will focus on the next opponent. “We already have our comments, we already have our reviews, but now we are ready.”
The Lions do not have any players listed on the team’s availability report. Miami will be without Benjamín Cremaschi (sports hernia), Facundo Farias (knee), Ian Fray (knee), Franco Negri (knee) and Robbie Robinson (medical evaluation), while Ryan Sailor (oblique) is doubtful.
Match content
Official lineups:
Orlando City (4-2-3-1)
Goalie: Pedro Gallese.
Defenders: Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson.
Defensive midfielders: César Araujo, Wilder Cartagena.
Offensive midfielders: Iván Angulo, Martín Ojeda, Facundo Torres.
Forward: Duncan McGuire.
Bank: Mason Stajduhar, Kyle Smith, Michael Halliday, David Brekalo, Felipe, Jeorgio Kocevski, Nico Lodeiro, Ramiro Enrique, Luis Muriel.
InterMiami (4-3-3)
Goalie: Drake Callender.
Defenders: Jordi Alba, Tomás Avilés, Nicolás Freire, DeAndre Yedlin.
Midfielders: Diego Gómez, Sergio Busquets, Julián Gressel.
Forward: Robert Taylor, Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi.
Bank: CJ dos Santos, Ryan Sailor, Sergii Kryvtsov, Shanyder Borgelin, Jean Mota, Lawson Sunderland, David Ruiz, Noah Allen, Leonardo Campana.
Referees:
REFEREE: Jaime Herrera.
AR1: Bruno Rizo.
AR2: Regis Cardoso.
4TH: Ivan Cid Cruz.
VAR: Sandro Ricci.
PENNY PINCHER: Determined.
How to watch
Match time: 4:30 pm
Event: Chase Stadium – Fort Lauderdale.
TV/Live Stream: FOX, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.
Radio: Real Radio 104.1 FM (English), Acción 97.9 FM, 810 AM (Spanish).
Twitter: For quick reaction and live updates, follow us on @LaManeLandas well as the official Twitter account for the city of Orlando (@OrlandoCiudadSC).
Enjoy the game. What a city!
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