Third time’s a charm: Miami hosts Orlando in Leagues Cup semis
The Herons of Inter Miami CF and Lions of Orlando City SC renew their Florida Derby rivalry Wednesday in a Leagues Cup semifinal. Orlando has beaten Miami twice in MLS play, 3-0 and 4-1.
Luis Suarez scored two penalty kicks in Inter Miami’s 2-1 Leagues Cup quarterfinal win against Tigres. The Herons will play in-state rival Orlando City SC in the semifinals Wednesday for a berth in Sunday’s cup final. CREDIT: Inter Miami CF
Rivalry continues to grow
Tomorrow’s Leagues Cup semifinal match between Inter Miami and Orlando City is more important than any previous Florida Derby. At stake:
• A berth in Sunday’s 2025 Leagues Cup final;
• Automatic qualification for the 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup; and
• Bragging rights until the teams’ next meeting.
The Teams
Orlando City (13-7-8, 47 points) and Inter Miami (13-5-7, 46 points) are fifth and sixth in the MLS Eastern Conference. The Lions an Herons have played two regular season matches, both convincing victories by Orlando (3-0 at Inter Miami, 4-1 at home).
Orlando City is the more senior organization, formed when Austin Aztex FC moved to Orlando in 2011. The Lions competed in USL Pro until beginning MLS play in 2015.
Major League Soccer approved footballing icon David Beckham’s plan to put a team in Miami in 2018; Club Internacional de Futbol Miami began play in 2020.
The Lions lead the all-time series with seven wins, five losses and six draws.
The Rivalry
Wednesday’s Leagues Cup semifinal will be the most important match played between the sides. Only three previous meetings hold real significance:
Aug. 22, 2020: Inter Miami 3, Orlando City 2. Inter Miami registered the first win in franchise history in its second meeting with its in-state rival. Julian Carranza had a first-half brace (12' and 24') at DRV PNK (now Chase) Stadium in Fort Lauderdale and Rodolfo Pizarro scored the eventual game-winning goal in the 48th minute. Daryl Dike (18') and Nani (80') scored for the Lions. Orlando City beat the Herons 2-1 on its home pitch in the teams' first match on July 8, 2020.
May 25, 2022: Orlando City 1 (4), Inter Miami 1 (2), U.S. Open Cup. In the most important match between Los Garzas and Los Leones to date, Orlando vanquished Inter Miami in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup round of 16. The clubs played to a scoreless draw through the regulation 90 minutes at Exploria Stadium, sending the match into two 15-minute extra-time periods.
Jean Mota gave Miami the lead in the 94th minute, but Facundo Torres equalized just three minutes later for the Purple. Still tied after 120 minutes, the match went to penalty kicks. Lions goalie Mason Stajduhar blocked the Herons' second attempt (by Bryce Duke) and DeAndre Yedlin missed Miami's third attempt. Mauricio Pereyra made the last of four successful attempts by the Lions, sending Orlando on to the quarterfinals. The Purple went on to win the 2022 Open Cup, beating the United Soccer League's Sacramento Republic 3-0 in the final for their first major trophy since joining MLS.
Aug. 2, 2023: Inter Miami 3, Orlando City 1, Leagues Cup. Lionel Messi (7' and 72') and Josef Martinez (51', penalty) scored for the Herons and Cesar Araujo (17') had Orlando's only goal in a ho-hum round-of-32 Leagues Cup win. Inter Miami eventually won its first-ever major hardware, lifting the Leagues Cup trophy after defeating Nashville SC in the final.
The Competition
The Leagues Cup is a competition between teams in North America’s top professional circuits, Mexico’s Liga MX and Major League Soccer, which has clubs in the United States and Canada.
A U.S.-based squad will win the competition for the third straight season, despite a revised format designed to ensure both leagues have four teams in the quarterfinals. The MLS final four — Miami, Orlando, Los Angeles Galaxy and Seattle Sounders — won matches against Tigres, Toluca, Pachuca and Puebla, respectively.
Inter Miami and Orlando is expected to kick off at 7:30 p.m. CT Wednesday at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. The Galaxy will host Seattle in the other semifinal beginning at 9:45 p.m. CT at Dignity Health Sports Park.
The third-place and championship matches will be played on Sunday, with game times and locations to be determined.
The Players
Inter Miami is led by eight-time Balon d’Or winner and Argentina World Cup hero Lionel Messi and a cast of world class veterans: left back Jordi Alba, central midfielders Sergio Busquets and Rodrigo DePaul, striker Luis Suarez and goalkeeper Oscar Ustari.
Orlando City features arguably the league’s best trio of designated players: forwards Luis Muriel (9 goals, 7 assists) and Marco Pašalić (11 goals, 4 assists) and midfielder Martín Ojeda (14 goals, 14 assists). Pedro Gallese is a standout in goal.
Messi (19 goals, 10 assists) and Ojeda are among the top candidates for MLS Most Valuable Player (Messi is the reigning MVP).
The Coaches
Veteran manager Oscar Pareja, 57, has coached the Lions since before the 2020 season; he has a record of 109 wins, 67 losses, and 53 draws with Orlando; overall, he’s 255-181-119. Pareja’s 175 MLS coaching wins is fifth all-time behind Bruce Arena (262), Sigi Schmid (240), Peter Vermes (203) and Bob Bradley (194).
Inter Miami’s Javier Mascherano, 41, is in his first year coaching a club team after coaching several years with Argentina’s national team. Mascherano, a former defender who played with some of his players at Barcelona and on the Argentina men’s national team, will miss Wednesday’s match. The Leagues Cup disciplinary committee gave Mascherano a one-match suspension for using profane language in an argument with officials at halftime of the quarterfinal against Tigres.
The Lineups
Both teams rested their starters in MLS matches Saturday to prepare for the semifinal tomorrow. Both managers will play their strongest 11.
It’s unclear whether that will include Messi and Alba for Inter Miami. Messi suffered a hamstring injury against Necaxa in Leagues Cup group play, missed matches against Pumas and Orlando City, then aggravated the injury after coming in as a sub in the second half against the Galaxy. He’s missed the Herons’ most recent two matches, against Tigres in the Leagues Cup quarterfinals and an MLS date against D.C. United in Washington.
Alba hurt his knee against Tigres and sat out the DC match.
Both practiced with the team today, but assistant coach Javier Morales, filling in during Mascherano’s suspension, said it’s unclear whether they’ll be available Wednesday.
Here’s a best guess who’ll start for the Pink and Purple:
INTER MIAMI — Ustari; Fray, Lujan, Falcon, Allen; De Paul, Busquets; Allende, Messi, Segovia; Suarez.
If Messi can’t go, expect Yannick Bright to start alongside Busquets with De Paul moving to the attacking line and Segovia playing more centrally. Baltasar Rodriguez and/or Fafa Picault could see significant minutes if Allende continues struggling to convert opportunities on the counter.
ORLANDO CITY — Gallese; Freeman, Schlegel, Jansson, Brekalo; Atuesta, Araujo; Pasalic, Ojeda, Angulo; Muriel.
The Prediction
It’s a cliche because it’s true; it is very difficult to beat the same team three times in a season: