For starters: MLS tourney opens with in-state rivalry
Orlando City will play Inter Miami for 1st time on July 8
The Orlando City versus Inter Miami rivalry is finally moving from social media to the pitch.
Orlando City will face off with Inter Miami to kick off the “MLS is Back” Tournament on July 8 at ESPN Wide World of Sports at Disney World, highlighting the two home-state teams in the competition.
The match is tentatively scheduled to kick off at 8 p.m., with the TV network still to be announced.
Fans will not be allowed to attend the tournament at Disney World, with MLS creating a closed environment to help protect players and staff from the coronavirus, but every match is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN, Fox or Univision.
Orlando City executive vice president Luiz Muzzi said during the MLS draw livestream the Lions don’t have a big homefield advantage with no fans allowed at matches.
“I think it feels good to be home,” he said. “I don’t think there’s a whole lot of an
advantage there. You’re playing great teams and they all prepare. … We’re just glad to be back and looking forward to starting.”
It will be the first time Orlando City and expansion side Inter Miami, whose fans have traded barbs for years, get to play each other. Inter Miami’s front office is filled with former Orlando City leaders, some who were let go from their positions as the Lions kept retooling in an effort to earn their first playoff bid. Orlando City, meanwhile, is eager to be the top club in Florida and has some positive momentum under new coach Oscar Pareja.
MLS added Inter Miami to Orlando City’s Group A pool. The rest of the 19 teams unattached to a pool were set via a draw Thursday afternoon. New York City FC, Philadelphia Union, Chicago Fire and Nashville SC joined Pool A during the draw.
Orlando City will play Inter Miami, NYCFC and Nashville in the group stage.
The Lions draw is a bit unpredictable. Outside of NYCFC, which entered the league at the same time as Orlando City, the Lions will be facing two expansion sides that only played two MLS games before play was shut down due to the coronavirus.
Inter Miami will play Orlando City, Philadelphia and Chicago. NYCFC will play Orlando City, Philadelphia and Chicago.
Philadelphia will play Inter Miami, NYCFC and Nashville. Chicago will play Inter Miami, NYCFC and Nashville. And Nashville will play Orlando City, Philadelphia and Chicago.
The top two teams from each group along with the four best third-place finishers will move on to the knockout stage. The knockout stage will include a round-of-16, quarterfinals, semifinals and the championship match on Aug. 11.
Here are the other pools in the Eastern Conference:
GROUP C: Toronto FC, New England Revolution, Montreal Impact and D.C. United.
GROUP E: Atlanta United, Cincinnati, New York Red Bulls and Columbus Crew. And here are Western Conference pools:
GROUP B: Seattle Sounders, FC Dallas, Vancouver and San Jose.
GROUP D: Real Salt Lake, Sporting KC, Colorado and Minnesota.
GROUP F: LAFC, L.A. Galaxy, Houston and Portland.