Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Breaking down the opponents for the season resumption
Inter Miami CF is preparing for the resumption of their inaugural Major League Soccer season — which was paused for four months due to the COVID-19 pandemic and for another month after being eliminated from the MLS is Back tournament in July.
Their next six games are set. The broadcast information for those matches has been released. And even though fans won’t be allowed to attend home games right now, they can still have their faces present in Inter Miami CF Stadium through the club’s cutout program.
But what challenges will Inter Miami, 0-5-0, face against their opponents for the next three weeks pose?
“It’s going to be a tough group,” Inter Miami captain and goalkeeper Luis Robles said. “We definitely have a difficult group, but I also believe our record, though it isn’t anything nice to look at, isn’t the best reflection of who we are as a group.
“We’re close. And if we can get a [win] it’s only going to propel us with the sort of positive momentum that may allow us to go on a run.”
Here’s a breakdown of Inter Miami’s opponents in the next six games, which they’ll kick off with their home opener against Orlando City SC on Saturday:
Orlando City SC (Aug. 22 at home; Sept. 12 in Orlando)
Inter Miami will get a second shot at recording their first points of the season against their in-state rival.
Orlando City defeated Inter Miami 2-1 in the MLS is Back tournament’s opening match after Nani scored a game-deciding goal in the 97th minute. Orlando, which is 2-1-2 on the season under coach Oscar Pareja, was the surprise team of the tournament — going 2-0-1 in the tournament’s group-stage and reaching the finals before falling to the Portland Timbers.
“We’re a very competitive team, as we showed against Orlando,” Inter Miami coach Diego Alonso said. “Either team could’ve won that night. We’re short steps away from
where we want to be.”
While Orlando City’s Dom Dwyer won’t be suiting up for this match due to surgery he had to repair a partial patella tendon tear in his left knee during the tournament, Inter Miami will have their hands full with Nani and the multiple Orlando City players (Joao Moutinho, Chris Mueller and Ruan to name a few) who had impressive showings during the tournament.
Atlanta United FC (Aug. 26 at home; Sept. 2 in Atlanta)
The reigning U.S. Open Cup and Campeones Cup champions will look significantly different than the expansion club that’s been one of the best teams in MLS since joining the league in 2017.
Striker Josef Martinez is out for the remainder of the season after tearing his ACL in Atlanta United’s first game of the season against Nashville SC. Atlanta United, 2-3-0, named Stephen Glass as the team’s interim coach following Frank de Boer’s departure — after the team lost all three of their matches in the tournament.
“When we look at our regional group,” Robles said, “you’d think that maybe we catch Atlanta at a transition period when they’re trying to figure out what’s going on with their coaching situation. Of course, they have new players they want to integrate. Nonetheless, look at their roster. That’s a high-quality roster when you put that against any other roster in MLS.”
Inter Miami has several ties to Atlanta United, as their COO and sporting director Paul McDonough was Atlanta’s president of soccer operations from January 2016 to August 2018. Mikey Ambrose played for Atlanta United from 2017-19. Brek Shea made 19 regular-season appearances with Atlanta last year.
Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, who signed with Inter Miami on July 1, played 95 regularseason games with Atlanta from 2017-19. He proved to be one of the better center backs with the club, being named to the 2019 MLS All-Star team and nominated as a finalist for the MLS Defender of the Year award twice.
Nashville SC (Aug. 30 in Nashville; Sept. 6 at home)
Inter Miami will face off against this year’s other expansion team — albeit one that’s been more successful to start their inaugural season.
Nashville SC has played just four matches this year after being withdrawn from the MLS is Back tournament due to a COVID-19 outbreak on the team. They beat FC Dallas on Aug. 12 for their first win and points of the season, and played to a tie against Dallas on Sunday for another regular-season point.
Alistair Johnston, the No. 11 pick in the 2020 SuperDraft, had a strong showing in his first start Sunday. Nashville has one of the best defenders in the league in Walker Zimmerman, who was named to the MLS AllStar team and MLS Best XI last year with Los Angeles FC.
“Nashville, who’s in a similar situation as us, has done very well,” Robles said. “They got four points. It’s going to be a challenge.”