Inter Miami to play Orlando City in MLS is Back Tournament opener on July 8
South Florida sports fans got exciting news on Thursday. Major League Soccer revealed that Inter Miami will play Orlando City in the opening game of the MLS is Back Tournament in Orlando on July 8 as a tribute to the league resuming its season in Florida.
Although a kickoff time has not been announced, it is expected to be a nationally televised 8 p.m. match and the lone game that day at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, where the month-long tournament is being held from July 8 to Aug. 11.
The 26-team draw was held Thursday, and the rest of the teams in Miami’s group are New York City FC, Philadelphia Union, Chicago Fire and fellow expansion club Nashville SC. The top two teams in each of the six groups advance to the 16-team knockout round, as well as the best four third-place teams.
As the host club, Orlando City was placed as the top seed in Group A, which will be the only six-team group. The other groups have four teams. Inter Miami already began full-squad training this week in a hot, humid climate and has been testing players for COVID-19 every other day since last Friday, making it a natural choice to kick off the tournament against an in-state rival.
Because the group has six teams, Miami will not play all the other teams. Miami will play Orlando, Philadelphia and Chicago.
“We’re happy to be playing, but the group of six is definitely something we haven’t wrapped our heads around yet,” said Inter Miami COO and Sporting Director Paul McDonough. “I went to (coach) Diego Alonso after training and I said, `We’re going to play Orlando to start.’ He said, `OK.’ Then I said, `We’re in the group of six.’ and he said, `No OK.’ It’s a little bit harder to get out of a group of six because the third-place spot is very difficult. But we’re just happy to be playing. A lot of work went into this.”
McDonough expects three tough games.
“Philly we saw in preseason. They’re very good.” he said. “They’ve got a really good system. They’re tough. Chicago is rebuilding so we ‘re not really sure what’s going to happen there. But we just have to focus on ourselves.”
MLS is Back Groups
The top seeds of the other five groups are the four semifinalists from the 2019 season — Atlanta United, Los Angeles FC, Seattle Sounders, Toronto FC — and Real Salt Lake, the team with the next-highest points total in the Western Conference. Three groups feature Eastern Conference teams and three include Western Conference teams.
The draw results for those groups:
B: Seattle, Dallas, Vancouver, San Jose
C: Toronto, New England, Montreal, DC
D: Real Salt Lake, Kansas City, Colorado, Minnesota
E: Atlanta, Cincinnati, New York Red Bulls, Columbus
F: Los Angeles FC, Los Angeles Galaxy, Houston, Portland
All 54 games will be televised. The full schedule will be announced next week.
After a three-month suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic, MLS is rebooting its season with the MLS is Back Tournament, a World Cup-style event which will be played without fans in attendance.
The three group-stage matches will count in the MLS regular-season standings, and the tournament winner will earn a spot in the 2021 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League. The league hopes to return to home markets after the tournament to complete the season.
All teams and league personnel — a traveling party of more than 1,200 people — will be sequestered at the Swan and Dolphin resort at Lake Buena Vista. Everyone in the MLS bubble will be tested regularly for the coronavirus. Teams will travel on their own buses, meals will be regulated and on-site, and leisure activities such as golf and swimming will be on Disney property. No visitors will be allowed, including family members.
Inter Miami players eager to win
Inter Miami players are eager to compete again after the layoff. Their inaugural season was abruptly interrupted after two games in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, just a few days shy of their scheduled home debut at their new Fort Lauderdale stadium.
“The team’s mentality is to go compete. Every player on this roster is motivated to help Inter Miami make history and win this tournament,” defender Nico Figal said. “To the fans, I say have hope. We will leave it all on the field. We have big dreams like they do.”
Inter Miami winger Lewis Morgan added: “It’s been a long day coming. It’s so exciting to be back. The club has been great, very careful to follow all the protocols. It’s great being back doing what we love to do. We’re a squad of competitive guys and with the tournament coming up we want to be successful.”
Inter Miami to add two or three players
McDonough said the club still plans to add two or three “significant” players to the roster. He said the Designated Player will be an attacking player.
“I did leave room to add players, and we were going be adding players and then the pandemic came,” he said. “The biggest problem for me is trying to figure out when the league is really going to let us add players. I’ve got roster space and cap flexibility. I want to add players before we go to Orlando. I don’t know if they’ll let that happen. Everyone else has been able to do it, so if I’ve got the money and the space, I want the freedom to be able to do that.
“If they don’t let that happen, then we’ll compete in the tournament and add players after for the last portion of the season.”
Note: Fans who bought season tickets or single-game tickets for Inter Miami games for the 2020 season will be contacted by the team in the coming days to discuss their options.
This story was originally published June 11, 2020 at 1:49 PM.