HOW ABOUT THAT RAIN DELAY? 😮⛈️ Huge credit if you stuck it out past midnight to see Orlando City SC beat Sporting Kansas City 3-1. It definitely wasn’t our best game. But the Lions turned it on after the break with The Wall staying loud despite the marathon wait.
Oscar Pareja’s 100th career win for City, we’re now unbeaten in 7 straight across all competitions (6-1-0). And, we’re just 5 points off new Eastern Conference leaders FC Cincinnati (52). Peaking at the perfect time, we’re back in the Supporters’ Shield hunt too, trailing San Diego FC (52) by 5 points also. Now attention turns to Carson, California, where a 2025 Leagues Cup semi-final spot is on the line against Toluca. Exciting times for Orlando, indeed!
Last time out
On Saturday, Orlando City SC overcame their longest-ever home weather delay to secure a 3-1 comeback win over Sporting Kansas City at Inter&Co Stadium. After kick-off was pushed back over three hours to 10:43pm local time, the Lions powered on through. Ultimately, we made it four straight MLS wins in what’s becoming another trademark late-season surge. On his first City start, Tyrese Spicer scored his first Orlando goal inside two minutes. But after the setback of Dejan Joveljić’s equaliser, City took full control in the second-half. Ramiro Enrique restored our lead with his eighth MLS goal of the season. Then, Nicolás Rodríguez sealed the victory with his first-ever strike in purple. The win means Orlando remain fourth in the East (47 points) and perfect against Western Conference opposition this season (5-0-0). With 53 goals this MLS campaign, the Lions are joint-top scorers in MLS alongside Inter Miami. But we’ve fired 431 shots compared to their 299. Once again, Martín Ojeda was at the heart of it all. His assist for Enrique extended his club-record goal contribution streak to 35 (17 goals, 18 assists) across all competitions, including 14 goals and 14 assists in MLS. Tincho has now contributed in 15 straight matches across all competitions – 12 in MLS – tying Sebastian Giovinco (2018) for the second-longest streak in league history.
What’s at stake this time?
Semi-final qualification – plain and simple! After advancing from phase one with 7 points and a +6 goal difference, Toluca are the Liga MX side standing in Orlando City SC’s way. Topping the 18-team Liga MX table on 8 points with a +2 goal difference, Toluca are also defending 2025 Liga MX Clausura champions. So this will be no easy task! Our semi-final scenarios are mighty tough too, with Inter Miami and Tigres UANL both on the Eastern side of the bracket. The pair meet for the first time since Tigres edged The Herons 2-1 in the 2024 group stage. Unlike phase one, when Orlando contested all three matches at Inter&Co Stadium, there’s no home field comfort here. Instead, we will play our quarter-final at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. As before, it’s strictly MLS vs Liga MX in every quarter-final, with pairings determined by phase one performance. The four quarter-final winners will progress to the semi-finals, regardless of league, before the Third Place Match and Final each take place on August 31. Those two games will decide which three clubs punch their ticket to the 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup. And this is a valuable gateway to the FIFA Club World Cup and FIFA Intercontinental Cup. With single-elimination stakes, any quarter-final level after 90 minutes will go straight to penalties – just like in phase one. In this matchup, two of the 2025 Leagues Cup’s leading scorers will be on display – Toluca’s Paulinho, who tops the chart with 4 goals, and Martín Ojeda, close behind with 3. And finally, Tyrese Spicer and Adrián Marín are both available after being added to our Leagues Cup roster.
Opposition danger men
🇵🇹 Paulinho (4 goals, 0 assists – 2025 Leagues Cup)
🇧🇷 Helinho (3 goals, 2 assists – 2025 Liga MX Apertura)
🇲🇽 Alexis Vega (0 goals, 3 assists – 2025 Liga MX Apertura)
New opposition faces
🇺🇸 Fernando Arce Jr. (on loan from Puebla)
🇲🇽 Ronaldo Beltrán (Toluca U-21)
🇦🇷 Nicolás Castro (Elche)
🇲🇽 Oswaldo Vírgen (Toluca U-21)
🇲🇽 Hugo González (on loan from Mazatlán)
Injuries
🇵🇪 Wilder Cartagena (right leg) – SEI
🇺🇸 Duncan McGuire (shoulder) – out
🇯🇵 Yutaro Tsukada (knee) – SEI
*SEI – Season-Ending Injury List (Unavailable)
Suspensions
None
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Toluca vs Orlando City SC
Head-to-head stats
- This is the first time the clubs have faced each other
- Orlando have faced Mexican opposition 11 times in competitive matches – Liga MX 2, Draws 6, Orlando 3
- Paulinho has scored in all 3 of Toluca’s 2025 Leagues Cup fixtures so far (4 goals)
- Orlando have won 23 and lost 18 knockout fixtures since 2015*^†~+
- Orlando have scored 3 or more goals in 4 straight games across all competitions
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Key
* We counted our two-legged defeat to Tigres UANL (0-0 and 1-1) in the 2023 CONCACAF Champions League Round of 16 as one loss
^ We counted our MLS Cup Playoffs Best-of-3 series triumph over Nashville SC (2023) as one win
† We counted our two victories (0-3 and 3-1) over Cavalry FC in Round One of the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup as one win
~ We counted our two-legged defeat to Tigres UANL (0-0 and 4-2) in the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16 as one loss
+ We counted our MLS Cup Playoffs Best-of-3 series triumph over Charlotte FC (2024) as one win
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Watching the game
Toluca vs Orlando City SC will be shown live on Apple TV at 02:00 (GMT) on Thursday, August 21.
Remember, UK supporters can watch all of Orlando City SC’s 2025 Leagues Cup fixtures by subscribing to Apple TV’s “MLS Season Pass”.
Subscribe now by clicking here.
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