Inter Miami CF will resume its historic inaugural season on Saturday, Aug. 22, at 8 p.m. ET, when the team hosts Orlando City SC in the first Major League Soccer (MLS) match to be played at Inter Miami CF Stadium. Despite being closed to the public, Inter Miami fans will be able to enjoy the match from an array of broadcast options, as matches will broadcast regionally and nationally on television, radio and through digital platforms in English and Spanish.
Local fans can watch live on CBS 4, Unimas, and the Inter Miami App, and listen on the Univision 23 App and on Spanish radio via Univision Miami’s WQBA 1140 AM and the Uforia App. Fans worldwide can tune in to live commentary on the Club’s App. Download and Register your Profile here: https://www.intermiamicf.com/en/club/app.
“We have to try to stay focused on our goals, our dreams, on pushing on, and because we are stubborn and persistent, it will surely happen,” said manager Diego Alonso. “This team has the quality and the capacity. There is creativity and ingenuity within the Club and, above all things, the overall will is there. And when you want something, it is much easier. So, we are very enthused.”
Inter Miami returns to competitive action after a month of hard work at the Inter Miami CF Training Center following the completion of its participation in the MLS is Back Tournament. Saturday’s match begins a stretch of six matches in 22 days for the Club. The team faced Orlando City in the opening match of the tournament, taking a 1-0 lead and controlling large spells of the match before being derailed by a 97th minute winner from Orlando.
Since then, Inter Miami has added MLS Cup and Open Cup champion defender Leandro González Pirez and World Cup-winning midfielder Blaise Matuidi to its ranks. While French international Blaise Matuidi will not be available for selection as he awaits receipt of his P-1 visa, González Pirez will be eligible to play for his new club for the first time. The center back was acquired by Inter Miami on July 1 but was deemed ineligible to play in the MLS is Back Tournament.
González Pirez brings a track record of success in MLS, as well as an undefeated record against Orlando City. The 2019 MLS All-Star and 2018 MLS Cup, 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and 2019 Campeones Cup winner has faced Orlando City eight times in the past, compiling a record of seven wins and one draw, while also scoring a goal in the process.
Orlando City, meanwhile, is coming off the heels of a successful run in the MLS is Back Tournament. The host team finished atop Group A with two wins and one draw, advancing to the knockout rounds. There they earned three more victories to reach the final, where they fell 2-1 to the Portland Timbers.
In Orlando CIty SC’s first five years in MLS they have yet to advance to the playoffs. Ahead of the season’s kickoff, they hired former FC Dallas and Club Tijuana head coach Óscar Pareja, who in his stint managing Dallas from 2014 to 2018 led the team to the 2016 Supporters’ Shield and 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup titles. In attack, the team will continue to rely on Portuguese forward Luis Nani, who led the line for the team last season with 12 goals and 10 assists to his name. Prior to the season’s pause in March, Orlando City recorded a 0-0 stalemate against Real Salt Lake on matchday 1 and a 2-1 loss against the Colorado Rapids on matchday 2.
