MATCH PREVIEW: Inter Miami CF to Face Philadelphia Union in Second MLS is Back Tournament Match

Match Preview Graphic Philadelphia 7.14.20

Club to debut RosaNegra jersey; Match will air on Tuesday, July 14 at 10:30 p.m. ET on TUDN and TSN channels

MIAMI, Fla. (July 12, 2020) – Inter Miami CF returns to MLS is Back Tournament action with a match against the Philadelphia Union on Tuesday, July 14. The late-night match at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando will air on TUDN, the TUDN App and Twitter channel, TSN and the TSN App at 10:30 p.m. ET.


The Club's App will feature radio broadcasting and pre- and post-game shows starting at 10 p.m. ET. The match will also be transmitted on Spanish radio via Univision Miami’s WQBA 1140 AM. 


“We wake up every day and believe we are capable of becoming a better team,” said Head Coach Diego Alonso. “We wake up with that belief every day. Every time we have a game, we have a new chance to win. We're going to keep insisting until we win it. Because that's how we are and that's how we’ll always be.”


Announced as the Club’s inaugural away jersey on February 5, 2020, at the FORWARD25 jersey reveal event in New York City, the “RosaNegra” will be making its official on-pitch debut in Inter Miami’s match against Philadelphia Union. The “RosaNegra” features pink accent stripes over black as an ode to South Florida’s vibrant soul and the key milestone that this season represents for both Inter Miami and MLS, embossed herons representing freedom and strength and the Club mantra “Freedom to Dream” on the inside of the collar that reflects the ambitious mindset of the Club.


Inter Miami enters the match after playing in the MLS Is Back Tournament opener - the Club’s first match in over 17 weeks. The Inter Miami Man of the Match presented by Heineken winner Juan Agudelo scored the Club’s second goal in history and his first with the Club. The game also featured the Club debut for defender Mikey Ambrose, midfielders Luis Argudo and Jay Chapman, and forward Julián Carranza.


Panamanian center back Román Torres, who started in the team’s first two MLS games, will be available for selection on Tuesday evening after serving a one-match red card suspension against Orlando. Young Colombian center back Andrés Reyes has rejoined the team and will also be available for selection following an injury suffered against Orlando.


The Club previously faced the Philadelphia Union in a 2020 Suncoast Invitational match, the team’s first preseason friendly available to the public. The matchup was a closely contested affair in which Inter Miami controlled the bulk of possession but fell to a 1-2 loss. Rodolfo Pizarro scored the team’s first goal in that match, a feat he would later replicate in the regular season with the Club’s first official goal.


A revision to the structure of the tournament means that Group A will now feature only Inter Miami, Philadelphia Union, New York City FC and Orlando City SC, as Chicago Fire FC was reassigned to Group B and Nashville SC was withdrawn from the tournament. The top two finishers in the group are guaranteed to advance to the knockout rounds while the four best third-place finishers across all groups will also advance.


Inter Miami currently sits third in Group A after a loss to Orlando City in the first round of matches. The team currently finds itself three points back of Orlando and Philadelphia and sits above New York City FC as a result of the goals scored tiebreaker.


Philadelphia faced New York City FC in its first match of the MLS is Back Tournament on Thursday, July 9. The Union claimed a 1-0 victory thanks to a 63rd minute strike by South Florida-raised Alejandro Bedoya. In the team’s first two matches of the season, Philadelphia suffered a 2-0 loss to FC Dallas and earned a 3-3 draw against reigning Supporters’ Shield champions LAFC. 


Philadelphia is also coming off of a strong 2019 campaign in which they finished third in the Eastern Conference and reached the Conference Semifinals. The team scored 58 regular season goals, tied for the third highest tally in the league. The team’s attack was led by Polish forward Kacper Przybylko, who topped the team’s scoring charts with 15 goals. The club’s Designated Player Jamiro Monteiro also had a productive season, chipping in with four goals and nine assists from his midfield position. The pair have started all three of the team’s games this season, each playing the full 270 minutes.