ORLANDO, Fla. (Aug. 10, 2020) - Orlando City SC will face the Portland Timbers on Tuesday, Aug. 11 in the MLS is Back Tournament Final presented by Wells Fargo. Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m ET at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
Tuesday’s Final will be nationally televised on ESPN and ESPN Deportes. For a match preview, fans can tune into the Orlando City Roundtable presented by JetBlue ahead of Tuesday’s match, streaming on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and the LionNation App.
“Portland is a team who has experience, they have players who have been in these situations before,” Head Coach Oscar Pareja said. “At the same time, it’s a new game, it’s a new story to be written and we’re concentrating on what we can do and the philosophy that we have within our team. We recognize the rival, that’s important, but we’re confident.”
The winner of Tuesday’s match will earn a spot in the 2021 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League (CCL) along with additional bonuses as part of a $1.1 million prize pool. A victory would mark the Lions’ first CCL berth in Club history.
Orlando City earned its place in the Final after a 3-1 victory over Minnesota United in Thursday’s Semifinal. Nani struck twice in the opening 45 to give the Lions a two-goal advantage heading into the halftime break, scoring in the 36th and 42nd minutes, respectively. Mason Toye cut the City advantage in half in the 83rd, but a 96th-minute insurance goal from Benji Michel secured the victory for the Lions, punching their ticket to Tuesday’s Final.
Chris Mueller leads the Lions with four goals in the calendar year, followed by Nani now with three across all competitions. The City captain also holds the team-high in assists with four throughout the MLS is Back Tournament.
Portland secured their spot in the Final after defeating Philadelphia 2-1 in its Semifinal fixture on Wednesday. The Timbers opened the scoring in the 13th minute with a finish from Jeremy Ebobisse, followed by Sebastián Blanco doubling the advantage in the 70th. The Union made things interesting with Andrew Wooten finding the back of the net in the 85th minute, followed by a second goal that was called back for offsides on Kacper Przybylko, but the rally came up just short to send the Timbers through to Tuesday’s Final.
Ebobisse sits tied for the team lead in goals scored for the Timbers with Diego Valeri, with four apiece throughout all competitions in 2020, followed by Blanco with three. Blanco holds the team-high in assists however, with five thus far this season, all of which have come during MLS is Back.
Following Tuesday’s Final, the Lions will have just under two weeks off from match play before continuing their 2020 MLS Regular Season on Saturday, Aug. 22 against intrastate foes Inter Miami CF, set to make their first visit to Lockhart Stadium.
