Orlando City SC and Minnesota United are facing off Thursday for a spot in the MLS Is Back tournament final. Both teams are relatively new to the league, meaning that both are just one victory away from being that much closer to getting their club's first piece of MLS hardware.
The teams are even connected on a level beyond just both still being in the tournament. Minnesota United head coach Adrian Heath was once the head coach of Orlando City when they were still a USL club from 2011 to 2016. During that time, Heath had won two regular season titles and two league championships with the club while also amassing two USL Coach of the Year awards. However, the success didn't follow him to MLS -- Orlando City was announced as the league's 21st club in 2015 -- and he was fired before the end of the 2016 season.
Now Heath leads a club that, in 2019, had the best season of its albeit short time in MLS. His old club is a lot different from when he was last in charge of it. The star designated player is former Manchester United player, and Portuguese international, Nani rather than Kaka. The team's for No. 1 overall pick, Cyle Larin, is playing in Belgium. Above all else, this club is having considerable success in a tournament, something Heath never found in his tenure, with arguably the club's strongest side in its (also) relatively short history.
What Minnesota has on its side is a more emphatic victory over their quarterfinal opponent. Orlando City needed to take tournament favorite LAFC to penalties thanks to a late equalizer from João Moutinho. Minnesota, meanwhile, was able to dominate the Earthquakes in a 4-1 victory.
Match information
- Date: Thursday, Aug. 6
- Time: 8 p.m. ET
- Location: ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
- TV: ESPN2
- Stream: fuboTV (Try for free)
- Odds: Orlando City +150; Draw +250; Minnesota United +175 (via William Hill Sportsbook)
