Inter Miami vs Orlando City Florida Derby Kicks Off Tonight With Messi, Berterame Seeking First 2026 MLS Goals
Inter Miami and Orlando City face each other Sunday night at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando in the first Florida Derby of the 2026 MLS season, with both clubs desperate for points after Matchday 1 defeats. Kickoff is 7:00 p.m. ET, and Lionel Messi starts for the MLS Cup champions, who arrive on the back of a humbling 3-0 opening loss to LAFC.
Orlando City also enter without a win, having fallen 2-1 at home to the New York Red Bulls on Matchday 1. Neither side can afford to open the campaign 0-2-0 without intensifying pressure on their respective coaches.
Messi Starts as Inter Miami Seek First Goal of the Season
Javier Mascherano named Messi in a 4-2-3-1, flanked by Tadeo Allende and Telasco Segovia, with Germán Berterame leading the line. The $15 million striker acquired from CF Monterrey is still searching for his first competitive goal in pink and black after being held off the scoresheet against LAFC on Matchday 1.
Rodrigo De Paul and Yannick Bright start in central midfield, tasked with supplying Messi more cleanly than in the season opener, when the Argentine managed just two shots on target as Inter struggled for combinations following the retirements of Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
Messi has scored six goals in four previous meetings against Orlando City — one of his most productive club opponents — and notched his first goal of 2026 during a midweek friendly in Puerto Rico. The pressure to replicate that form in a competitive setting is real.
Orlando City Start Rebuilt Defense Against Florida Rivals
Óscar Pareja's confirmed lineup places Maxime Crépeau in goal — the Canadian goalkeeper who made 11 saves in the opening loss yet still finished on the losing side. A rebuilt back four featuring Griffin Dorsey, David Brekalo, Nolan Miller, and Tahir Reid-Brown lines up behind a midfield built around Braian Ojeda and Colin Guske.
Marco Pašalić, who scored in both regular-season wins over Inter Miami during 2025, starts in the ten role alongside Martín Ojeda and Iván Angulo. Duncan McGuire leads the attack. Orlando have never lost the first two MLS matches of a season since joining the league in 2016 — a record that adds institutional weight to every minute at Inter&Co Stadium tonight.
