ORLANDO, Fla. (Aug. 8, 2026) — Orlando City SC (1-1-0, 3 points) fell 2-1 to Liga MX side Club León (2-0-0, 6 points) in the Lions' second Phase One match of Leagues Cup 2026 on Saturday night at Inter.co Stadium.
Orlando opened the scoring in the 38th minute through Designated Player Marco Pašalić, who made his first start for the Lions since May 15 after representing Croatia at the 2026 FIFA World Cup™. Pašalić met a diagonal from Tyrese Spicer at the top of the box and buried a left-footed strike into the lower right corner past León goalkeeper Óscar García.
The goal was Pašalić’s third across all competitions this season and his 18th since joining Orlando City ahead of the 2025 MLS campaign. Spicer’s assist was his fourth of the season across all competitions and his third in the Lions’ last three matches, with the forward now totaling six goal contributions (3g, 3a) over Orlando City’s last four matches in all competitions.
Orlando City’s lead held through the remainder of the first half, with goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau making five saves before the break to help the Lions take a 1-0 advantage into halftime.
The visitors equalized in the 54th minute, as Juan Guevara headed home a curling Jordi Cortizo free kick to draw the sides level at 1-1.
Eighteen minutes later, La Fiera found the eventual winner, as Iván Moreno picked out Daniel Arcila at the top of the box. Arcila gathered the pass and slotted a left-footed shot into the back of the net to give the visitors a 2-1 lead in the 72nd minute.
The Lions will now face off against Atlético de San Luis in their final Phase One matchup of Leagues Cup 2026 on Wednesday, Aug. 12 (7:30 p.m. ET | Apple TV).
Scoring Summary:
38’ Marco Pašalić (Tyrese Spicer) – ORL 1, LEO 0
54’ Juan Guevara (Jordi Cortizo) – ORL 1, LEO 1
72’ Daniel Arcila (Iván Moreno) – LEO 2, ORL 1
Interim Head Coach Martín Perelman:
“I think, of course, very, very sad for the result – for us, for our people, for everyone. We were trying to compete in the best way as possible and trying to win, and we couldn’t – especially when we are at home – so, we suffered. Then the game, as I said when we faced Monterrey, today we faced another very good team [in] Leon. Congrats to them. They did a really good job. We were there trying to compete, and we did it by moments. We were winning the game. Of course, we performed the best as we [could], maybe not the best on this period, but we [fought], and at the end we were short. We could’ve tied, but we didn’t and that’s it.”
Forward Marco Pašalić:
“The best feeling was to be back on the pitch today and to be able to help the team. I was happy to help in the first half with the goal. Sadly, I got hit on the knee, so my knee was getting numb. I spoke with them at halftime. I tried to go out in the second half, but I felt my knee was not going to help the team. It is nothing serious but I wanted to make sure the team had [all] players on the pitch that could play fully. I was not fully [fit] anymore because of my knee. Then we went out and suddenly we concede the goal and afterward it is 1-1, then 2-1. After the World Cup it is a nice feeling to be back. I have trained now the last two weeks hard to be back on the pitch. I avoided injuries and I was fully prepared to play today.”
Match Notes
- Marco Pašalić made his first start for the Lions since their May 15 matchup against Atlanta United FC after representing Croatia at the FIFA World Cup 2026™.
- Pašalić scored his third goal across all competitions this season and his 18th across all competitions since joining Orlando City ahead of the 2025 MLS campaign.
- Tyrese Spicer recorded his fourth assist across all competitions this season on Marco Pašalić’s opener and now has six goal contributions (3g, 3a) over Orlando City’s last four matches across all competitions.
- Midfielder Joran Gerbet made his first appearance of the 2026 season, entering the match in the 66th minute after recovering from a torn ACL suffered during the 2025 campaign.
- Wilder Cartagena made his second start of the season, his first since the season opener against Red Bull New York on Feb. 21.
- Interim head coach Martín Perelman made four changes to his starting lineup from the club’s previous match against C.F. Monterrey, inserting Wilder Cartagena, Iago, Marco Pašalić and Zakaria Taifi into the starting XI.
- Defender Nolan Miller (knee) and midfielders Eduard Atuesta (thigh), Braian Ojeda (foot) and Martín Ojedá (thigh) missed the match due to injury. Defender Clovis Archange and midfielder Colin Guske were away on international duty.
