Orlando City vs. Club Necaxa (Leagues Cup)
When: Wednesday, 7:00 p.m.
Where: Inter&Co Stadium, Orlando, Fla.
Attend: Single-Match Tickets
TV: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV (subscription required)
Everything you need to know for the Lions' third match in Leagues Cup in "The Road Ahead":
Milestones
- Should he start Wednesday against Necaxa, captain Robin Jansson will become the first player to reach 20,000 minutes played for the club in all competitions in the 85th minute of the match.
- Martín Ojeda’s next goal (his 15th of 2025) would see him tie Duncan McGuire’s 2023 for the third-highest single season total in club history. Ojeda can also become the first Orlando City player with 30 goal contributions in a single season with a goal or an assist.
- Ojeda has a goal contribution in twelve consecutive matches, a club record he can extend to thirteen with a goal or an assist on Wednesday.
- Ojeda ranks fifth in club history with 27 goals for his Lions career, one behind McGuire in fourth. Ramiro Enrique is tied for sixth with Kaká at 25 goals.
Stats & Storylines
- Orlando City kept its Leagues Cup quarterfinal hopes alive with a 3-1 victory over Atlas FC on Saturday night. The Lions have four points and a +2 goal differential through two games, giving them a chance to secure a top four place on the MLS side with a win over Necaxa on Wednesday.
- Iván Angulo continued his ascendant form since returning to the starting lineup on July 16, scoring his first goal since October 5, 2024 to get Orlando on the board. Angulo has 1g/3a in five games since coming back into the XI while maintaining his usual two-way energy and impact.
- Martín Ojeda’s 2025 officially claimed the mantle of most productive single season in Orlando City history on Saturday. Orlando’s MVP candidate scored the game-winning goal early in the second half, then assisted Marco Pašalić’s goal late in stoppage time to seal the deal. Ojeda is up to 14g/15a in all competitions this season and has 6g/11a over the course of his 12-game goal contribution streak.
- Pašalić broke out of a minor goal drought with his late tally, his first in seven matches. The Croatian’s strike set a new mark for the latest regular time goal in Orlando City history, scored 21 seconds later (102:00) than Facundo Torres’ season-saving penalty rebound (101:39) in last year’s MLS Cup Playoffs against Charlotte FC.
- Oscar Pareja made three changes to his starting XI against Atlas, handing Nicolás Rodríguez his second career start while also including Dagur Dan Thórhallsson and Kyle Smith in his team. Pašalić’s substitute appearance was his first as a Lion – he had started all 27 of his games so far this season for Orlando City prior to Saturday night.
Series History
All-time vs. Necaxa - First meeting
Meet the opponent: Club Necaxa
- Club Necaxa, based in Aguascalientes, is one of the older clubs in Liga MX, founded in 1923 by a Scottish engineer who had opened a power plant in the state of Puebla. The club was named “Necaxa” after the nearby river. Originally known as Los Electricistas (“The Electricians”) due to the power plant association, Necaxa’s team is now best known as Los Rayos.
- Necaxa has won three Liga MX titles, all in the 1990s. The club’s last major trophy was the 2018 Clausura Copa MX, its fourth time winning the now-disbanded domestic cup competition. Necaxa won a CONCACAF Champions Cup title in 1999.
- The Aguascalientes side has plenty to play for on Wednesday night – like Orlando, Necaxa has four points and a +2 GD through two games after drawing Inter Miami on Saturday. Only six clubs have four or more points on the Liga MX side of the Leagues Cup table through two matches. Los Rayos nearly put themselves atop the table, but conceded a second half stoppage time equalizer to Jordi Alba before falling in penalties.
- Los Rayos are managed by rising star Fernando Gago, who has already coached Argentine giants Racing Club and Boca Juniors as well as Mexican grande Chivas Guadalajara before his 40th birthday. Gago featured as a defensive midfielder for Real Madrid in the late 2000s and early 2010s before spending the back half of his career in his native Argentina.
- Necaxa enjoyed a strong 2025 Clausura, finishing fifth in the table and winning 10 of 17 matches before falling in the liguilla quarterfinals to Tigres UANL despite not actually losing – in Liga MX, the higher seed advances in the event of an aggregate draw.
- Los Rayos are led by Colombian international striker Díber Cambindo, who scored 16 goals in 30 league games in the 2024/25 season. Cambindo spent a successful loan spell earlier in the decade at Independiente Medellín, Oscar Pareja’s boyhood club.
- Necaxa sold their top player from last season, Argentine playmaker José Paradela, to Cruz Azul for a reported $10m+ fee. Paradela put up 11g/12a in Liga MX play while starting all 34 games last season. New arrivals for Los Rayos include central midfielder Tomás Jacob and playmaker Johan Rojas.
- Argentine striker Tomás Badaloni, a former teammate of Martín Ojeda’s at Godoy Cruz, has three goals in Necaxa’s two Leagues Cup games. Badaloni has largely been a substitute for Necaxa since joining last summer, but earned a start against Miami due to his good form.
