The All-Star Break really wasn’t a break at all as FC Cincinnati have turned right around from their late game victory over Real Salt Lake and turned their attention to Inter Miami CF for a battle of top Eastern Conference squads.
While Evander and Miles Robinson were off in Austin, Texas, for the MLS All-Star Game, where MLS took on Liga MX, the rest of FC Cincinnati was back in training, preparing for a rematch with Inter Miami CF just 10 days after their matchup with The Herons at TQL Stadium.
With the matchup this time being held in Florida at Chase Stadium, the challenges will be ramped up as not only will both sides be on a full week of rest (well, for some), but Miami’s home field advantage this season has been one of the best in Major League Soccer.
“The challenges are that we performed well against a very good team and got a good result,” Pat Noonan said Friday before departing for the weekend match in Fort Lauderdale. “Now, in a short amount of time, you go play them again at their place, so they'll be motivated, and I imagine they improve from the first performance. So it only becomes more challenging to go and try to replicate what we were able to do at our place. I think the guys understand this will be a very difficult game. There's certainly plenty on the line as far as implications with where both teams are in the standings and where we're at in the year. So a good challenge, but our focus was to take what we could from our last matchup and understand what might look a little different.”
Last time FC Cincinnati visited Chase Stadium The Orange and Blue conceded an early 2-0 lead in the first six minutes of the match and would spend the next 84 minutes chasing the match but could never find the breakthrough. This year, FC Cincinnati are looking to put in a stronger start and challenge Inter Miami CF early, knowing where each team is in the table, a result on the road would be extremely valuable for their season efforts.
“A lot can change based on motivation, based on thinking the game will look the same if we have the wrong approach. Even with the right approach, things will look different. You're playing away from home, the conditions, I think, will be pretty similar, as far as the challenges of the heat and humidity, but how to manage it in the moment, and I think we managed the game on Wednesday here in a very good way and in all phases,” Noonan continued from his press conference at Mercy Health Training Center. “But there were still moments where we got some of our build wrong, and it led to some dangerous transition moments for them…so things played out in our favor, and if we want that to look similar, we have to be very disciplined in our approach in all aspects of the game.”
FC Cincinnati enter this match top of the Supporters Shield table and are looking to expand on that one-point lead they hold. They are also looking to maintain their strong run of form, as FCC have won six of their last seven games. After this match, though, FCC will begin their Leagues Cup tournament and pause the regular season for one week. In Leagues Cup 2025, FC Cincinnati will host Liga MX sides CF Monterrey, FC Juarez and Chivas Guadalajara in the league phase with hopes of advancing to the knockout rounds.
FC CINCINNATI at Inter Miami CF – Saturday, July 26, 2025 – 7:15 p.m. ET – Chase Stadium
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Versus Inter Miami CF
It will only have been 10 days since the last time FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami met, marking one of the shortest return legs of a match in non-2020 club history for FCC. Last time out FC Cincinnati dominated play at home, with Evander earning a brace and Gerardo “Dado” Valenzuela scoring to give The Orange and Blue a 3-0 victory.
In the last visit to Chase Stadium though, FCC struggled as Inter Miami earned an early 2-0 lead thanks to goals in the 1st and 6th minute by Luis Suarez.
After the win earlier this month FC Cincinnati leveled the all time record against Inter Miami CF after 12 matches across all competitions, bringing the record to 5-5-2 and 5-5-1 in MLS play. FC Cincinnati is 1-3-1 when playing on the road to Inter Miami.
FC CINCINNATI NOTES
Strong Against the West – FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami CF meet just 10 days after their first meeting of 2025. On July 16, the Orange and Blue put together a dominant 3-0 win at TQL Stadium over the Herons. Gerardo ‘Dado’ Valenzuela scored in the 16th minute, Evander netted a brace in the 50th and 70th as FCC won their fourth-straight MLS home match over Miami.
Soak up the Sun(shine State) – FC Cincinnati’s 2-0 loss at Inter Miami in 2024 was an anomaly of late. Under Head Coach Pat Noonan, FCC are 4-1-2 in the state of Florida, including a 2-1 win at Orlando City last month.
On the road again – FC Cincinnati’s eight road wins (8-4-1) lead MLS for the most road wins in 2025. With just four road matches to go in 2025, including Saturday night, FCC seek to equal or top last season’s 11 road wins, which was tied for the most all-time road wins in league history in the MLS post-shootout era. Cincinnati have won four-straight road matches (at NE, at MTL, at ORL, at RSL), the second-longest MLS road winning streak in club history (7 games - April 20-July 3, 2024) and tied for the longest steak in MLS this season (San Diego FC).
On Short Rest – On July 8, FC Cincinnati announced the transfer acquisition of Venezuelan winger Ender Echenique (Pronunciation: EN-der eh-che-KNEE-kay) from Caracas FC of the Venezuelan Primera División as a U22 Initiative Player and upon the opening of the Secondary Transfer Window - which was on Thursday, July 24. Echenique, 21, made over 100 professional appearances in the Primera División, scoring 17 goals and 14 assists.
SCOUTING Inter Miami CF (8-10-4, 28 Points, 10th in the Western Conference)
Inter Miami CF came to TQL Stadium 10 days ago, riding high on the success of their FIFA Club World Cup appearance and a five-game win streak in league play, which began in May. FC Cincinnati snapped that streak with a 3-0 victory, but The Herons seemed to be unfazed as they followed up that loss by returning to form with a 5-1 victory at the New York Red Bulls three days later.
Under new Head Coach Javier Mascherano, who took over the side this offseason after Tata Martino stepped away after one and a half seasons, the club has experienced some early-season struggles but seems to have found its form as the 2025 season crests into the summer months. Miami went winless in four matches prior to the winning streak they entered last week's match with, but have worked through their struggles to return to being one of Major League Soccer’s most dangerous clubs and have won six of their last seven MLS matches.
The top headline of every matchup with Miami will obviously include Lionel Messi, the star of Inter Miami and a consensus top player in history. The Argentine forward has not always been available in FC Cincinnati’s matchups with The Herons, but appears set to play in this version of it. Messi had a streak of braces halted in last weeks defeat to FC Cincinnati, scoring 10 goals in his last five league matches leading into that game (set a league record by registering a brace in four consecutive games but was shut out in the clean sheet for The Orange and Blue. Messi returned to form with two goals and two assists in the game immediately following the 3-0 FCC win. That said, in all his previous playing against The Orange and Blue, Messi has never scored.
“The reality is we're playing, you know, one of if not the greatest players that ever played, so we have to be mindful of where he is and what he does,” Defender Matt Miazga said prior to the match last week at TQL Stadium. “We have to focus on ourselves and push our game forward. If we do that, we'll minimize them, and that's the most important thing. So that's the focus now.”
Beyond Messi, Inter Miami CF boasts a formidable squad. With international stars like Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba, and Sergio Busquets, the team frequently makes headlines. However, the depth of quality in their roster beyond these key players can ultimately prove to be a decisive factor against other clubs.
“Their best players are really strong, but it's not just about [Lionel] Messi, [Luis] Suarez, [Sergio] Busquets, [Jordi] Alba who are, we know, world class. They've done this their entire careers. But I think the pieces around them right now are also performing at a high level,” FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said in a press conference. “You see all the pieces - the Segovia's, the Redondo's. On the back line - [Maximiliano] Falcon - these guys are, and I'm naming all of these players that are getting a lot of minutes and helping them, [Tadeo] Allende. These are really good players. So our 11 have to be collective in everything they do to try to make them uncomfortable when we have the ball and be very connected and very strong especially in one v one moments.”
Inter Miami could be without several contributors in this match though, as at the very least defender Maximiliano Falcón will be suspended for the match on yellow card accumulation. He has been a regular starter for Miami when healthy this season, appearing in 15 league matches and all of Miami’s FIFA Club World Cup matches. Also potentially unavailable is both starting Goalkeepers in Oscar Ustari (hamstring) and Drake Callender (sports hernia) who were both listed as Out for their match in New York. Callender has been a long term absence and Ustari was removed from the match with Cincinnati after an injury. 22-year-old defender Ian Fray (adductor) was also listed as out and has been out since the FIFA Club World Cup and Baltasar Rodriguez (hamstring) rounds out the “outs” though Rodriguez had only appeared in four games for Inter Miami this season. Allen Obando (hamstring) and David Ruiz (hamstring) were also listed as questionable, but Ruiz did make the matchday roster.
In net for Miami their last two matches with Ustari and Callender out has been Rocco Ríos Novo, who is on loan to Miami from Argentine club Club Atlético Lanús but is an American based player who has been on loan to MLS clubs since 2021 with loans to Atlanta United prior to Miami. Novo, 23, has appeared in 21 MLS games since 2022 but only five this season and none prior to this season between his 16 appearances in 2022 for Atlanta. Miami also have goalkeeper William Yarbrough on the roster, who has made 120 career MLS starts dating back to 2020 with Colorado and San Jose. The 36-year-old keeper has not appeared for Miami this year.
This season, Miami ranks first in goals scored league-wide and first in the Eastern Conference with 49. They also own a 6-2-2 record when playing away from home.
