Getty Inter Miami owner and President of Soccer Operations David Beckham.
The MLS is Back Tournament kicks off on Wednesday with Orlando City taking on Inter Miami on Wednesday from the ESPN Wide World of Sports.
In the United States, the match starts at 8 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN. If you don’t have cable, here’s how you can watch Orlando City and all the other MLS is Back Tournament matches (ESPN, ESPN2, Fox or FS1) on your computer, phone, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV or other streaming device:
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How to Watch MLS is Back Tournament on Vidgo
Vidgo is a relatively new streaming service that comes with 68 total channels, including ESPN, ESPN2, Fox (live in select markets) and Fox Sports 1. It’s the cheapest streaming service with both the ESPN and Fox channels, and it also comes with a free trial.
Here’s how to watch the MLS is Back Tournament on Vidgo:
- 1. Start a free trial of Vidgo right here
- 2a. To watch on your computer, go to the Vidgo web player
- 2b. To watch on a streaming device, download the Vidgo app on your device
- 3. Sign in with the information you used to sign up
- 4. Scroll to ESPN to watch Orlando City vs Inter Miami at 8 p.m. ET
How to Watch MLS is Back Tournament on Hulu
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand library of TV shows and movies, Hulu also offers a a live-TV package. Hulu With Live TV comes with 60-plus channels, including ESPN, ESPN 2, Fox (live in select markets) and Fox Sports 1. It’s the best combination of live TV and on-demand entertainment, and it comes with a free trial.
Here’s how to watch the MLS is Back Tournament on Hulu With Live TV:
- 1. Start a free trial of Hulu With Live TV right here
- 2a. To watch on your computer, go to the Hulu website
- 2b. To watch on a streaming device, download the Hulu app on your device
- 3. Sign in with the information you used to sign up
- 4. Scroll to ESPN to watch Orlando City vs Inter Miami at 8 p.m. ET
If you can’t watch a match live, Hulu With Live TV comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
How to Watch MLS is Back Tournament on Sling TV
Sling TV offers two main channel packages: Sling Orange and Sling Blue. ESPN and ESPN 2 are included in Sling Orange, and Fox (live in select markets) and Fox Sports 1 are included in Sling Blue, so you’ll need to sign up for Sling Orange + Blue to watch all the matches. It’s the second-cheapest streaming service with both the Fox and ESPN channels, and it comes with a free trial.
Here’s how to watch the MLS is Back Tournament on Sling TV:
- 1. Sign up for Sling Orange + Blue right here
- 2a. To watch on your computer, go to the Sling TV website
- 2b. To watch on a streaming device, download the Sling TV app on your device
- 3. Sign in with the information you used to sign up
- 4. Scroll to ESPN to watch Orlando City vs Inter Miami at 8 p.m. ET
If you can’t watch live, Sling TV also comes with 10 hours of cloud DVR.
Orlando City vs Inter Miami Preview
The MLS kicks off its inaugural World Cup style tournament on Wednesday with Orlando City taking on Inter Miami. Both teams are in Group A, which will have the top three finishers in advancing to the Knockout Stage.
Like other sports leagues in the United States, play was put on hold by the MLS is March after just two games. Orlando went 1-1, while Miami dropped both of their matchups. Both squads are eager to get back on the field, especially considering that it will be a Florida rivalry kicking things off. It’s the first time since 2001 that competitive intra-Florida match will be played in Major League Soccer, per the league’s website.
“It’s definitely a rivalry between the fans and that’s how all rivalry starts,” Orlando forward Tesho Akindele told MLSsoccer.com via phone. “As soon as we step on the field with them, we’ll feel it. Then the more we play against them, the rivalry will build.”
Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja echoed that sentiment.
“I expect two teams that have been preparing for a long time, trying to be ready for this tournament. With this being the opener, it’s going to bring a lot of tension,” Pareja said of the matchup. “We’re expecting a lot of energy. Our energy will be there for sure and I bet theirs will be too. We’re ready, the boys have done a great job on the preparation and we’re anxious just to start the tournament.”
While fitness will be a question for the teams, Inter Miami striker Juan Agudelo expects a speedy pace.
“We’ve been trying to develop the style that we want to play,” he said, calling Inter “a team that likes to play the ball and play some attractive football while at the same time being aggressive and dangerous. … So I expect a pretty speedy pace to the game.
Here is some addition needs to knows for the tournament:
- The 25 teams will be split into six groups
- The Eastern Conference will have three groups, one with six teams and two with four teams each.
- The Western Conference will have three groups, one with three teams because of FC Dallas withdrawing from the tournament and two with four teams.
- Each team will play three group stage matches over the course of 16 consecutive days.
- The top three teams from Group A and the top two teams from Groups B,C,D,E,F advance. Also the next three highest-ranked teams in the group stage based on points total advance to Round of 16.
- If two or more clubs are tied on points in the group stage, MLS regular season tiebreaking procedures are used.
- The tiebreakers for determining the three highest-ranked teams are: (1) points, (2) goal differential, (3) goals scored, (4) fewest disciplinary points.