MLS is Back Tournament final

The MLS is Back Tournament Final, known as the MLS is Back Tournament Final presented by Wells Fargo for sponsorship reasons, was a soccer match held on August 11, 2020 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Florida. It was the final match of the MLS is Back Tournament, a competition marking the resumption of the 2020 Major League Soccer season following the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The match was played behind closed doors due to the pandemic and was broadcast on ESPN beginning at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.[3]

MLS is Back Tournament Final
EventMLS is Back Tournament
DateAugust 11, 2020 (2020-08-11)
VenueESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, Bay Lake, Florida, US
Man of the MatchDiego Valeri (Portland Timbers)[1]
RefereeIsmail Elfath[2]
Attendance0 (behind closed doors)

Portland Timbers won the match 2–1 to win the MLS is Back Tournament and were presented the trophy after the game. As winners, Portland received $300,000 in prize money and also earned a spot in the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League. They qualified for the United States' third berth, replacing the 2020 MLS Eastern or Western Conference regular season champions which are not the Supporters' Shield champions.[4][5]

The match was the first MLS final refereed by a woman, with Kathryn Nesbitt acting as an Assistant Referee.

Road to the final

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Portland Timbers Round Orlando City SC
Opponents Results Group stage Opponents Results
LA Galaxy 2–1 Match 1 Inter Miami CF 2–1
Houston Dynamo 2–1 Match 2 New York City FC 3–1
Los Angeles FC 2–2 Match 3 Philadelphia Union 1–1
Group F winners
Group F results
Pos Team Pld Pts
1 Portland Timbers 3 7
2 Los Angeles FC 3 5
3 Houston Dynamo 3 2
4 LA Galaxy 3 1
Source: MLS[6]
Final standings Group A winners
Group A results
Pos Team Pld Pts
1 Orlando City SC (H) 3 7
2 Philadelphia Union 3 7
3 New York City FC 3 3
4 Inter Miami CF 3 0
Source: MLS[6]
(H) Hosts
Opponents Results Knockout stage Opponents Results
FC Cincinnati 1–1 (4–2 p) Round of 16 Montreal Impact 1–0
New York City FC 3–1 Quarter-finals Los Angeles FC 1–1 (5–4 p)
Philadelphia Union 2–1 Semi-finals Minnesota United FC 3–1

Match

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Portland played in a defensive posture for much of the game, allowing Orlando 64% of the possession but not letting them get into good shooting positions.[7][8] In the 27th minute Portland scored first, with Larrys Mabiala scoring a header from a free kick by Diego Valeri. Orlando responded with a goal 12 minutes later via a move to the end-line by Nani and a pass to the near post that Mauricio Pereyra finished. Portland scored again about 3/4 of the way through the game; Valeri sent a corner kick to Eryk Williamson, who controlled the ball and sent it toward goal, where Jeremy Ebobisse redirected it to Dario Župarić for a tap-in through Nani's legs. Both of Portland's goals were scored by center backs. The game opened up after that, with Orlando committing more players forward in an attempt to level the score, but Portland's defense continued to hold them off until the final whistle. The game finished with Orlando having only one shot on goal – namely their goal – while Portland had six.[8]

Details

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Portland Timbers2–1Orlando City SC
Report
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Portland Timbers
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Orlando City SC
GK 12   Steve Clark
RB 15   Chris Duvall
CB 33   Larrys Mabiala   44'
CB 13   Dario Župarić
LB 4   Jorge Villafaña   73'
CM 21   Diego Chará   70'
CM 30   Eryk Williamson
RW 44   Marvin Loría   67'
AM 8   Diego Valeri (c)   90+1'
LW 10   Sebastián Blanco   89'
CF 17   Jeremy Ebobisse   67'
Substitutes:
GK 1   Jeff Attinella
GK 31   Aljaž Ivačič
DF 18   Julio Cascante
DF 25   Bill Tuiloma   90+1'
DF 28   Pablo Bonilla
DF 32   Marco Farfan
MF 19   Tomás Conechny
MF 22   Cristhian Paredes
MF 40   Renzo Zambrano
FW 7   Andy Polo   67'
FW 9   Felipe Mora   89'
FW 11   Jarosław Niezgoda   67'
Manager:
  Giovanni Savarese
 
GK 1   Pedro Gallese
RB 2   Ruan   85'   87'
CB 25   Antônio Carlos   47'
CB 6   Robin Jansson
LB 4   João Moutinho   63'
CM 20   Oriol Rosell   79'
CM 8   Sebas Méndez   71'
RW 9   Chris Mueller   71'
AM 10   Mauricio Pereyra
LW 17   Nani (c)   73'
CF 13   Tesho Akindele   78'
Substitutes:
GK 23   Brian Rowe
DF 3   Alex DeJohn
DF 15   Rodrigo Schlegel
DF 24   Kyle Smith   87'
DF 27   Kamal Miller
MF 11   Júnior Urso   71'
MF 21   Andrés Perea
MF 34   Joey DeZart
MF 77   Robinho
FW 18   Daryl Dike   78'
FW 19   Benji Michel   71'
FW 29   Santiago Patiño   79'
Manager:
  Óscar Pareja

Man of the Match:
Diego Valeri (Portland Timbers)[1]

Assistant referees:[2]
Kathryn Nesbitt
Kyle Atkins
Fourth official:[2]
Joe Dickerson
Video assistant referee:[2]
Allen Chapman
Assistant video assistant referee:[2]
Logan Brown

Match rules[9]

  • 90 minutes, with no extra time.
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores level.
  • Maximum of twelve named substitutes.
  • Maximum of five substitutions.[note 1]

Broadcasting

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The match was broadcast on ESPN.

Notes

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  1. ^ Each team was given only three opportunities to make substitutions, excluding substitutions made at half-time.

References

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  1. ^ a b Sigal, Jonathan (August 11, 2020). "Portland Timbers 2, Orlando City 1 | MLS is Back Tournament Final Recap". Major League Soccer. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e "MLS is Back final referee crew announced, with first woman to work MLS final". Major League Soccer. August 9, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  3. ^ "Full match schedule and TV info unveiled for MLS is Back Tournament". MLSSoccer.com. Major League Soccer. June 24, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  4. ^ "MLS is Back Tournament winner will qualify for 2021 Concacaf Champions League". MLSSoccer.com. Major League Soccer. June 10, 2020.
  5. ^ "Concacaf Statement – Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League qualification for the winner of MLS Is Back tournament". Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football. June 10, 2020.
  6. ^ a b "MLS is Back Group Stage Standings". Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on August 29, 2020. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  7. ^ Sigal, Jonathan (August 11, 2020). "Portland Timbers 2, Orlando City SC 1 | MLS is Back Tournament Final Recap". MLS Soccer. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Portland Timbers vs. Orlando City FC: Stats". MLS Soccer. August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  9. ^ "MLS is Back Tournament Competition Guidelines". Major League Soccer. June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
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