Orlando City Wins Decision Day Finale to Set Up Wild Card vs. Cincinnati as Inter Miami Blows 3-0 Lead in 3-3 Draw

Florida's two Major League Soccer clubs closed the 2026 regular season on Decision Day with very different results and very different paths into the playoffs. Orlando City beat the New England Revolution 1-0 on Braian Ojeda's first-half volley at Inter&Co Stadium to lock up the Eastern Conference's No. 8 seed and a home Wild Card match against FC Cincinnati. In Miami, Inter Miami led Charlotte FC 3-0 at halftime at Nu Stadium and let all of it slip away in a 3-3 draw, though the result did not cost the club the No. 2 seed in the East.

Both Saturday matches kicked off at 4 p.m. Eastern time as part of the league's simultaneous final-day schedule. When the dust settled, Inter Miami had a best-of-three Round One series against the Columbus Crew waiting, and Orlando City needed one more win just to join the bracket.

Where Florida's clubs stand

The final regular-season records and playoff paths for both teams, according to MLS and The Associated Press:

Ojeda's volley sends Orlando City into the Wild Card

Orlando City spent much of Saturday without the ball. New England held roughly 65 percent of possession and completed more than twice as many passes, according to ESPN's match statistics. Orlando broke through anyway on the stroke of halftime. In the 45th minute, a corner kick fell to Braian Ojeda outside the penalty area, and the Paraguayan midfielder struck a right-footed volley from about 24 yards into the top right corner past Revolution goalkeeper Matt Turner.

Maxime Crépeau and the Orlando back line protected the lead the rest of the way for a clean sheet in front of an announced crowd of 22,509. Crépeau was shown a yellow card in stoppage time but the Revolution never found an equalizer. The win snapped a three-game winless streak for Orlando, according to the AP.

The result mattered on both ends. Orlando and Cincinnati finished level on 46 points, and Orlando's 13 wins to Cincinnati's 12 put the Lions eighth, giving them home field for the knockout match. New England, which finished 18-12-4, dropped to the No. 3 seed and will face sixth-seeded Philadelphia in Round One.

A turnaround season in Orlando

The playoff berth caps a recovery that looked unlikely in the spring. According to MLS, Orlando won just one of its first eight league matches and climbed from the bottom of the Eastern Conference into the playoff places. Along the way the club dismissed head coach Oscar Pareja, and Martín Perelman is guiding the team on an interim basis.

The biggest addition came in the summer. Antoine Griezmann, the 2018 World Cup winner, joined from Atlético Madrid in July and has 14 goals and 8 assists in 18 matches, according to the league, making him a Newcomer of the Year candidate. Forward Martín Ojeda leads the club with 16 goals, and Justin Ellis has 11 assists.

The Wild Card match is set for Thursday, Nov. 19, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern at Inter&Co Stadium, streaming on Apple TV. It will be the first postseason meeting between the clubs, who are 5-5-5 against each other in 15 regular-season matches, according to MLS. Cincinnati finished 12-12-10 and fell into the ninth spot after a 2-0 loss to Nashville SC on Saturday. The Wild Card winner advances to a Round One series against top-seeded Nashville, which won the Supporters' Shield.

Inter Miami's collapse against Charlotte

For 45 minutes, Inter Miami's regular-season finale looked like a tune-up. Ian Fray opened the scoring in the 14th minute with a right-footed finish from the center of the box after a corner. Luis Suárez tapped in from close range in the 33rd minute after Germán Berterame headed a Lionel Messi corner toward goal. Rodrigo De Paul made it 3-0 in the 42nd with a low shot from outside the penalty area, set up by Telasco Segovia.

Charlotte flipped the match in a five-minute span after halftime. Liel Abada scored from close range in the 50th minute off a Tyger Smalls assist, then beat Dayne St. Clair from outside the box in the 55th on a pass from Pep Biel. Substitute Rodolfo Aloko completed the comeback in the 90th minute, finishing a rebound after Smalls hit the post, according to the AP.

Messi played the full match for Inter Miami but was held scoreless. According to the AP, he finished the regular season with 26 goals and is poised to become the first player in MLS history to win back-to-back Golden Boots.

The collapse came with Inter Miami's lineup thinning out. Left back Sergio Reguilón left with an injury in the 24th minute and was replaced by Gonzalo Luján, and midfielder David Ayala exited injured in the 50th minute, the same minute Charlotte scored its first goal, according to ESPN's match log. Inter Miami also took off De Paul and Berterame in the 59th minute.

The AP noted that the last time Inter Miami gave up a 3-0 lead at Nu Stadium was May 2, when Orlando City rallied for a 4-3 win.

Why the draw did not hurt Miami's seeding

Inter Miami finished second in the East with 60 points. New England, the only team that could have caught Miami, lost in Orlando, so the dropped points did not change Miami's position. Charlotte finished with 54 points and the No. 5 seed, setting up a Round One series against No. 4 Chicago Fire FC.

Nashville's win over Cincinnati gave it 77 points, breaking the MLS single-season record of 74 that Inter Miami set in 2024, according to the AP.

What's next

Inter Miami will open its best-of-three Round One series against the seventh-seeded Columbus Crew at home as the higher seed. MLS said the full Round One schedule would be announced Sunday, Nov. 8; the AP reported that the first-round series begin Nov. 20. Orlando City must first get past Cincinnati on Nov. 19 to earn a series against Nashville. MLS Cup is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 18, hosted by the finalist with the most regular-season points.