Orlando City defeated Santos Laguna 3-2 on Saturday night at Exploria Stadium to win their group of the 2023 Leagues Cup.

For the Lions, it’s the first victory over a Liga MX side but with the result, it sets up Wednesday’s Round of 32 match against Lionel Messi and Inter Miami at DRV PNK Stadium.

Orlando coach Oscar Pareja commenting ahead of the midweek clash against their in-state rivals, believes his team will be ready for the task at hand.

“Surely, after the victory we have to face a team who has been playing well,” Pareja said on taking on Miami. “It is a wave that is bringing a lot of attention and we’re very proud. But we know who we are, and we’re going to go get the victory.”

Pareja continued: “We know the group that we have. We have a big responsibility, [but] we can’t eliminate the factor of who the rival is but the attention it has brought with the arrival of Leo, but we’re fine. Tonight we rest and on Sunday we begin preparations to travel to Miami on Monday and train ahead with the mentality to play and win.”

Inter Miami enters the knockout stage of the Leagues Cup off back-to-back wins along with three goals during that stretch by Lionel Messi.

How Orlando plans to stop the player?

“It’s obvious that nobody has been able to stop him in the last 12 years, but we have to be ourselves and know we can cause damage,” Pareja said when answering that question. “We’re not playing against one player but against a team and that’s how we’ll approach it.”

Wednesday’s match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. and will stream live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

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