Supporters are wrong. Orlando City ready to move in the MLS playoffs | OneFootball

No matter what any disappointed supporter of Orlando City SC tells you, the Lions didn’t miss the MLS playoffs. They just didn’t get in under their own terms.

To enter the MLS playoffs with a sense of controlling your own destiny, you have to finish above the first playoff line. That means finishing in the top seven in the Eastern Conference. Orlando City SC didn’t do that in 2025.

The eighth and ninth teams in the conferences play a wildcard game to determine who gets to fight their way past the top seven teams to survive in the playoffs. It’s the equivalent of the play-in teams in the NCAA basketball tournament each year.

Yet, those wildcard teams made the playoffs. They just didn’t clinch a spot without winning the wildcard game first. That’s the position Orlando City finished in this season. They didn’t win quite enough matches.

The players and coaches lost steam during stretches too long in 2025. They were good enough not to be eliminated from the MLS playoffs for good. But it landed the Lions in the midst of the tricky and complex formula.

May 31, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando City forward Luis Muriel (9) moves the ball against Chicago Fire defender Christopher Cupps (38) during the second half at Inter&Co Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

As victims of that formula, Orlando City no longer controlled their post-season destiny. But as it turned out, the Lions were just good enough this season that the formula worked out for them. They landed in the ninth spot in the MLS Eastern Conference.

They’ll take on No. Eight Chicago Fire to decide who gets to fight on in this MLS post-season. That means for one match – and maybe only one match – the Lions control their destiny once more.

They didn’t fully clinch a post-season position as the 2025 MLS regular season ended. But they clinch after all once they defeat the Fire.

But how do they win that match and move on? The matches that drove them far enough down the standings to land in a wildcard position are the drills that answer that question. A high press from opponents disrupted the Lions more than any other matches during the season.

The late-season shocks from losses and draws frequently resulted from frustration fighting a high press. If Orlando City SC has solved that frustration, shock awaits the Chicago Fire and other opponents as they move on in the MLS playoffs.