Former Orlando City star has a bold prediction for Lions' playoff run | OneFootball

It has been three years since Orlando City won its first-ever trophy at the senior level after beating Sacramento Republic in the U.S. Open Cup Final.

Since then, the Lions have come close but haven't quite managed to get their hands on a second piece of silverware. After finishing with the second-best regular season record in MLS, Orlando brushed past Nashville in the first round of the 2023 MLS Cup playoffs only to lose 2-0 to eventual champions Columbus Crew in the following round.

Orlando would follow that up in stellar fashion in 2024, finishing fourth in the East (ninth overall) and taking out Charlotte FC and Atlanta United to reach the Conference Finals. But just as Orlando looked to be closing in on a first-ever trip to the MLS Cup Final, Andrés Reyes scored after halftime to lead New York Red Bulls to a 1-0 win, securing their spot in the final.

Orlando have built on their momentum in Oscar Pareja's sixth season at the helm, coming within inches of the Leagues Cup Final only to lose to Florida rivals Inter Miami, before losing to LA Galaxy in the third-placed match. Since that defeat, Orlando have drawn 1-1 in every single one of their three matches, apart from a last-second 3-2 victory against Nashville and a 2-1 loss to Vancouver FC.

Pareja's side are headed to the postseason for the sixth straight season, having never qualified before his appointment, and they will be looking to do something that neither they nor the NBA's Orlando Magic have ever been able to achieve: bringing a title to The City Beautiful.

"I've been really impressed by Orlando ... the team looks good," stated ex-Canada striker Tesho Akindele, who scored 21 goals in 121 appearances for Orlando and helped them win the U.S. Open Cup. "Pareja was my coach for eight of my nine years as a professional, and Luiz Muzzi was my GM all the time I was in Dallas, and all the time I was in Orlando. Seeing those guys continue to build teams that compete in the league, I think it's a testament to what they've been able to do for over a decade."

"The wall for Pareja to get over has been those deep postseason runs. I do wish some of our Dallas teams would have done better," added Akindele. "I think nobody's more dedicated and passionate to winning an MLS Cup than him. I could see Orlando having a deep run this year at the MLS Cup. They have so many players right now on their team who can score goals, which is really important. Even a right back like Alex Freeman has scored six goals and is fifth on the scoring chart. That's a team that's scoring a lot of goals, which is the hardest thing to do."

The Lions have already confirmed their spot in the playoffs, but now, they need to ensure that they finish in the top seven and avoid playing in the wild card match. They sit seventh in the table, one point behind Nashville, one above Chicago, and two above Columbus, with a game in hand on all of those sides. Orlando will close out its regular season with a trip to Toronto on Saturday.