OSC VS CLUB LEON PHOTO BY MARK THOR VIA ORLANDO CITY SC
Despite Marco Pašalić scoring his first goal since returning from the FIFA World Cup, but Orlando City SC still ended up falling 2-1 to Liga MX side Club León this past Saturday night at Inter&Co Stadium in the Lions’ second Phase One match of Leagues Cup 2026.
Orlando opened the scoring in the 38th minute when Pašalić met a pass from Tyrese Spicer at the top of the box and buried a left-footed strike into the lower right corner past León goalkeeper Óscar García. Orlando carried a 1-0 lead into halftime, with goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau making five saves before the break.
León equalized in the 54th minute when Juan Guevara headed home a curling free kick from Jordi Cortizo. The visitors then found the winner in the 72nd minute, as Iván Moreno picked out Daniel Arcila at the top of the box, and Arcila slotted a left-footed shot into the net to put León ahead 2-1.
Interim head coach Martín Perelman said the team competed well against a strong opponent despite the result, saying, “Very, very sad for the result, for us, for our people, for everyone. We were trying to compete in the best way as possible and trying to win, and we couldn’t, especially when we are at home, so we suffered. Today we faced another very good team in León. Congrats to them. They did a really good job. We were there trying to compete, and we did it by moments. We were winning the game. We could’ve tied, but we didn’t, and that’s it.”
Orlando City will face Atlético de San Luis in its third and final Phase One match of Leagues Cup 2026 on Wednesday, August 12 at 7:30 p.m.
