MLS is Back Tournament Final

The MLS is Back Tournament Final, known as the MLS is Back Tournament Final presented by Wells Fargo for sponsorship reasons, was a soccer match held on August 11, 2020 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Florida. It was the final match of the MLS is Back Tournament, a competition marking the resumption of the 2020 Major League Soccer season following the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The match was played behind closed doors due to the pandemic and was broadcast on ESPN beginning at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.[3]

MLS is Back Tournament Final
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Bay Lake hosted the final.
EventMLS is Back Tournament
Portland Timbers Orlando City SC
2 1
DateAugust 11, 2020 (2020-08-11)
VenueESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, Bay Lake, Florida, US
Man of the MatchDiego Valeri (Portland Timbers)[1]
RefereeIsmail Elfath[2]
Attendance0 (behind closed doors)

Portland Timbers won the match 2–1 to win the MLS is Back Tournament and were presented the trophy after the game. As winners, Portland received $300,000 in prize money and also earned a spot in the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League. They qualified for the United States' third berth, replacing the 2020 MLS Eastern or Western Conference regular season champions which are not the Supporters' Shield champions.[4][5]

The match was the first MLS final refereed by a woman, with Kathryn Nesbitt acting as an Assistant Referee.

Road to the final
Further information: MLS is Back Tournament
Portland Timbers Round Orlando City SC
Opponents Results Group stage Opponents Results
LA Galaxy 2–1 Match 1 Inter Miami CF 2–1
Houston Dynamo 2–1 Match 2 New York City FC 3–1
Los Angeles FC 2–2 Match 3 Philadelphia Union 1–1
Group F winners
Group F results
Pos Team Pld Pts
1 Portland Timbers 3 7
2 Los Angeles FC 3 5
3 Houston Dynamo 3 2
4 LA Galaxy 3 1
Source: MLS
 Final standings Group A winners
Group A results
Pos Team Pld Pts
1 Orlando City SC (H) 3 7
2 Philadelphia Union 3 7
3 New York City FC 3 3
4 Inter Miami CF 3 0
Source: MLS
(H) Hosts
Opponents Results Knockout stage Opponents Results
FC Cincinnati 1–1 (4–2 p) Round of 16 Montreal Impact 1–0
New York City FC 3–1 Quarter-finals Los Angeles FC 1–1 (5–4 p)
Philadelphia Union 2–1 Semi-finals Minnesota United FC 3–1

Match

Portland played in a defensive posture for much of the game, allowing Orlando 64% of the possession but not letting them get into good shooting positions.[6][7] In the 27th minute Portland scored first, with Larrys Mabiala scoring a header from a free kick by Diego Valeri. Orlando responded with a goal 12 minutes later via a move to the end-line by Nani and a pass to the near post that Mauricio Pereyra finished. Portland scored again about 3/4 of the way through the game; Valeri sent a corner kick to Eryk Williamson, who controlled the ball and sent it toward goal, where Jeremy Ebobisse redirected it to Dario Župarić for a tap-in through Nani's legs. Both of Portland's goals were scored by center backs. The game opened up after that, with Orlando committing more players forward in an attempt to level the score, but Portland's defense continued to hold them off until the final whistle. The game finished with Orlando having only one shot on goal – namely their goal – while Portland had six.[7]

Details
Portland Timbers2–1Orlando City SC
  • Mabiala 27'
  • Župarić 66'
 Report
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)
Referee: Ismail Elfath
Portland Timbers
Orlando City SC
GK12United States Steve Clark
RB15United States Chris Duvall
CB33Democratic Republic of the Congo Larrys MabialaYellow card 44'
CB13Croatia Dario Župarić
LB4United States Jorge VillafañaYellow card 73'
CM21Colombia Diego CharáYellow card 70'
CM30United States Eryk Williamson
RW44Costa Rica Marvin Loríadownward-facing red arrow 67'
AM8Argentina Diego Valeri (c)downward-facing red arrow 90+1'
LW10Argentina Sebastián Blancodownward-facing red arrow 89'
CF17United States Jeremy Ebobissedownward-facing red arrow 67'
Substitutes:
GK1United States Jeff Attinella
GK31Slovenia Aljaž Ivačič
DF18Costa Rica Julio Cascante
DF25New Zealand Bill Tuilomaupward-facing green arrow 90+1'
DF28Venezuela Pablo Bonilla
DF32United States Marco Farfan
MF19Argentina Tomás Conechny
MF22Paraguay Cristhian Paredes
MF40Venezuela Renzo Zambrano
FW7Peru Andy Poloupward-facing green arrow 67'
FW9Chile Felipe Moraupward-facing green arrow 89'
FW11Poland Jarosław Niezgodaupward-facing green arrow 67'
Manager:
Venezuela Giovanni Savarese
GK1Peru Pedro Gallese
RB2Brazil RuanYellow card 85'downward-facing red arrow 87'
CB25Brazil Antônio CarlosYellow card 47'
CB6Sweden Robin Jansson
LB4Portugal João MoutinhoYellow card 63'
CM20Spain Oriol Roselldownward-facing red arrow 79'
CM8Ecuador Sebas Méndezdownward-facing red arrow 71'
RW9United States Chris Muellerdownward-facing red arrow 71'
AM10Uruguay Mauricio Pereyra
LW17Portugal Nani (c)Yellow card 73'
CF13Canada Tesho Akindeledownward-facing red arrow 78'
Substitutes:
GK23United States Brian Rowe
DF3United States Alex DeJohn
DF15Argentina Rodrigo Schlegel
DF24United States Kyle Smithupward-facing green arrow 87'
DF27Canada Kamal Miller
MF11Brazil Júnior Ursoupward-facing green arrow 71'
MF21Colombia Andrés Perea
MF34Jamaica Joey DeZart
MF77Brazil Robinho
FW18United States Daryl Dikeupward-facing green arrow 78'
FW19United States Benji Michelupward-facing green arrow 71'
FW29Colombia Santiago Patiñoupward-facing green arrow 79'
Manager:
Colombia Óscar Pareja

Man of the Match:
Diego Valeri (Portland Timbers)[1]

Assistant referees:[2]
Kathryn Nesbitt
Kyle Atkins
Fourth official:[2]
Joe Dickerson
Video assistant referee:[2]
Allen Chapman
Assistant video assistant referee:[2]
Logan Brown

Match rules[8]

  • 90 minutes, with no extra time.
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores level.
  • Maximum of twelve named substitutes.
  • Maximum of five substitutions.[note 1]

Broadcasting

The match was broadcast on ESPN.

Notes
  1. Each team was given only three opportunities to make substitutions, excluding substitutions made at half-time.

References
  1. Sigal, Jonathan (August 11, 2020). "Portland Timbers 2, Orlando City 1 | MLS is Back Tournament Final Recap". Major League Soccer. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  2. "MLS is Back final referee crew announced, with first woman to work MLS final". Major League Soccer. August 9, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  3. "Full match schedule and TV info unveiled for MLS is Back Tournament". MLSSoccer.com. Major League Soccer. June 24, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  4. "MLS is Back Tournament winner will qualify for 2021 Concacaf Champions League". MLSSoccer.com. Major League Soccer. June 10, 2020.
  5. "Concacaf Statement – Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League qualification for the winner of MLS Is Back tournament". Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football. June 10, 2020.
  6. Sigal, Jonathan (August 11, 2020). "Portland Timbers 2, Orlando City SC 1 | MLS is Back Tournament Final Recap". MLS Soccer. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  7. "Portland Timbers vs. Orlando City FC: Stats". MLS Soccer. August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  8. "MLS is Back Tournament Competition Guidelines". Major League Soccer. June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
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