Milestones, storylines and more ahead of the Lions match on the road at LAFC in "The Road Ahead" driven by Audi:
Milestones
- Duncan McGuire’s next goal, his 32nd in all competitions for Orlando City, will pass Nani for fourth place in club history. McGuire has 27 MLS regular-season goals, one behind Nani and current teammate Martín Ojeda for third in club history.
- Martín Ojeda is three starts away from 100 in his Orlando City career in all competitions.
- Orlando City has a chance to record at least one regular-season win against each of the other 29 MLS teams by the end of 2026. The Lions have never beaten LAFC, this week’s opponent, or San Diego FC, a 2025 expansion side Orlando will face for the first time later this year.
Stats & Storylines
- Welcome to The Road Ahead: Antoine Griezmann edition!
- Orlando City made worldwide waves last week, announcing the signing of World Cup champion and global soccer icon Antoine Griezmann. Griezmann, one of the greatest players of his generation, will join the Lions after wrapping up the 2025/26 season with Atlético de Madrid and will be eligible to take the field for Orlando after MLS’ secondary transfer window opens in July.
- Griezmann has enjoyed a remarkable career, scoring 298 goals and notching 132 assists in 792 club games while adding 44g/38a in 137 caps for his native France. Griezmann is Atlético Madrid’s all-time leading scorer, notching 211 goals for the historic Spanish giants. For his country, Griezmann scored the go-ahead goal and was Man of the Match in the 2018 World Cup final as France defeated Croatia to win soccer’s most prestigious trophy for the second time. Griezmann retired from international competition in 2024.
- Griezmann is known worldwide not just for his quality, but for his relentless workrate and remarkable durability. The Frenchman has played at least 3,500 club minutes in 10 of the past 11 seasons. This year, Griezmann has increased his efficiency even further while settling into a spot starter/super-sub role for Atleti, scoring 13g/4a in just 1,985 minutes.
- Marco Pašalić enjoyed a terrific spell for Croatia during the international break. Playing as a right wingback, Pašalić notched an assist and was the highest-rated player of the match in a 2-1 friendly victory over Colombia in Orlando last week, playing superb defense against Bayern Munich superstar Luis Díaz while creating a team-high three chances going forward. Pašalić played 21 minutes off the bench in Croatia’s second friendly against Brazil.
- Homegrown forward Justin Ellis scored another goal for the United States U19s in a 4-0 romp against Wales on March 28, with Colin Guske also getting the start.
- Orlando City will return to action after the break looking to shake off a 5-0 defeat at Nashville SC on March 21. The Lions are hunting their first away goal and point of the season in Los Angeles.
Series History
All-time vs. LAFC - 0-3-2, -7 GD (0-1-0, -3 GD away)
MLS only vs. LAFC - 0-3-1, -7 GD (0-1-0, -3 GD away)
2018 - L 4-1 (A)
2019 - D 2-2 (H)
2020 - D 1-1 (5-4) (N/MLS is Back)
2022 - L 2-4 (H)
2024 - L 1-3 (H)
Meet the opponent: CF Montréal
- While Orlando City does not officially have a win against LAFC, the Lions did take down the Black and Gold in penalty kicks in the MLS is Back Tournament during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, a landmark result for Orlando that players and coaches credit for the club’s remarkable change in fortunes into the 2020s. Orlando City has not missed the postseason since that 2020 season, the longest active run in MLS.
- LAFC has posted five consecutive shutouts to start the 2026 MLS regular season, a new MLS record. The Black and Gold are 7-0-2 in all competitions this year, most recently taking down Costa Rican powerhouse Alajuelense in CONCACAF Champions Cup. LAFC will face Cruz Azul in the first of two quarterfinal legs this Tuesday night at BMO Stadium.
- Despite the defensive dominance, LAFC’s star duo of Son Heung-Min and Denis Bouanga have started the season slowly, with just one goal between the two of them through five games. South Korean superstar Son has not scored a single goal in 2026, though he does have three assists through five MLS matches. Son had 9g/3a in 10 games after signing last summer, while Bouanga has scored at least 20 goals in each of the past three MLS regular seasons, with a career-high 24 in 2025.
- Orlando City has won a game in the state of California in three of the past four seasons, taking down LA Galaxy in both 2022 and 2025 while knocking off San Jose in 2024, marking a three-game regular-season win streak in the state. The Lions also defeated reigning Liga MX champions Toluca in penalty kicks in last summer’s Leagues Cup quarterfinal in a game played at LA Galaxy’s Dignity Health Sports Park.
