Orlando City pauses its MLS campaign this week, traveling south to face FC Naples in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32. With the Lions navigating a disastrous start to the league campaign, the midweek tournament match serves as a necessary opportunity to rotate the squad and evaluate younger talent against a lower-division opponent.

The Lions take on an FC Naples side that currently sits atop the USL League One table. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Paradise Coast Sports Complex and will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network and streamed on Paramount+.

“I’m sure it’s going to be electric over there. I feel like they’re pretty excited, and it’s going to be a great game. We’re excited to go there and start our cup run,” Orlando defender Zakaria Taifi said. “It’s a big tournament for us. We already won (in 2022), and we want to win again. That’s the main goal.”

Interim head coach Martín Perelman is expected to rely heavily on players from Orlando City B, alongside fringe first-team prospects. Forward Gustavo Caraballo and defender Tahir Reid-Brown are among the candidates to see significant minutes, while Javier Otero is expected to take over starting duties in goal. This rotation gives Orlando’s regular starters critical rest before resuming league play this weekend.

Despite the division gap, FC Naples presents a stiff test for the young Lions. Naples leads the third division USL League One and advanced to this stage of the tournament with back-to-back 3-0 shutouts over Red Force and FC America CFL Spurs. For an Orlando defense that has already conceded 23 goals in MLS play, integrating inexperienced players against a confident Naples attack requires immediate defensive discipline.

“I don’t think we have to focus too much on ‘Who are we playing?’ (or) ‘What are we doing?’ I think everyone has one goal,” Taifi added. “The goal is to win, no matter who is playing. USL League One or MLS, we don’t care who it is. We’re going to go out there, and we’re going to find our form, and we’re going to perform.”

Regardless of the lineup Perelman deploys, Orlando has to play clean, mistake-free soccer to advance. Following the midweek cup tie, Orlando City returns to MLS action on Saturday at home against the Houston Dynamo.