To defeat Orlando City SC in the first round of the Major League Soccer (MLS) qualifiers, CF Montreal will not need to reinvent the wheel, according to Rudy Camacho and Lassi Lappalainen.
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The French defender and Finnish winger showed great confidence on Tuesday, even though the Montreal club has not made it past the first round since 2016.
“We are going to present ourselves on the ground, to fight, and it is sure that we will win, dropped without hesitation Lappalainen, author of a success in the last match of the season, against Inter Miami.
“Orlando is a pretty good team, but every game we play we are the favorites. So it doesn’t really matter.”
MLS Decision Day, the last day of the regular Garber Tour schedule, always brings its share of suspense and it did not disappoint this year. It was only at the final whistle of the duel between the Columbus Crew and the Orlando team that the Bleu-Blanc-Noir was able to learn the identity of his opponent, who could also have been Inter Miami.
“I don’t think it matters, the team we face, chained Lappalainen. [Mais] it’s a good thing we’re not playing against Miami. It’s always difficult to play against the same team twice in a row.
Rudy remembers
Absent in Sunday’s 3-1 victory for his team, Rudy Camacho confirmed after practice that “he should be good if all goes well this week” to cross swords against Orlando.
One of the cornerstones of the Montreal defense since 2018, Camacho remembers very well a 2-0 loss suffered at the hands of the Florida club on November 7, 2021. He was then given a red card and this setback prevented CF Montreal from participating in the playoffs.
“There is no revenge, but it’s a game that stays in the lead, he slipped. It was a bit of a disaster scenario last year. We will be at home, in a strong position, and we will try to impose our game as we have been doing since the start of the year.
Orlando City SC have lost some of their offensive brilliance this season, having scored the fewest goals among Eastern Conference qualifying teams. Don’t think that Camacho and his gang will take their adversary lightly.
“We don’t watch that. They are dangerous like every team. We are fighting a little against ourselves. It’s up to us to stay focused, but we know very well that if we play as usual, we will have a much better chance of winning.
CF Montreal will try to take a first step in its conquest of the MLS Cup on Sunday, at 8 p.m., at Stade Saputo. The game will be broadcast on TVA Sports.