ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando City SC, on a one-month break from Major League Soccer's regular season, will open play in the Leagues Cup at 8 p.m. Friday against the Houston Dynamo at Exploria Stadium.

The Lions (10-6-7, 37 points) are coming off a 2-1 victory against the Atlanta United last week. They are in fifth place in the Eastern Conference heading into the break.

Orlando City won its last matchup with Houston 2-1 on June 18, 2022 and is 2-2-2 against the Dynamo overall.

The Leagues Cup is a CONCACAF-sanctioned competition in which MLS and Liga MX (Mexico) teams compete in a World Cup-style tournament.

“The importance of the [Leagues Cup] tournament is big for us," coach Oscar Pareja said. "It’s a tournament that we are going to face with a lot of responsibility and the understanding that it offers an opportunity to get back into an international competition. Orlando wants to be on the map of contenders in the region that can fight for trophies. It’s important for the players to respect a tournament that is the first of its class in America. It represents a rivalry that’s already big enough with Mexico. These details make us think that we have to be on with full cylinders and, like always, to win games and qualifications for the CONCACAF Champions Cup.”

Because of its strong finish last season, Orlando will host all its Group 2 matches in this year's Leagues Cup.

The top two teams will advance to the knockout rounds. The Group 2 winner will face the winner of the South Region Group 3, consisting of Cruz Azul, Atlanta United and Inter Miami. The Group 2 runner-up will play Mexican side Pachusa, which received a bye to the knockout rounds because it finished with the most aggregate points in Liga MX across the 2022 Clausura and Apertura.