Griezmann and Lewandowski Make MLS Debuts
Lionel Messi is on pause. Major League Soccer is not.
As the Argentina captain steps away for a post-World Cup breather after that gutting final defeat to Spain, the league has barely taken a breath. The spotlight has simply swung to the next wave of imported star power: Antoine Griezmann and Robert Lewandowski.
Griezmann hits the ground running
If MLS wanted a statement from one of its new headliners, Griezmann delivered it in three minutes.
On Wednesday, July 22, the 2018 World Cup winner marked his Orlando City debut with the kind of cold-blooded efficiency that made him a superstar in Europe. Three minutes into the second half, he had his first MLS goal, and Orlando were on their way to a ruthless 4-0 dismantling of the San Jose Earthquakes.
No adjustment period. No easing in. Just impact.
Orlando’s dominance turned what might have been a cautious first look at a new signing into a full-throttle announcement. Griezmann slotted into the attack and the team responded with a performance that felt less like a debut and more like a warning shot to the rest of the league.
Next up is a far sterner test. On Saturday, July 25, Orlando City host Nashville SC, the current leaders in the Supporters’ Shield race. Griezmann’s first outing came with space to play and a vulnerable opponent. Nashville will not be so generous. If Orlando want to prove that midweek rout was more than a soft landing, this is the night to do it.
Lewandowski waits for his moment
Lewandowski’s first taste of MLS was harsher.
Also on July 22, the Chicago Fire’s new marquee striker went 63 minutes without a goal in his debut, a 3-2 defeat to an Inter Miami side missing Messi. The storyline wrote itself: Miami, without their biggest star, still found a way. Chicago, with theirs, could not.
Lewandowski had his touches, his runs, his glimpses. No finish. For a forward whose reputation has been built on relentless numbers, the empty stat line will sting, even this early.
He does not have long to dwell on it. On Saturday night, he walks into one of the league’s more atmospheric stages: Yankee Stadium, where New York City FC await. The Fire are back on the road, and Lewandowski is back in the hunt for that first MLS goal. One chance, one clean contact, and the narrative around his American adventure changes in an instant.
A packed Saturday slate
The league’s return from its long summer break comes with a full schedule on July 25, all available on Apple TV:
- Red Bull New York vs. Charlotte FC, 6:30 p.m. ET
- Columbus Crew vs. FC Cincinnati, 7:15 p.m. ET
- D.C. United vs. Toronto FC, 7:30 p.m. ET
- CF Montréal vs. Inter Miami, 7:30 p.m. ET
- New England Revolution vs. Atlanta United, 7:30 p.m. ET
- New York City FC vs. Chicago Fire, 7:30 p.m. ET
- Orlando City SC vs. Nashville SC, 7:30 p.m. ET
- Philadelphia Union vs. Seattle Sounders, 7:30 p.m. ET
- Houston Dynamo vs. Austin FC, 8:30 p.m. ET
- Minnesota United vs. Vancouver Whitecaps, 8:30 p.m. ET
- St. Louis City SC vs. Colorado Rapids, 8:30 p.m. ET
- San Diego FC vs. FC Dallas, 9:30 p.m. ET (FS1)
- Los Angeles FC vs. Sporting Kansas City, 10:30 p.m. ET
- Portland Timbers vs. Real Salt Lake, 10:30 p.m. ET
- San Jose Earthquakes vs. LA Galaxy, 10:30 p.m. ET
It’s a schedule loaded with subplots, but one fixture towers above the rest.
“Hell is Real” returns
Columbus vs. Cincinnati rarely needs hype. It gets it anyway.
At ScottsMiracle-Gro Field in Columbus, one of MLS’s fiercest rivalries reignites at 7:15 p.m. ET when the Columbus Crew host FC Cincinnati in another edition of “Hell is Real.”
Cincinnati arrive riding the high of a wild 4-3 victory over Western Conference leaders Vancouver Whitecaps. They are firmly in the Eastern Conference playoff mix, playing with the confidence of a team that expects to be there when the season’s biggest games kick off.
Columbus are in a very different place.
The Crew’s 2026 campaign has veered into trouble. Four wins from 16 league matches tells its own story. The club sacked Henrik Rydström on May 17 after just 14 games in charge, a swift and brutal call that underlined how quickly patience had run out. Laurent Courtois has stepped in as interim head coach, but the reset has not yet produced a surge.
The World Cup break offered a chance to regroup. Instead, the first game back brought more pain: a 2-1 defeat to New York City FC on July 22. Now the Crew walk into a rivalry match needing not just a performance, but a jolt to their entire season.
This is where “Hell is Real” so often bites. Form can vanish. Pressure does not.
Miami still the team to beat
Even with Messi temporarily off the stage, the bookmakers have not blinked. Inter Miami remain the clear favorite to lift the 2026 MLS championship, priced at +333 with BetMGM.
Behind them, Los Angeles FC and Vancouver Whitecaps are both listed at +750, Nashville SC sit at +800, and FC Cincinnati round out the leading pack at +1200. Those numbers reflect what the table and the eye test both suggest: Miami are still the standard, but the chase group is deep and dangerous.
Griezmann has already nudged his way into that conversation with one sharp finish. Lewandowski is still waiting to speak.
On a crowded Saturday night across MLS, how loudly will they answer?
