It’s time for the 2026 edition of the Magic City derby to start. Although The™ Miami FC has been in the USL Championship since 2020, the Legion did not play them until 2022. Since then the series record is an even 3-3-2. If you add FC Tulsa into the mix the Legion has an overall record in Magic City games of 7-5-5, leading the all-time series with PPG of 1.53. Yeah, the real Magic City is beating the fake ones.
Thursday (7:00pm, ESPN+) Miami comes to town in what could be a surprisingly good matchup. An added attraction will also be at the game: the World Cup trophy is making a stop here on its regular tour and will be on display at Protective Stadium. Which, considering Miami is in Florida’s Gold Coast, is kinda funny.
Anyway, Miami is currently 5th in the East with a record of 3-2-3, meaning they have played one more game than the Legion, that additional game being a win. Thus, with a win, the Legion can jump, at least until this weekend’s games, into that 5th place (speaking of standings, the Three Sparks, per the league website are currently 9th, but by the tiebreaker rules should be 8th and above the playoff line). Much on the line, then, not least of which would be the first back-to-back wins since May 31st last year and in league play only since June 26th, 2024.
Miami’s wins were 4-2 over Sporting JAX and 2-1 over Rhode Island FC, both back in March, before going on a 3-game winless streak until last week, when they beat Brooklyn FC 3-2. The difference in that game came down to a Brooklyn own goal. They did win 2 USL Cup games in April, 1-0 over JAX again and 4-1 over FC Naples.
Despite playing mostly with 3 center backs, Miami’s defense can be questionable. Their best performance was a 0-0 draw with San Antonio, in which they weathered 26 minutes with only 10 men. Last week against Brooklyn they did not look anywhere near so good. The center backs are generally Angelo Calfo, Daltyn Knutson and Bachir Ndiaye. If you haven’t heard of them, you’re not alone. All are League One graduates and only Knutson has been with the team since before this season. The preferred formation is a 3-4-3, which they have used 5 times this season. Against San Antonio they went with 5-3-2 in an evident defensive posture. They have used a 4-man back line 3 times, twice in the last 2 games. The other time was in the season opener, in which they were thumped 4-1 by Louisville City. I would anticipate they will take the same approach as the San Antonio game here.
Roster turnover is a constant issue for Miami, who also typically announce signings very late in preseason. Of the 28 players on the team, only 8 were with the team last year. Last year’s roster also featured 11 Argentinians, brought in by new head coach Gaston Maddoni, formerly a youth coach at Boca Juniors. Of them, only 1 remains. That is, of course, a problem for Miami itself, which has historically struggled to perform, having made the playoffs only twice since joining the Championship in 2020. However, it is also a problem for its opponents, since the constant changes make scouting that much more difficult.
As for Maddoni, coaching is similarly a revolving door. The club is on its seventh head coach since 2020 and Maddoni is 10 games shy of being the longest-serving of them.
Miami’s best-known player is forward Rodrigo da Costa, who joined the team this season after North Carolina FC went on hiatus. However, he has only played 5 of 10 games and has not scored. Miami’s 10 league goals are shared by 6 players plus the own goal. No one has scored more than twice. That makes the real threats hard to pin down. The overall shot conversion rate is very low, though; just 13% as compared with the Legion’s 17%.
The team has had a few other recognizable names over the years. That includes former Legionary Bolu Akinyode. Their leading scorer back in 2020 with 8 goals was Romario Williams (in just 16 games). Doubtless he will know absolutely no one on the current squad.
The Legion did not have any media availability this week so it is a little hard to tell what the think tank has cooked up. My guess is that we will not see the same defensive concept as against Rhode Island last week. It would be easy to suggest that the Three Sparks will exploit Miami’s poor passing accuracy, but since the Legion’s passing tops the entire league at 85% that would be true of any opponent. Miami is middle of the pack at 79%. Miami is also weaker than the Legion in tackles and duels. Therefore, the opportunities to intercept or otherwise take the ball away should abound. That would favor the Birmingham transition game, which is becoming lethal.
Defensively, if Miami can be prevented from encroaching on the Legion 18, they will have a tough time scoring; only 1 of their 9 goals was scored from outside the box. It’s that simple.
This, by the way, will be the only home game this month. After this the Three Sparks head up to Chattanooga for a USL Cup game before traveling all the way to Monterey Bay. The next home game will be a midweek tilt June 3rd against Lou City. And June will be a good month: 4 of 5 games are at home.
