It’s a quick turnaround and a busy week for The Orange and Blue, returning home for another MLS match in the midweek after earning a point on the road in Charlotte over the weekend. Up next, it’s a visit from Eastern Conference foes Inter Miami CF to TQL Stadium on 513 Day as FC Cincinnati look to celebrate their hometown and keep the strong performances at home going.
To mark the occasion, FC Cincinnati are encouraging fans in attendance or wherever they may watch the match to wear blue to help Blue Out TQL Stadium!
The last time Inter Miami CF came to Cincinnati, it was FCC who was left disappointed. The Herons defeated FC Cincinnati in the Eastern Conference Semifinals to eliminate them from the playoffs en route to Miami’s first MLS Cup Championship.
The sides are different this time, and the circumstances are as well. FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan highlighted that in his prematch conversation with the media on Monday, saying they wouldn’t address that last match in their preparations this time, but did leave room for the understanding that his players may see that defeat as extra motivation and use it to prepare as such.
“They know what they're up against,” Noonan said Monday. “What you do is you try to just create a picture for the strengths of (their team) and how to best manage those moments.
“The leftover feelings are how individuals take that moment and carry it forward. You've probably heard me say this many times before. We haven't addressed last year because there's too many moving parts to how things are different this go around,” Noonan later added. “So I'm sure there's individuals that don't like the way it ended last year, but that's our reality. What are you going to do to try to make things better for our team on Wednesday? The past is the past, and that's not going to help us…I think we've seen enough of Miami and how dangerous they can be to respect that and try to make sure that we have the right approach and focus on ourselves.”
The visit from Inter Miami CF always brings a circus atmosphere,thanks to the star power of their lineup. But with the game at TQL Stadium and the FC Cincinnati faithful always neutralizing the traveling support Miami tends to bring, The Orange and Blue are looking to stay focused on this match as if it were any other. That includes preparing for the talents their opponents may bring without losing focus on the other ways they can play.
“It's a big game. It's because it's Miami, it's Messi, we lost against them in the playoff last season, but it's a game,” forward Kévin Denkey said Monday after training. “We are more thinking about how we can perform better and give the best of ourselves rather than focus on them.”
With the matchup coming on 513 Day (or May 13), which replicates the Cincinnati local area code, FC Cincinnati will be looking to make the city proud and bring home all three points to close out the celebrations. For more information on 513 Day and FC Cincinnati’s celebrations, click here.
FC Cincinnati vs Inter Miami CF – Wednesday, May 13, 2026 – 7:30 p.m. ET – TQL Stadium
Watch/Stream (English/Spanish): Apple TV
English Local Radio: ESPN 1530
Spanish Local Radio: La Mega 101.5 FM
History vs Inter Miami CF
FC Cincinnati host Inter Miami CF for the first time since the 2025 Eastern Conference
Semifinals, when the eventual MLS Cup Champions upended Cincinnati’s season, winning 4-0 at TQL Stadium.
That result was, historically speaking, an anomaly. Since 2022, under Head Coach Pat Noonan, FC Cincinnati are 5-2-3 in all competitions against Inter Miami. Similarly, in the past two seasons in regular season competition, FCC have outscored Miami 9-1 in the two home games against The Herons.
FC CINCINNATI NOTES
(Courtesy of *FC Cincinnati Communications*)
Chart Climbers – FC Cincinnati Designated Players Evander and Kévin Denkey
have scored the last nine goals for the club, with Evander scoring five and Denkey accounting for four. In total, they have combined for 11 goals over the past five games for FC Cincinnati.
Less than halfway through their second seasons for the club, Denkey (29 goals) and Evander (28 goals) both rank top-five in FC Cincinnati’s all-time history, and they approach the 30-goal mark for the club.
Noonan wins – With a win Wednesday night, FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan would become the fastest coach in the MLS post-shootout era (since 2000) to reach 75 regular season wins, besting the previous mark by Seattle Sounders’ Brian Schmetzer (151 games to reach 75 wins).
Wednesday will be Noonan’s 149th MLS match as coach of The Orange and Blue.
Gary's Never Say Die – FC Cincinnati’s 10 goals scored from the 75th minute onwards are the most in MLS this season.
Amidst FC Cincinnati’s six-game active unbeaten run (2-0-4), the Orange and Blue have conceded first in four of those six games and trailed by two goals in two of the matches (April 18 vs Chicago Fire FC; April 22 at New York City FC).
Only twice in FC Cincinnati’s MLS era have FCC trailed by multiple scorelines in the same game and came back to win – both happened this season (March 22 vs CF Montréal: Won 4-3 after trailing 0-1, 1-2, and 2-3 | May 2 at Chicago Fire FC: Won 3-2 after trailing 0-1 and 1-2).
Scouting Inter Miami CF (6-2-4, 22 Points, T2 in Eastern Conference, W-L-D-W-W)
Inter Miami CF is off to a hot start again in 2026 as they look to defend their 2025 MLS Cup Champions crown into the new season. That said, Miami’s successes have not come in the way one might have predicted.
The Herons own a 0-1-3 record at home this season, but have been dominant on the road, going 6-1-1 in eight away games already, earning wins at places like NYCFC, D.C. United, Colorado and Real Salt Lake. The visit to TQL Stadium presents the next challenge for them as FC Cincinnati have been very strong at home this season, going 5-1-1 across all competitions and going undefeated in the last four.
For the third time in four years, though, Inter Miami CF visit Cincy with a new Head Coach at the helm of the squad. Former manager Javier Mascherano departed the club earlier this season and is now under the leadership of Guillermo Hoyos, who was an assistant coach in the organization prior to being elevated.
Hoyos, an Argentine native, has been a manager of clubs across South America over the last 20 years, including stints as Head Coach of the Bolivian National Team and Liga MX side Atlas FC. Under the new Head Coach, Inter Miami CF have played a 4-3-3 formation.
In net for Inter Miami CF is 2025 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Dayne St. Clair, who joined The Herons as a free agent this offseason after winning the award and spending the last seven seasons with Minnesota United FC. The Canadian keeper has made 30 saves in 11 starts this season, conceding 21 goals and earning one clean sheet in the process. St. Clair, 29, is expected to be a starter for Canada at the FIFA World Cup later this summer.
The defensive backline has been anchored this season by Brazilian defender Micael and Uruguayan defender Maximiliano Falcón, who have played 11 and 9 of 12 MLS matches, respectively. That duo has been supplemented by a pair of young players as outside backs, with Noah Allen and Yannick Bright most often starting.
Up front, newcomer Germán Berterame has been the key addition to the forward group after joining the club this winter on a transfer from Liga MX’s CF Monterrey. While he was born in Argentina, Berterame represented Mexico at the National Team level, and while he is new to MLS, he is hardly new to FC Cincinnati and TQL Stadium. He came on twice as a sub for Rayados in 2024 when they played FC Cincinnati in the Concacaf Champions Cup, and started at TQL Stadium against FC Cincinnati in Leagues Cup last season, scoring a 90'+4 goal to bring the score to 3-2 in an eventual FC Cincinnati win. The 27-year-old DP striker has scored three goals and recorded three assists this season.
The other notable forward is Luis Suárez, who has three goals and two assists this season but has taken on a more reserve role in 2026. Now 39, Suarez has only started four matches this season and appeared in eight.
In the midfield, Argentine duo Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul lead the group. Messi, who is also the team captain, leads the team with nine goals and four assists, while De Paul has added eight goal contributions with three goals and five assists.
