MLS Returns with Griezmann and Lewandowski Making Waves

Lionel Messi is catching his breath. Major League Soccer is not.

With the World Cup dust barely settled after Argentina’s defeat to Spain in the final, the league has roared back from its long summer pause and shoved two new European heavyweights straight under the floodlights: Antoine Griezmann in Orlando, Robert Lewandowski in Chicago.

Messi is on hiatus. The show rolls on without him.

Griezmann hits the ground running

If MLS wanted a statement from one of its new stars, Griezmann delivered it in bold type.

On Wednesday, July 22, the French World Cup winner stepped onto the pitch for Orlando City and needed just three minutes of the second half to announce himself. One chance, one clean finish, and his first MLS goal was on the board as Orlando tore through the San Jose Earthquakes in a 4-0 rout.

It was the kind of debut that settles any debate. Griezmann didn’t just blend in; he tilted the match. Orlando, already a dangerous side at home, suddenly looked like a team with a new attacking axis, a front line that could stretch and break games open at will.

San Jose had no answer. Orlando had their new star smiling, scoring, and celebrating in purple before the hour mark.

Lewandowski still searching

Across the league, the script read very differently.

Lewandowski’s first MLS appearance for the Chicago Fire came the same night, a 3-2 defeat to an Inter Miami side missing Messi. The Polish striker put in 63 minutes, worked the lines, tested the defense—but left without a goal.

For a forward with his pedigree, that blank will sting, even this early. Chicago created enough to stay in the game, but not enough to let their new No. 9 walk away with the headline moment Griezmann enjoyed.

There’s no time to dwell. On Saturday, July 25, Lewandowski and the Fire head to Yankee Stadium to face New York City FC, a venue that punishes hesitation and rewards strikers who adapt quickly to tight spaces and quick transitions. Chicago doesn’t just need Lewandowski to open his MLS account; they need him to drag them into a higher gear.

Griezmann’s first real test

Griezmann’s reward for a dream debut? A far steeper climb.

Orlando City stay home but step into a top-of-the-table fight against Nashville SC, the current leaders in the Supporters’ Shield race. This isn’t a soft landing. This is a measuring stick.

San Jose crumbled. Nashville rarely does. The Shield leaders bring structure, discipline, and a knack for choking off space in the final third. If Griezmann can find pockets, combine with his new teammates, and still impose himself, Orlando’s ambitions for 2026 will look very different by the final whistle.

Saturday’s slate: a league in full voice

The league doesn’t ease back in; it sprints.

On Saturday, July 25, every corner of MLS lights up:

• 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 that stretches from early evening on the East Coast to late-night drama in the West, with new stars, old rivalries, and playoff positioning all colliding in a single day.

“Hell is Real” returns

One fixture, though, cuts through the noise.

At ScottsMiracle-Gro Field in Columbus, one of MLS’s fiercest rivalries reignites: Columbus Crew vs. FC Cincinnati, the derby that earned the nickname “Hell is Real.”

Kickoff is set for 7:15 p.m. ET, and the stakes land heavier on one side of Interstate 71.

Cincinnati arrive with momentum and credibility. They’re coming off a wild 4-3 win over Western Conference leaders Vancouver Whitecaps, a result that underlined their attacking punch and their resilience in high-scoring chaos. They’re firmly in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt and playing like a team that expects to be there when the season’s biggest games arrive.

Columbus, by contrast, are trying to keep their season from unraveling.

The 2026 campaign has been brutal for the Crew: just four wins in 16 league matches. The pressure finally broke on May 17, when Henrik Rydström was dismissed after only 14 games in charge. Laurent Courtois has stepped in as interim head coach, tasked with steadying a side that has lost its rhythm and, too often, its edge.

The World Cup break offered a chance to reset. That hope didn’t last long. On July 22, Columbus fell 2-1 to New York City FC, another reminder of how thin their margin for error has become.

So “Hell is Real” arrives at a crossroads. For Cincinnati, it’s a chance to push higher in the East and deepen their rival’s misery. For Columbus, it’s something more primal: a shot at jolting their season back to life in front of their own supporters, against the one opponent they most want to beat.

The title picture: Messi’s Miami still lead the odds

Zoom out from the week-to-week chaos, and the bookmakers see a familiar name at the top of the mountain.

According to the latest BetMGM odds, Inter Miami sit as favorites to win the 2026 league championship at +333. Behind them, Los Angeles FC and Vancouver Whitecaps are both listed at +750, with Nashville SC close at +800 and FC Cincinnati at +1200.

Messi may be resting, but the market hasn’t moved away from his team. Miami still carry the weight of expectation, the assumption that when it matters most, their stars will find a way.

Around them, though, the league is shifting. Griezmann is already on the scoresheet. Lewandowski is hunting his first goal. Nashville and Cincinnati are pushing toward the summit. Columbus are fighting just to stay in the conversation.

The World Cup break is over. The names are bigger, the margins thinner, and the questions sharper.

Who will own this new phase of the 2026 season—the established powers, or the clubs daring to believe that this year, finally, belongs to them?