Orlando City SC started the season off well enough to warrant a playoff spot. This relatively new franchise has struggled for the first few years, but they have built up their team over time. Orlando has made the playoffs without much success for the last two seasons and now might be dark horses to win it all in 2022. It will be difficult, obviously, as the competition is very strong, but there is no reason to put a team to the side just because they were not as successful in the past. Without further ado, here are three reasons why Orlando City will win the 2022 MLS Cup.

Why Orlando City will win 2022 MLS Cup 

They are still near the top, even through unconvincing performances 

In other words, this Orlando City team can only get better over the next period of time. Even in this form, they are still in the fifth spot and just five points off the top seed of the Eastern Conference. Being able to stay near the top through rough patches is a true mark of a championship contending team.

To be perfectly honest, this Orlando roster has been underwhelming, considering the fact that it has some great players. If a team is underperforming and is still doing well, that is a great sign. As the season goes on, Orlando will just be better and better, so when it comes to the playoffs, they will be nearing their top form.

It is also important to mention that the main issue of Orlando has been inconsistency. As of right now, they have not linked more than two wins for the entire season. Also, when it rains, it pours for Orlando, as all but one of their losses were by two or more goals. In these games, Orlando conceded first and just seemed never to recover. One issue could be that the team kind of gives up when behind, but considering it is just the regular season, they have time to correct these. Of course, it can happen that they collapse and play poorly, but this roster is too good for that to happen.

International experience of the squad 

When it comes to MLS, usually having an experienced international player is much better than having a team of players full of MLS experience. Now, the best thing to do is have a mix, and that is exactly what Orlando City has.

Of course, the main player is Alexandre Pato, and his resume is incredible. Although he peaked early and fell through gradually, Pato still has 150 apps for Milan, 24 for Villarreal, and almost 200 playing for various clubs in Brazil. Pato might not be the player he was in Milan, but he still has that experience of winning internationally to transfer to the rest of the players. Pato is the most experienced one on this Orlando roster, but he is not the only one.

It is not exactly Milan, but Mauricio Pereyra has 158 league games for the Russian side Krasnodar. Junior Urso played in China and Brazil and was critical in the last two seasons for Orlando, playing 23 and 30 games in their postseason runs. When it comes to MLS experience, Tesho Akindele has 133 games for Dallas FC, where he won a US Open Cup and the Supporters Shield in 2016. There are also young guys in this roster, guys like Michael Halliday and Facundo Torres, so it is a mix of everything. Whatever coach Oscar Pareja wants from this team, he can find it on this roster.

They would be the underdogs 

Every sport needs its Cinderella story. Just like the Champions League had Villarreal this season, the MLS Cup could have Orlando City. It would make a lot of sense, considering the inconsistent results of the club, that they are completely forgotten when it comes time to see which teams could win the cup. There are teams like LAFC and New York City FC that will grab all the headlines, given the fact that their regular seasons are going on much better than Orlando's season. However, no team should be underestimated.

In the kind of system that the MLS is running, getting to a good seed is a great thing, but it is not the only relevant thing when it comes to playoff success. Sure, getting to the first seed and getting through to the second round right away is great, but teams have gotten first seed in the past and still missed out on a championship. All Orlando must do is survive in the playoff spots, get into the postseason, and there everything can be decided in a single game. This team has too much experience in its ranks to just flame out, so they are definitely the kind of squad that would relish in the underdog status.