Orlando City walked into PayPal Park and handed San Jose Earthquakes a 4-0 beating on July 22, 2026, with Antoine Griezmann marking his MLS debut with a goal three minutes after half-time (BBC Sport, MLSsoccer.com).

The 35-year-old Frenchman joined Orlando from Atlético Madrid in the transfer window and wasted no time making himself at home. He latched onto a loose ball after San Jose goalkeeper Angus Gunn was caught in possession, firing home from just inside the box to make it 3-0.

Gunn, a Scotland international signed by San Jose on July 8, was making his own MLS debut in this match (San Jose Earthquakes, Fox Sports). It was a night he will want to forget. Brekalo opened the scoring in the 7th minute, heading in an Eduard Atuesta free-kick. Angulo doubled the lead in the 29th with a powerful low drive from just outside the penalty area. Then came Griezmann. Then, in the 73rd minute, Braian Ojeda headed in another Atuesta set-piece, squeezing the ball between Gunn and the near post.

Atuesta's two assists from dead-ball situations were the quiet engine behind the rout. Set-piece goals — goals scored from free-kicks or corners rather than open play — are the kind of thing a team works on all week on the training ground. Orlando made it look rehearsed.

Timo Werner, another headline debutant, had a night to forget at the other end. The German forward, signed from RB Leipzig, was denied a debut goal by Maxime Crépeau, Orlando's Canadian goalkeeper, who made seven saves to keep his clean sheet (MLSsoccer.com, BBC Sport).

The Earthquakes had billed the match as a celebration of the FIFA World Cup, their first home game back after the tournament break (San Jose Earthquakes). Instead, the party belonged to the visitors.

Despite the heavy defeat, San Jose remained tied on points at the top of the Western Conference, sitting second only to Vancouver Whitecaps on goal difference (BBC Sport). Vancouver lost 4-3 away to Cincinnati the same night and still hold a game in hand. In the overall MLS table, San Jose sat fourth, with Nashville leading ahead of Lionel Messi's Inter Miami.

San Jose's next test comes at home to LA Galaxy on Sunday, with the Galaxy sitting ninth in the West. A chance to reset, then, for a side whose lead at the top is as slender as it gets.