Happy Friday, Mane Landers! I’m hesitant to get excited about back-to-back days of Orlando soccer considering how last weekend went, but we have the Orlando Pride in action tonight and Orlando City playing Saturday in a pair of home games. Keep every finger crossed, folks. But for now, let’s get to the links!

Braian Ojeda Undergoes Foot Surgery

Orlando City announced that midfielder Braian Ojeda underwent successful surgery to repair a Jones fracture in his right foot. It’s the same foot injury that Robin Jansson dealt with earlier this year and Ojeda is expected to return in the fall. The Lions traded for Ojeda in January and he has started in 21 games across all competitions this year, recording a goal and six assists. He also represented Paraguay at the World Cup this summer and played in the match against Germany in the round of 32.

Orlando Pride Host Racing Louisville Tonight

The Orlando Pride are coming off of a disastrous 5-0 defeat on the road against the North Carolina Courage and will look to bounce back tonight when they host Racing Louisville. Although Louisville has only won four games this season, two of those victories have come in their past three games and one was at the Pride’s expense. We’ll see if Orlando’s offense will be able to make some noise against a Louisville defense that has conceded a league-high 34 goals this season. Orlando Pride Head Coach Seb Hines spoke on the need for a result tonight at home.

“When we come home and we play in front of our fans, we need to put a show on and we need to really bounce back from a disappointing result against North Carolina,” Hines said. “We let ourselves down, we let the fans down, and we need to respond in the best way and that’s by getting three points this Friday.”

NWSL Midseason Predictions

We’ve reached the second half of the NWSL season and it’s a nice time to take a look at the various award races across the league. While Barbra Banda being away at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations has opened the door for other forwards to make up ground in the Golden Boot race, her absence has at least proven just how valuable she is to her team amid the Pride’s free fall without her. It doesn’t hurt her case for MVP, though she faces stiff competition from Temwa Chawinga, Trinity Rodman, and Mina Tanaka. The Pride likely don’t have any contenders for the other awards given how the season has gone, but anything can happen.

Keeping Up With the Americans Abroad

As we near the return of European soccer, there are plenty of Americans with new teams to keep an eye out for this year. ESPN graded some of the moves by Yanks this summer, with Max Arfsten and Sebastian Berhalter’s moves from MLS to Middlesbrough receiving decent marks. It’ll be interesting to see how Giovanni Reyna does now that he’s in Strasbourg, and we’ll see if goalkeeper Diego Kochen can make an impact with Lyngby Boldklub in Denmark. La Liga starts next weekend, which means we’ll be able to watch Alex Freeman with Villarreal after his strong World Cup performance.

Free Kicks

• The Pride fell three spots to 10th in All For XI’s NWSL power rankings after their lopsided loss on the road.
• You’ll need to get past the paywall for the full details, but Racing Louisville owner John Neace spoke on how the club is seeking investors and that alternatives like relocation may have to be considered if the current situation doesn’t change.
• Chicago Fire center back Mbekezeli Mbokazi is out for the rest of the season according to Head Coach Gregg Berhalter.
• Real Madrid signed 19-year-old forward Yan Diomande from RB Leipzig, inking him to a seven-year deal.
• UEFA has maintained its boycott of FIFA competitions over FIFA President Gianni’s plan to sell stakes in the World Cup, stating that its conditions have not been met.
• Mo Salah officially signed a two-year contract with Turkish club Trabzonspor.

That’s all I have for you all this time. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

Back in 2015, I worked for a company that assigned me to a project for a company in Trinidad & Tobago, and I spent about half a year traveling back and forth from Orlando to Port of Spain, the capital city. I loved everything about my time in Trinidad & Tobago, and while I promise this will move to soccer shortly and not become a travelogue or a food blog, I have to briefly mention my discovery there of a food called “doubles.”

Doubles are often eaten as a breakfast food but are delicious at any time of the day. Much like with cheesesteaks in Philadelphia, there is a language associated with ordering them. A doubles order usually consists of how many you want and how hot you would like them to be. I do not have a high tolerance for heat, so I often ordered mine with “no pepper,” (tell me you are an American without telling me you are an American), but Trinis generally go with at least slight pepper and often medium or heavy pepper.

All of that discussion of Trinidad & Tobago and pepper brings us to a man who comes from the twin islands and literally has spice in his last name — Tyrese Spicer.

Spicy T was the Man of the Match in our player grades from Orlando City’s most recent MLS game after contributing a goal and an assist. He scored his fourth goal of the MLS season, which ranks second on the team behind Martín Ojeda’s 11. Spicer scored that goal after coming off the bench to replace Tiago, and his bench goal was the seventh for the Lions this season, which ties them for the league lead in goals scored by substitutes:

*Excludes opposition own goals

All four of Spicer’s goals in MLS play have come as a substitute, and he is tied for the league lead with Cincinnati’s Tom Barlow in that category:

During the entire 2025 MLS season the league leaders in substitute goals scored only four goals off the bench, and Spicer has already reached that tally through Orlando City’s first 18 league games.

Extrapolating those 18 games to the full season would put Spicer on pace for 7.56 goals, and since he has scored all of his goals off the bench, the extrapolation for goals as a substitute would also be for that same amount, which would be the most in MLS since Dejan Joveljić scored eight goals as a substitute for the LA Galaxy in 2022.

A logical question would be: If Spicer is scoring all these goals in limited minutes as a substitute, should Orlando City just make him a starter?

On the surface, it seems like an obvious no.

Put aside the fact that leading scorer Martín Ojeda is out injured but will command a starting spot when he returns, likely at the same left wing position where Spicer usually plays, another fact is that since joining Orlando City in August of 2025, Spicer has played demonstrably better off the bench than as a starter across all competitions (data from Opta’s tracking on fbref.com):

In recent years, Orlando City has benefitted from “supersubs,” as Spicer’s four goals thus far in 2026 marks the fourth consecutive season in which a Lion has scored at least four goals in a season as a substitute. Duncan McGuire started the trend with five in 2023 and added four in 2024. Ramiro Enrique followed with four off the bench in 2025 (and likely would have scored more that had he not transferred in August; I really wish he had stayed. Sigh.), and now Spicer has four in 2026 with many games still to play. McGuire’s five in 2023 is the joint club record with Júlio Baptista, as The Beast lived up to that moniker when coming off the bench in 2016, but Spicer is hot on their heels.

Some players simply perform better off the bench, and Spicer, at least so far, seems to be in that Manu Ginóbili mold of a player with starter-level talent that is better at finishing games than starting them.

Orlando City General Manager and Sporting Director Ricardo Moreira noted this when the club acquired Spicer from Toronto, saying that the Trinidad & Tobago international player would “bring additional depth and energy” and that “his relentless work rate and ability to stretch the field will give us a much-needed boost and add another dimension to our attack moving forward.”

Spicer’s boosts off the bench have led to two game-winning goals this season, the fourth in the amazing 4-3 comeback victory over Inter Miami in May and the only goal in the 1-0 home victory over Nashville at the end of July.

August is a packed month for Orlando City, with at least eight games on the calendar and possibly nine, depending on how the Lions do in Leagues Cup. We’ll see throughout the rest of August (this article was written before the Leagues Cup game against CF Monterrey, which had Spicer in the starting lineup) if Martín Perelman is locked in to using Spicer as a supersub or gives him additional chances as a starter, as there will need to be some rotation with games every three to four days.

The numbers say that Perelman should keep looking for someone to hold down the left wing for the first portion of the game and bring in Spicer to close, but Orlando City’s poor play on the left side of the field in the first half helped dig a hole it could not climb out of against the Red Bulls, and this is a critical part of the season, so getting positive results is of paramount importance.

I’m looking forward to finding out if Perelman makes the call to go from no pepper to Spicy T as a frequent left wing starter, at least until Ojeda returns. The numbers are against it, as am I, but we shall see what Perelman orders.

Vamos Orlando!

At least for the moment, it seems the Marco Pasalic to Hull City transfer is a bust. With the Croatian back in the mix for Orlando City, the team will have two of three Designated Players available. Unfortunately, we’re still waiting for Martin Ojeda to make it back from his injury. In the meantime, the return of the left-footed, Croatian rocket launcher is a good thing, right? Let’s take a look at the arguments for and against, and how it affects the rest of the squad.

More Firepower

Pasalic has the potential to contribute a significant number of goals for Orlando City. We haven’t seen what he can do when on the pitch with Antoine Griezmann, who can create space for Pasalic on the right side of the box. Griezmann can drag defenders to the left, allowing Pasalic more of an opening to unleash his signature top-of-the-box shot. Griezmann or Justin Ellis will be able to provide slick, no-look passes to a hopefully wide-open Pasalic.

Additionally, if Pasalic regains his form, the threat he poses will allow the left side of the attack some more space to move. There’s also the Daryl Dike factor. Once the big man is fully integrated back into the attack, there is a veritable smorgasbord of attacking options for an attack-oriented Martin Perelman to employ. He does seem to have an “all gas, no brakes, who needs defense” approach to tactics. Obviously, that is hyperbole, but not by much.

All of this is contingent on Pasalic resetting his mindset to give 100% to Orlando City. As a professional, I expect he will believe he is going to do so, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy, given he obviously wanted to make a move back to Europe. Recommitting to a team you thought you were leaving is never easy, no matter what anyone says.

Defensive Implications

If Orlando City had sold Pasalic, there would have been an infusion of cash available to help build the roster. I think it unlikely that a new Designated Player could be signed before the secondary window closes. That kind of money could be used on a decent left back, another veteran center back, or help in the defensive midfield. Maybe even all of the above.

Now, the money is tied up and the defense still has so many challenges. I don’t think Pasalic’s offensive production will be able to overcome the goals the defense will give up the rest of the season. Not losing a Designated Player at this point of the season is generally a good thing, especially with Ojeda being injured, though I’m not convinced things are actually better with Pasalic staying. Of course, even if he had been sold, there’s no guarantee that Ricardo Moreira would reinforce the defense in the transfer window.

I’m hopeful that Pasalic rededicates himself to Orlando City and starts to produce some goals for the Lions, because given this defense, the team will need as many goals as possible. Let us know your thoughts on how Pasalic staying plays out. Vamos Orlando!