Three straight days of Orlando soccer starts tonight with Orlando City B’s road match against Inter Miami II at 7 p.m. Hopefully, Orlando’s teams do well over the next few days as crunch time is upon us when it comes to making the playoffs, especially for MLS NEXT Pro. For now though, let’s jump right into today’s links from around the soccer world!

Orlando City Prepares for San Diego FC

Orlando City will take on San Diego FC on Saturday in the first-ever game between the two clubs, and one of the storylines to keep an eye on is how much Martin Ojeda plays as he works his way back from injury. The Designated Player came off the bench late in Orlando’s 3-3 draw against Minnesota United in his first appearance since May 23. Not often injured, Ojeda spoke on how being off the field for over a month has shifted his perspective while training to return.

“You learn to value the moment much more. You learn to value every training session because, when you’re training on your own and you’re not available to your teammates, you feel uncomfortable,” Ojeda said. “You value being healthy more. It’s like everything in life. When you feel good, you live life almost on autopilot, so to speak. You go to work, you go home, you come back, you sleep. However, when you or someone close to you goes through an illness or something like that, you value the moment much more and become more conscious of what you’re experiencing.”

Pride Loan Anna Moorhouse to Manchester City

The Orlando Pride loaned goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse to Manchester City through January of 2027. Moorhouse joined the Pride prior to the 2022 season and helped the club win both the NWSL Championship and Shield in 2024. However, she has struggled this year alongside the rest of the Pride’s defense. Moorhouse hasn’t played in the past two games for the Pride, with Cosette Morche starting in her place. Her current contract with the Pride lasts through the 2027 NWSL season, so we’ll have to wait and see what her future with the club is when the loan ends.

Orlando City’s U.S. Open Cup Journey

Between the World Cup, regular season, and Leagues Cup this summer, it can be easy to forget that Orlando City is still in contention to win this year’s U.S. Open Cup. The Lions are in the semifinals of the tournament after crushing Atlanta United 4-1 in the quarterfinals back on May 19. The Lions won much tighter affairs prior to that win, with Javier Otero coming up with seven saves in a 1-0 win over FC Naples and Zakaria Taifi scoring in stoppage time to beat the New England Revolution 4-3 in the following match. Orlando will be on the road for its semifinal match against the Columbus Crew on Sept. 16, but the offense has received a boost due to the arrivals of Antoine Griezmann and Daryl Dike this summer.

MLS Transfer News Roundup

MLS signings continue to pour in as teams look to improve their squads for the rest of this season and beyond. The Colorado Rapids signed Ghanaian winger Ibrahim Sadiq from AZ Alkmaar, where he recorded 18 goals and seven assists in 85 appearances across three seasons with the Dutch club. San Diego also added an attacker by signing forward Cedric Bakambu, who joins as a free agent after playing at Real Betis. As for other notable moves from across the league, Real Salt Lake signed winger Dusan Zagar as an MLS U22 Initiative player, forward Lyle Foster joined the Houston Dynamo on loan, and the Columbus Crew continued to improve on offense by signing Moroccan winger Anass Zaroury on loan from Panathinaikos.

Free Kicks

• Former Orlando Pride player Christina Burkenroad is retiring from professional soccer and Monterrey will have Saturday’s game against Toluca be a send-off match for her.

• North Carolina Courage forward Ashley Sanchez was named NWSL Player of the Month after recording five goals and two assists in August.
• The Kansas City Current signed Cameroonian defender Maeve Nyadjou, who just helped her nation win the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations for the first time and was named 2026 WAFCON Best Young Player.
• Becky Sauerbrunn is joining the Portland Thorns as a technical consultant for the remainder of the 2026 NWSL season.
• Edin Dzeko announced that he will retire from international soccer following Bosnia and Herzegovina’s UEFA Nations League qualifier against Sweden on Oct. 2. That will be his 152nd match for Bosnia, wrapping up a 19-year-old international career that included 73 goals.

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

How’s it going, Mane Landers? It’s been a fairly hectic week for me so far, but things are starting to wind down as we get ready for the weekend. I was at least able to catch “Coyote vs. Acme” in theaters and highly recommend it if needing a laugh or even just some motivation to keep on keeping on. Let’s get to the links!

Orlando Pride Prepare for Home Game Amidst Changes

The Orlando Pride will play their first game since Seb Hines’s departure on Sunday when they host the Houston Dash. Following their 2-1 loss to the Utah Royals, the Pride have fallen to 12th in the NWSL standings with eight games remaining this season. Sunday’s match will be interim head coach Yolanda Thomas’s first game at the helm and she spoke on how she and the team have been navigating the changes this week while still preparing to take all three points.

Gary Lewis Named Orlando City Academy Director

Orlando City named Gary Lewis as its new academy director to oversee the club’s development pathway for young players. He joins Orlando from the Chicago Fire organization, where he served as the technical director of that club’s academy. Before coming to the U.S. for stints with the Philadelphia Union, Seattle Sounders, and New York Red Bulls, he was Liverpool’s head of youth development and coached one of Everton’s youth teams as well. Hopefully he’ll be able to take Orlando’s academy to another level.

All U.S. MLS Clubs Will Participate in 2027 U.S. Open Cup

After a couple of years of only partial participation, it was announced that the 2027 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup will feature all 27 MLS teams that are based in the U.S. The MLS teams will join the fray in the round of 64, which will take place in July against regional opponents from the first round. While the MLS NEXT Pro teams like Orlando City B that are affiliated with an MLS club can’t compete, the players will be able to play for their senior team in the tournament. With the shift in the MLS calendar starting next year, this tournament should be a nice way to showcase soccer across the country as the 2027-2028 MLS season gets rolling.

MLS Transfer News Roundup

The MLS secondary transfer window came to a close and several teams not named Orlando City made big moves as they prepare for the home stretch of the season. The Columbus Crew have a new Designated Player, signing midfielder Santiago Rodriguez from Botafogo in Brazil. St. Louis City also added some firepower, bringing in American forward Damion Downs on loan from Southampton through the 2027 Sprint Season with an option to buy. As for other players coming to the league, midfielder Giuliano Galoppo joined Atlanta United on loan from River Plate, FC Cincinnati signed midfielder David Doudera from Slavia Prague, and Inter Miami added 19-year-old forward Riquelme Fillipi from Palmeiras.

There were also notable moves between MLS clubs, with the Colorado Rapids receiving a club-record $12 million from St. Louis in exchange for Designated Player forward Rafael Navarro. Toronto FC acquired winger Lewis Morgan from San Diego FC for an international roster slot. San Diego also sent Sam Vines out on loan to the Houston Dynamo.

Free Kicks

• Enjoy Ivan Angulo and David Brekalo trading goals against each other in training.

• Pride forward Barbra Banda placed fourth on ESPN‘s power rankings of the top African women’s soccer players, finishing behind a trio of players from Malawi after the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
• Here’s everything you need to know as the United States U-20 Women’s National Team prepares for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, which kicks off this weekend. The Yanks’ first game will be against Italy on Sunday.
• New York City FC II is moving to Middlesex County in New Jersey and will play under a new brand identity there starting in July of 2027.
• The Washington Spirit transferred defensive midfielder Rebeca Bernal to Manchester United in the Women’s Super League.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. It’s a little odd not having a midweek match this week, but given how congested the schedule is the rest of the month, we should probably enjoy it. Speaking of enjoying things, some have said that season 4 of Ted Lasso hasn’t been as good, but I think that each episode is better than the last. It can be tough to recapture the magic of a beloved show, but I think they’re doing it. Rant over. Let’s get to the links.

Thomas’ Tenure Begins

With the Orlando Pride parting ways with Seb Hines on Monday, Yolanda Thomas begins her stint as interim head coach. Pride Vice President of Soccer Operations & General Manager Caitlin Carducci said that the club believes the pieces are in place to win matches and make the playoffs, and that hopefully Thomas will be able to make that happen. As we said on SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride PawedCast, that might be a pretty tall order. In the latest ESPN NWSL power rankings, the Pride have fallen to the 12th spot. To be fair, Hines started as an interim head coach as well, so Thomas should be given the opportunity to earn the permanent position. Her first opportunity to prove she has the right stuff comes Sunday against the Houston Dash in Orlando.

Orlando City Falls

Orlando City is on the edge of the playoffs sitting in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, but dropped to 19th in the MLSSoccer.com power rankings after dropping two points to Minnesota United FC in a match that almost saw them drop all three points. I think my feelings on power rankings are well known, but I think they may have gotten it correct this go-around.

MLS NEXT Pro Playoff Changes

With only three matches left until the playoffs begin, MLS NEXT Pro has updated the league’s playoff format for 2026 by adding a play-in round. The top seven teams from each conference on Decision Day will still make the playoffs. The 8th and 9th seeded teams will play for the final spot in the respective conference. The top four teams in each conference will still get to pick their opponent. As of today, the rule change puts Orlando City B one point out of the play-in round.

USWNT Soccer News

The 2027 Women’s World Cup is less than a year away, and while it’s likely that the USWNT will qualify, one shouldn’t take that for granted. Here is what Emma Hayes’ team will need to do to make it. The USWNT lost last time around but are the Yanks once again considered the favorite heading into 2027? We can also take a look at which players Hayes may call up for the World Cup are doing well and which are not. Speaking of call-ups, we now know which players U-17 Women’s National Team Head Coach Katie Schoepfer has chosen for the September training camp.

Free Kicks

• Gotham has reportedly re-signed Rose Lavelle through 2029 using the High Impact Player rule that allows a team to spend up to $1 million in additional funds outside of the salary cap on a player.
• The Portland Timbers are reportedly acquiring veteran center back Joel Waterman. Wait a minute. teams can add experienced center backs? Has anyone told Orlando City?

• The New York Red Bulls have transferred midfielder Dennis Gjengaar to Norwegian club Vålerenga.
• Folarin Balogun’s transfer to Everton has hit a snag as the USMNT striker has failed his medical. As such, Balogun will stay at Monaco.
• The summer transfer window closed Tuesday and here are the biggest winners and losers among the European clubs.

That will do it for today. Check back with The Mane Land as we get you ready for the Orlando City and Orlando Pride matches this weekend. Vamos Orlando!