Happy Thursday, beautiful readers. Decision Day is almost upon us, but we can’t go getting too far ahead of ourselves just yet. There’s plenty of soccer news taking place in the here and now, and that news is what we need to talk about this morning. Let’s have a gander at today’s links.

Lions Set for International Duty

Three Orlando City players have been called up (so far) to represent their nations in the upcoming November international window. Justin Ellis will join the United States Men’s National Team as it faces Haiti across two legs in a Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal.

Maxime Crepeau is back in the fold for Canada for its Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal matches against Guatemala.

Finally, David Brekalo will join Slovenia for a pair of matches against North Macedonia and Switzerland.

Congratulations to all three players, and good luck!

Mauricio Pochettino Names November Squad

In addition to Justin Ellis, Mauricio Pochettino has named the full 25-player roster that will take on Haiti in the Concacaf Nations League. Former Lion Alex Freeman is unsurprisingly included, and the roster also sees the return of big guns like Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic, Chris Richards, Tyler Adams, and Folarin Balogun. Philadelphia Union youngster Cavan Sullivan is in too, while defender Reed Baker-Whiting and midfielder Santiago Castaneda will have chances to earn their first caps with the USMNT. The first leg of the quarterfinals will take place on Nov. 14 at Inter Miami’s Nu Stadium, with the second leg set for Nov. 17 at FC Cincinnati’s TQL Stadium.

UEFA Champions League Recap

Matchday four of the UEFA Champions League is in the books, and we were treated to a wild Wednesday of games. The most eye-popping result of the day belonged to Cesc Fabregas’ transcendent Como side, which went on the road and thrashed Lens 9-1 to settle nicely into fourth in the table. Fenerbahce scored in the 73rd and 79th minutes to come back and secure a 3-2 win over Liverpool at home, while Real Madrid got a 92nd-minute winner from Federico Valverde to break the hearts of AEK Athens fans in the Greek capitol. The other big result of the day was Porto putting a 4-1 beatdown on Napoli at Estadio Do Dragao, and with Napoli eighth in Serie A and 27th in the UCL table, Massimiliano Allegri’s days at the club could be numbered.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

Every season is transfer season, so let’s take a look at some of the most interesting rumors floating around at the minute. We start with Juventus, which is reportedly contemplating moves for Benjamin Sesko and Folarin Balogun in the January window, as the Italian side is said to be on the hunt for a physical striker. Real Madrid is reportedly close to signing former Manchester United youth player JJ Gabriel, who asked to leave the Red Devils in September. Sunderland is said to be interested in signing Almeria midfielder Stefan Dzodic, although the club would likely face competition from Atletico Madrid and several other English clubs. Finally, Napoli reportedly intends to submit a bid for Barcelona midfielder Gavi during the January window, as he has had difficulty securing regular playing time for Hansi Flick this season.

Free Kicks

• Orlando City celebrated Wilder Cartagena after the midfielder made his 100th appearance for the team.

• Martin Ojeda has been honored with a special card in EAFC 27.

• Check out this teaser for a biopic about Marta.

• A mind-melting 51 red cards were shown in a South American youth game. Rodrigo Schlegel is smiling somewhere.

That’s all I’ve got for you today. Vamos Orlando!

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. It’s a bit odd to be writing the first Lion Links following the news we dropped yesterday that The Mane Land will be ceasing operations after the end of this season. The outpouring of supportive comments we’ve received has been greatly appreciated by all of the staff. We’ve always done this as a labor of love for the the teams we cover, but more importantly, for you, our readers. Of course, we’re not done yet, so let’s get to the links.

Orlando City’s Decision-ish Day

Orlando City thankfully heads into the Decision Day match against the New England Revolution already guaranteed a place in the playoffs. That’s not to say that the result doesn’t have ramifications. A win combined with some other results can see the Lions climb back into seventh place, avoiding the play-in match. It won’t be easy, given New England sits in third place in the Eastern Conference. Orlando City is just above the line at ninth, and is No. 18 in the final MLS power rankings of the regular season.

Another Banda Nomination

There were only two NWSL players nominated for the FIFPRO 2026 Women’s World 11, and Barbra Banda was one of them. Gotham FC goalkeeper\ Ann-Katrin Berger was the other. The list was decidedly European, with Banda also being one of only four non-European players making the list. Fortunately, the powers that be didn’t lose their collective minds enough to leave Banda off the list.

Orlando Pride Off-Season Begins

We’re all familiar with the “one weird trick” articles, which is kind of what this article about what one question each already eliminated NWSL club needs to answer this off-season is. For the Orlando Pride, that question is “Can Barbra Banda get some help?” That is an important question, but it’s also only one of a dozen things that need to be addressed starting yesterday. It will be up to Caitlin Carducci do get the ship righted over the next few months.

Hayes Names Preliminary USWNT Roster

USWNT Head Coach Emma Hayes named a 51-player preliminary roster for the upcoming Concacaf W Championship matches at the end of the month. Hayes will need to whittle that roster down in the next few weeks. Even former Orlando Pride defender Emily Sams made the list — at least for now. There are some NWSL players that have impressed, and others that have not, for the NWSL.

Free Kicks

• Antoine Griezmann’s jersey is ranked fifth in the Top 10 jersey sales in MLS. I think that is pretty impressive, given he wasn’t here all season.
• Mauricio Pochettino will be selecting a squad for the upcoming Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals. He will also need to deal with several injured USMNT players in his selection process.
• AS Monaco has added USMNT striker Folarin Balogun to the squad for the Conference League now that he is staying at the club.
• The Asian Cup has been postponed due to a series of attacks in Saudi Arabia including one at Riyadh’s airport.
• The MLS Disciplinary Committee fined Charlotte FC forward Allan Saint-Maximin for not leaving the field in a timely manner after being sent off in the match against Orlando City.
• The Western Conference also has Decision Day drama with six teams competing for three playoff spots.

That will do it for today.

Good morning, everyone. It was a pretty dreadful weekend for Orlando City and the Orlando Pride, but at least the Lions inadvertently booked a spot in the playoffs. They have a chance to leapfrog the Columbus Crew and FC Cincinnati on Decision Day, but in order to do so, they need to beat the New England Revolution at home and hope the Crew drop points and Cincy loses, which would give Orlando the tiebreaker on wins.

We’ve got plenty to talk about this morning, so let’s get into the links.

MLS Announces Playoff Schedule

Major League Soccer has announced the schedule for this year’s postseason. The playoffs will start on Thursday, Nov. 19 with the single-elimination play-in games for the Eastern and Western conferences. The first round which is played as a best-of-three series will take place from Nov. 20 – Dec. 2, with the conference semifinals held on Dec. 5 and Dec. 6. Conference finals will take place on Dec. 11 and Dec. 12, and the MLS Cup final will be held on Friday, Dec. 18. There will be a break for just under two weeks following Decision Day on Saturday, as the league will observe the November international window.

Forecasting Playoff Matchups

Speaking of the playoffs, there is still some shifting and variability that can happen in both conferences, especially the West, but we’re getting an idea of how the bracket may shake out. Nashville SC is locked into the top seed in the East, and Vancouver has that no. 1 seed in the West. Other than that, there’s a lot of mobility that can still happen on Decision Day, and six teams are fighting for the last three playoff spots in the Western Conference. If the postseason started today, Orlando City would travel to the Columbus Crew for the East’s play-in game, although a win for the Lions combined with the Crew dropping points would instead have Columbus traveling to the purple palace if FC Cincinnati secures a point against Nashville, but if Nashville beats Cincinnati, Orlando wins, and Columbus drops points, the Lions would leap to the last spot above the play-in game. LAFC and San Diego would take part in a clash of California teams, with the winner potentially facing off against the LA Galaxy in the conference semifinals provided the third and final California side manages to upset FC Dallas.

Americans in Midweek Action

There are a whole host of American players taking part in games during the working week, and continental competitions are a recurring theme. Johnny Cardoso and Atletico Madrid host Bayern Munich in a marquee UEFA Champions League clash on Tuesday, while Alex Freeman and Villarreal take on Paris Saint-Germain in the same competition. Wednesday has Ricardo Pepi, Sergino Dest, and PSV Eindhoven play Club Brugge in the UCL, while Mathis Albert and Borussia Dortmund host Real Betis. Thursday has some American-on-American violence as Tim Weah and Marseille hit the road to battle Malik Tillman and Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League. We then get more Yank vs. Yank on Friday when Gio Reyna and Strasbourg play Mark McKenzie and Toulouse in Ligue 1 action.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

Despite the January transfer window still a way off, there are plenty of rumors flying around that we can sink our teeth into. We start with former Lion Freeman, who is reportedly attracting interest from Manchester United, Manchester City, and Tottenham. Newly crowned Ballon d’Or winner Harry Kane says that he expects to sign a new contract with Bayern Munich “within the next few days.” Barcelona fullback Alejandro Balde is reportedly ready to open to leaving during the winter window, with Manchester United and Manchester City both said to be monitoring his situation. Staying with Barcelona, the Spanish side is reportedly preparing to mount a fresh bid to sign center back Alessandro Bastoni from Inter Milan.

Free Kicks

• Orlando City held fast at no.11 in ESPN.com’s MLS power rankings.
• The Orlando Pride stayed at no. 13 in the same publication’s final edition of NWSL power rankings.
• Tenerife forward Jesus de Miguel is in the hospital in stable condition after he suffered cardiac arrest during the team’s game against FC Andorra on Monday. [UPDATE 9:17 a.m. – Sadly, de Miguel passed away this morning after his condition worsened overnight. The Mane Land staff offers our deepest condolences to de Miguel’s friends, family, teammates, and fans.]
• Michael Carrick says he is not worried about Lisandro Martinez’s commitment to Manchester United following his comments criticizing the club’s board.

That’s all I’ve got for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!