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Staff Roundtable: Kaká Returns in Time for Kreis, Revs; Pride Faces Remach with Boston Breakers

Published

10 years ago

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Orlando City SC Captain Kaká is returning right in time for the transition into the Jason Kreis era — can he provide the scoring spark for what may be a defensively oriented tactical shift? How has Hadji Barry performed in his first year as a pro? Can the Lions contain Lee Nguyen and earn three points at home?

The Pride were beaten badly by the Seattle Reign — can they rebound with a win against the Boston Breakers? Jeff Milby, Brent Petkus, and Daniel McGann discuss all this and more in this week's edition of The Mane Land Roundtable.

Kaká came on for 30 minutes against Columbus and completely changed the match. How will his return ease the transition into the Kreis era?

Jeff: Having Kaká healthy and in the lineup is vital to Orlando City’s identity, especially in the early weeks of the Kreis era. Getting your star players to buy in and be a part of the process early is key for a new coach, and when your star is a player the stature of Kaká, having them available to set the tone in the early stages of a coaching tenure is hugely important. The sooner Kaká is a part of the process, the sooner we see what Kreis’ Orlando City will be.

Brent: Kaká is one of the key cogs to the success of Orlando City. We have seen this team play better with him on the field, and he forces defenses to know where he is on the field at all times. He can make passes and create chances unlike anyone in the league. His return will be crucial to Kreis' success as he needs to play within the system and do what he does best in creating dangerous opportunities.

Daniel: If he returns to play consistently then there is no question Kaká will have an impact. The questions are: How much will he be able to play, and how long he can he stay healthy?

Hadji Barry scored in the friendly against Stoke City — on a scale of 1-10, how encouraged are you by the former first-round draft pick’s performances this season?

Brent: I give Hadji Barry an eight. He has made a huge impact on this team in his first year. Most MLS rookies spend most of their time loaned out or on the club's USL team, but Barry's play has been elevated in the last few matches for Orlando City. He's shown that he has a lot of upside and can play at the MLS level. We have to remember Orlando City traded up to take him and that move looks pretty good right now.

Daniel: Seven. That number allows me to account for his physical abilities without over-hyping a player who still needs to find a touch and learn how to make more than just a forward run. The good thing is he has all the physical tools needed to make an impact.

Jeff: I'll give him a six. The 23-year-old rookie has shown flashes of what made him a first-round pick, but he has yet to make a large impact in a regular season game, save for his hockey assist in the opener. His speed makes you turn your head, and it is definitely an asset coming off of the bench where it could potentially turn Barry into a key difference maker late in games against defenders with heavy legs. Overall not bad, but not great.

After the Stoke City match, Kreis mentioned a desire to defend for 45 minutes, then open up the attack in the second half. Do you think this approach will serve the Lions well?

Daniel: I'm not sure he was saying bunker and then attack in the later half. I think Kreis is smart enough to know Orlando has been a strong second half team this year and the point is to not be playing from behind after 45.

Brent: If you don't concede goals you won't lose. That isn't exactly what people want to hear, nor is it a way to play the beautiful game. This was an exhibition and you can use that to work on things like defending, and Orlando City's defensive shape has been poor at best. In games that don't matter, managers tend to use it as a competitive training session. Orlando City sat back and defended and worked on its shape, ensuring the team stayed compact in defense. This team can breakout on the attack, so if we can defend and minimize goals we have a better chance to secure wins.

Jeff: I do like this approach. Defense wins championships in Major League Soccer, so establishing a defense-first mentality in his squad is about the only approach that Kreis should take in the embryonic stages of his reign if he is serious about turning Orlando into a contender. The Lions' goals-against record hasn't been egregious this season (especially when you consider that the team leading the Eastern Conference has given up the most goals in the league by a decent margin), but it hasn't been good either. A solid defensive foundation is key to turning this thing in the direction we all know it can go.

Up next is New England Revolution, which sits three points ahead while having played one more game than Orlando. Do you expect a win when the Lions return to the Campground?

Jeff: A win is certainly more likely here than against lots of other opponents in the league. New England has won just twice this season against teams with a realistic shot at the playoffs (against NYRB and Vancouver), while all four of Orlando's victories this year have come against quality opponents.The Revs are on a good run of form, with two wins and a draw in their last three, but Orlando is a step up in overall quality (if not consistency) compared to Columbus and Chicago. Orlando is undefeated at home so far, so if there is a winner in this one, I'd expect it to be wearing purple. That said, I think a draw is the most likely outcome.

Brent: I think that this team is capable of winning on Sunday. There are so many question marks that surround the game. What will be Jason Kreis’ first-choice lineup? Will Kaká and Cyle Larin be 100% after playing in the MLS All-Star Game Thursday in San Jose? There will be a lot of excitement at Camping World Stadium because of the new coach. If Orlando City can defend well, it will win this game.

Daniel: I always expect a win at home, but as we have seen a draw is more likely. However, a win is needed for this team and this match could be the one to fill that need.

Lee Nguyen was fantastic in May, but has slowed down considerably in recent weeks. Can Orlando City keep him quiet, or will he bounce back against this defense?

Brent: Lee Nguyen is one of the best attacking midfielders in the league. He is going to get his opportunities in the match, what Orlando City has to do is minimize his touches on the ball in dangerous areas. The Lions need to stay compact within the back four and force him to play around the defense instead of through. The worst thing that can happen is him running at the back line with strikers on his side making runs, because he will play the perfect ball that will set up a goal. I will say we will do a good job of minimizing his chances because of Kreis' focus on defending this week.

Daniel: We can keep him quiet. With the current DMs on this roster and the return of Kaká, possession should be in favor of the home team and allow us to keep Nguyen at bay.

Jeff: Regardless of the form he is in, there's no doubt that Nguyen is a major part of Orlando's scouting report. Nguyen scored in the Revs' win over Columbus two games ago. Expect someone to be inside Nguyen's shirt defensively any time he crosses the midfield stripe. Expect Nguyen to have a solid game, though.

PRIDE TIME

The Pride struggled mightily against Seattle Reign, falling 5-2. How does a loss of that stature affect a team during the season?

Jeff: If MLS is any precedent, a devastatingly one-sided loss can sometimes mean very little in the grand scheme of the season (looking at NYCFC's 7-0 loss to NYRB earlier this season). The loss certainly hurt the Pride in the goal differential department, which currently sits at -4, and it doesn't help them in the playoff hunt either. This was by far the biggest loss and biggest scoreline of a Pride game this season, so time will tell if it has longer-lasting effects. As professionals, sometimes it's best to have a short memory.

Daniel: The way this team has settled so far in its inaugural season, not much. The Pride have played their hearts out and I expect them to continue doing so.

Brent: This part of the season is tough for the Orlando Pride because they are missing so many players due to the Olympics. I don’t think a loss affects them any more than any other loss. They know they need points in the next few matches after the Olympic break. Blowout losses can sometimes cause teams to crumble, however, this team has some great leadership and I just don’t think they are going to worry about it and focus their energy on the next game.

It took two late Kristen Edmonds goals to beat the Boston Breakers the last time these two clubs matched up. How can Tom Sermanni better prepare the Pride this time around?

Brent: I think the issue with the Orlando Pride is with so many key internationals out, it's tough to keep a team shape. The defending was not up to the usual quality. Like Orlando City, I believe the focus was on team shape and getting the defense on the same page as many haven't played together in a game situation. If they can minimize shots in dangerous areas, I feel they can come away with a result on the road.

Jeff: Sermanni will certainly know a little better of what to expect against Boston, this being Orlando's second meeting with the Breakers. Combating a slow start on the road will likely be a big focus in the Pride's preparation for this one, so if they can execute in the early portions of the game their chances of a second road victory of the season to go along with a regular season sweep of Boston is more likely.

Daniel: I am not sure if Tom can do more to prepare the Pride, I think the players need to find a spark on the field.

***

And this edition of the roundtable is adjourned. Let your opinions be heard below, and show up at the Campground for Jason Kreis’ league debut.

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. San Jose Earthquakes: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Orlando City restarts its 2026 MLS campaign late tonight out west at San Jose.

Published

4 days ago

on

July 22, 2026

By

Image of Braian Ojeda taking a shot in a friendly against FC Dallas.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Justin Glatt

Welcome to your match thread for a late night midweek matchup tonight between Orlando City (4-9-2, 14 points) and the San Jose Earthquakes (10-3-2, 32 points) at PayPal Park (10:30 p.m., Apple TV). This is the only scheduled meeting between the teams in 2026 and the first time the teams have met since 2024.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of tonight’s match.

History

Orlando City is 3-1-3 in the previous seven MLS meetings with the Quakes since the club joined Major League Soccer in 2015. The Lions got their only away win in the series in the last meeting and enter tonight 1-1-2 on the road against San Jose.

The teams last met on May 18, 2024, with Jack Lynn coming off the bench to score the game’s only goal. Lynn’s strike in the 89th minute broke the scoreless deadlock and lifted the Lions to a 1-0 victory.

The teams met in Orlando most recently way back on June 22, 2021, with the Lions beating the Quakes down, 5-0. Orlando got things started with an early penalty kick goal by Nani, followed by braces from Benji Michel and Daryl Dike to easily put the game away. The lasting memory from the game is Michel’s celebratory dance wearing a cowboy hat that came out of the stands.

Prior to that Orlando City romp, the last time the teams met was on Aug. 31, 2019 when the Lions got freight trained 3-0 at Avaya Stadium, giving the Quakes their first win in the series. San Jose’s offense came via a Chris Wondolowski brace and an early opening goal by Magnus Eriksson. Orlando looked flat and weary out of the gate.

The Lions were victorious in Exploria Stadium in the 2018 meeting on April 21, a 3-2 Orlando win. It was the first win in the series for either side after three straight draws. Chris Mueller, Sacha Kljestan, and Dom Dwyer gave the Lions a 3-0 lead before Florian Jungwirth pulled two back in the game’s late stages.

The Lions led all of the first three matches in the second half only to see San Jose pull level, with two of those tying goals coming late. In the 2017 meeting, Carlos Rivas finally broke the scoreless tie and gave Orlando City the lead in the 81st minute, but Wondolowski spoiled the Lions’ night with an equalizer two minutes later as the teams drew at Avaya Stadium, 1-1.

In 2016, the Lions were gut-punched in the 94th minute in an emotional match that ended in a 2-2 draw. It was the first home match following the Pulse nightclub tragedy and what appeared to be a storybook ending to a cathartic win turned sour on a last-gasp equalizer by Shea Salinas. Seb Hines — now the Orlando Pride’s head coach — opened the scoring for Orlando, only to see Chad Barrett tie it up. Julio Baptista restored the lead in stoppage time, but Salinas ruined everything.

The two teams also drew in the first meeting, a 1-1 affair at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, with the Lions down to 10 men after Brek Shea was sent off in the first half. Kaká and Wondolowski each scored from the penalty spot four minutes apart in that initial meeting.

Overview

The teams meet tonight to get their post-World Cup portion of the season started. Orlando City has been terrible on the road all season long, keeping only one MLS opponent under two goals all year away from home and allowing five goals twice (at New York City FC and Nashville) and six goals twice (at LAFC and in the team’s most recent match away at FC Cincinnati just before the break).

Orlando City is a putrid 1-6-1 on the road this season, and now the Lions must face the Western Conference co-leaders tonight before coming home to face Supporters’ Shield-leading Nashville SC at home on Saturday. They’ll have to play at least tonight’s game without Martin Ojeda, who is out with a thigh injury sustained some time between his first-half goal a week ago in a friendly against FC Dallas and the time the availability report dropped on Tuesday.

But it isn’t all bad news for the Lions, who should have both Antoine Griezmann and Dike in the lineup. Griezmann was the club’s highly prized and widely publicized summer Designated Player signing, while Dike’s return to Orlando came together more recently, following his departure from West Bromwich Albion. They’ll help the club’s offense, but the attack hasn’t been the issue in 2026 — it’s been the historically porous defense, which is on pace to shatter the MLS record for goals conceded.

Meanwhile, San Jose is one of the first half of the season’s biggest surprises, as the Quakes have been outstanding in 2026. Scoring 34 goals while conceding just 15, San Jose is among the league leaders in goals scored (tied for third), goals conceded (third), and goal differential (+19, third).

The Earthquakes are 4-2-1 at home and are coming off a 3-1 road win at Portland in their last game prior to the World Cup break. San Jose boasts Golden Boot challenger Preston Judd, who leads the Quakes with 11 goals, adding two assists in his 15 appearances. Ousseni Bouda has chipped in five goals and three assists. Niko Tsakiris leads the team with seven assists to go along with his two goals, but he’s still recovering from a lower body injury and is not available tonight. However, the arrival of Timo Werner (four goals and five assists in just seven games) has truly elevated Bruce Arena’s Quakes, and he’ll need to be one of the main focal points for the Orlando defense.

To have any shot at taking something from this game, the Lions will need to play better road defense than they have all season. Orlando can score goals, but with Ojeda out, Griezmann will need to adapt quickly, and someone other than the team’s leading scorer will need to find the net.

The Lions will play without Ojeda (thigh), Joran Gerbet (knee), Nolan Miller (knee), Colin Guske (international duty), and Clovis Archage (international duty). In addition, Marco Pasalic may or may not have returned to the team after the World Cup. He was not in training Monday, although interim head coach Martin Perelman said he expected the Croatian back soon. The Earthquakes will be without Nonso Adimabua (lower body), former Lion Earl Edwards Jr. (lower body), DeJuan Jones (lower body), and Tsakiris (you guessed it, lower body…come on, San Jose).

Match Content

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Adrian Marin, David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Braian Ojeda, Eduard Atuesta, Tiago.

Forwards: Justin Ellis, Antoine Griezmann.

Bench: Javier Otero, Bernardo Rhein, Tahir Reid-Brown, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Luis Otavio, Harvey Sarajian, Tyrese Spicer

San Jose Earthquakes (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Angus Gunn.

Defenders: Jamar Ricketts, Reid Roberts, Daniel Munie, Benjamin Kikanovic.

Defensive Midfielders: Beau Lerouox, Ronaldo Vieira.

Attacking Midfielders: Timo Werner, Nick Fernandez, Ousseni Bouda.

Forwards: Preston Judd.

Bench: Jonathan Gonzalez, Dave Romney, Paul Marie, Jack Skahan, Jack Jasinski, Ian Harkes, Francesco Montali, Max Floriani, Darius Johnson.

Referees

REF: Elijio Arreguin.
AR1: Adam Wienckowski.
AR2: Mike Nickerson.
4TH: Timothy Ford.
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero.
AVAR: TJ Zablocki.

How to Watch

Match Time: 10:30 p.m.

Venue: PayPal Park — San Jose, CA.

TV/Live Stream: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the match. Go City!

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Podcasts

PawedCast Episode 542: Tampa Bay Friendly, McGuire Traded, OCB Beats Cincinnati, and More

Lions maul the Rowdies in friendly action, OCB wins on the road, and it’s transfer season.

Published

2 weeks ago

on

July 14, 2026

By

Image of Antoine Griezmann and Ivan Angulo celebrating a goal in a friendly against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City welcomed I-4 Derby rival Tampa Bay to Inter&Co Stadium for a friendly match on Wednesday and then proceeded to bludgeon the Rowdies with a couple of hammers named Antoine Griezmann and Justin Ellis. The two attackers combined for a goal and four assists in a 6-0 beatdown of the team from the Gulf Coast, with five different Lions scoring and Griffin Dorsey forcing an own goal. We discuss Griezmann’s first minutes with Orlando City, what the team showed in its formation, and how good Justin Ellis’ vision is.

Oh, and it’s also transfer season now. Duncan McGuire is on his way out and Marco Pasalic reportedly will follow soon, while a new left back may be headed from Spain to Orlando.

Following all of that, we discuss Maxime Crepeau being added to the MLS All-Star Team and the announcement that he’ll participate in the 2026 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge.

Our mailbagbox asked us about which World Cup semifinalist players we’d want to join Orlando this season (if we could only pick one), and more. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.

After the mailbagbox, we dive into OCB’s 2-1 road win at FC Cincinnati 2. It wasn’t the prettiest game by the Young Lions, but they managed to do enough to earn three points on the road, where they’ll stay to face Chattanooga on Saturday. We briefly preview that game.

Finally, Orlando City will be in Dallas Wednesday for the second of two friendlies leading up to the restart of the MLS season. It’s unlikely we’ll get a lot of details about that one, but we’ll see what happens. Maybe the FC Dallas folks will help us out.

Be sure to rate and review our show wherever you get your podcasts. Remember, we’ll read any five-star reviews we get on Apple Podcasts on the next show.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how No. 542 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City crushed the Rowdies, the transfer season is in full swing, plus: hey now, Crepeau’s an all-star.

28:50 – The mailbagbox is always good for a hypothetical scenario.

36:54 – The Young Lions slipped past Cincy and head to Chattanooga, while the senior Lions head to Dallas.

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Podcasts

SkoPurp Soccer Episode 119: International Break, USWNT, Louisville Preview, and More

The Pride return from a long international break looking to get their first-ever road win against Racing Louisville.

Published

3 months ago

on

April 22, 2026

By

Image of Haley McCutcheon scoring the opening goal in Orlando's home playoff win over Seattle.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

It feels like months since the Orlando Pride last took the field, but the calendar says otherwise. If you believe calendars, it’s only been a little less than three weeks, but time moves strangely in the post-pandemic apocalyptic world.

Anyway, we don’t have a match to recap, so we touched on a couple of Pride players putting the ball in the net during the international break and chat a bit about the United States Women’s National Team’s three-game friendly series against Japan. Emma Hayes used a lot of players, and the team looked solid for two of the three matches, but the rotated middle game seemed a bit disjointed. Hayes has greatly expanded the player pool and will have plenty of options when the World Cup approaches.

Our mailbagbox had questions about a potential change in the NWSL schedule, as the league explores adopting the fall-to-spring slate, and opposition own goals. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We’d also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we’ll find them easily and read them on the show.

After the mailbagbox, we turned our attention toward Friday’s late afternoon tussle with Racing Louisville in Kentucky. The Pride have never won on the road against Louisville, and it’s about high time they did. This match begins a congested push to the June World Cup break, and although Friday’s hosts aren’t high in the table, the Pride must be at their best to get a road result in this fixture. We look back at the series history, compare the two sides, provide our key matchups in the game, and make our final score predictions.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how Episode 119 went down:

0:15 – We open the show with a little banter about the Pride in the international break and the USWNT’s series vs. Japan.

9:03 – The mailbagbox features questions via both eletronic mail and social media. We welcome all modes of delivery.

19:59 – The Pride travel to Louisville to face Racing. They’ve never won in Kentucky, but we inform them how to do so.

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