Lion Links: 11/3/16

Happy Thursday, y’all.

Hope you’re enjoying your World Series hangover as much as I am. And oh boy, do we have some links for you. Wednesday was a busy day in the soccer world.

Let’s get to it.

Cyle Larin Called Up

Orlando City SC star striker, Cyle Larin, got the call to join Canada for international duty for their friendly against North Korea.

This is no surprise as Larin should be on every Canadian National Team roster possible for as long as possible. He’s good. The rest of his team, not so much.

However, his increased usage within the national team will likely not be beneficial for Orlando City in the future. Luckily, Orlando City doesn’t have to worry about that since it missed the playoffs.

Ali Krieger Joins the Pride

The move we all wanted more than a year ago has finally happened. The Pride have acquired defender Ali Krieger from the Washington Spirit for what seems like next to nothing.

This is thrilling news after a disappointing season from the Pride. Krieger is a terrific defender and has the ability to be dangerous on the attack. She could be the game changer the Pride need, and a good service provider for Alex Morgan.

OCB guts roster

Orlando City B parted ways with just about everyone on Wednesday.

Hard to develop players when you get rid of them after one season. But whatever.

From the Sentinel’s Alicia Del Gallo:

Team captain Lewis Neal, young talent Pierre Da Silva and leading scorer Michael Cox will return in 2017 on existing contracts. Defender Zach Ellis-Hayden and goalkeeper Jake Fenlason, who served as backup to starter Mark Ridgers this year, signed new contracts with OCB, pending federation approval.

OCB declined contract options on Ridgers and nine other players, some of which played a major role in the team’s first-year success. Notably, defender Kyle McFadden and midfielder Johnny Mendoza will not return. Both trained with Orlando City in the final weeks of the MLS season.

Johnny Mendoza is a bit of a surprise. The front office was high on Mendoza and had appreciated his willingness to make public appearances on behalf of the team and his attitude in doing so. Him training with OCSC at the end of the year would also have implied he was developing at a reasonable pace.

It’ll be interesting to see where OCB goes from here. They may decide to take a more serious approach to winning next year.

International Soccer Rivalries

FourFourTwo broke down the eight biggest rivalries in international soccer. It’s probably not a surprise that England-Scotland and Brazil-Argentina were 1 and 2, respectively.

This Mane-lander was happy to see USA-Mexico made it onto the list, because America rules.

Lastly, this week in Rumorville:

This all seems fair. Though Baptista is a bit surprising, since he was actually good last year. There will almost certainly be a major shakeup with OCSC after a disappointing season.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the rest of your Thursday!