Lion Links: 9/5/17

While Orlando City may have had a rough weekend, the Pride continued to dominate and OCB is still in a playoff position. Let’s look at some of the other stories in the world of soccer.

U.S. Face Honduras in Key World Cup Qualifier

After a poor performance against Costa Rica in New Jersey Friday night, the U.S. Men’s National Team takes the field again tonight in a key qualifier against Honduras. A win gives the Yanks a great chance to qualify in Orlando next month. NBC has put together some keys to the Yanks putting themselves in that position to qualifier next month.

MLS Playoff Probabilities

With the MLS season winding down, teams, fans, and media are looking forward to the postseason. It’s a more optimistic look for some than others. FiveThirtyEight has put together the chances of each MLS team making the postseason after 26 weeks. Not that you need it but I’ll give you a hint: It doesn’t look good for the Lions.

Players React to Matildas Sellout

Women’s soccer has been growing immensely over the past few years. That fact is obvious in Australia as the Matildas sold out their upcoming game against Brazil in Penrith, which is sure to see some Pride players on both sides. Some of the Matildas reacted to the news of the sellout, including current and former Pride players.

NWSL’s Impact on Women’s Sports

Soccer is probably the most popular women’s professional sport and the NWSL is the most successful American women’s soccer league ever. So the league is bound to have a positive impact on women’s sports. Backline Soccer has taken a look at some of those impacts.

Arena Critical of Referees

Christian Pulisic is one of the most-hyped American players of all time, and he’s playing like he deserves it. U.S. Men’s National Team Head Coach Bruce Arena feels like the 18-year-old should be protected like a star from the referees but it’s not happening. As ESPN reports, Arena has also been critical of the decision by CONCACAF to only allow two cautions before a suspension to each player throughout qualifying.

Happy Birthday, Paul Shaw

After coaching and playing against Orlando City in 2011 with FC New York, Paul Shaw became the Lions’ academy director and has played a huge part in helping develop players like Pierre Da Silva, David Loera, and Raul Aguilera. Happy Birthday to a man that has been a big part of the club’s success.

That’s all for today’s Lion Links. Good luck to the national team this evening as they look to get back on track in qualifying.