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Lion Links: 1/9/18

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9 years ago

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Happy Tuesday, Mane Landers, and happy birthday to Orlando City’s Rafael Ramos, who turns 23 today. There’s a wealth of soccer-related news to get into, so let’s get cracking.

MLS Strength of Schedule Rankings Released

Major League Soccer has released its rankings for the strength of each team’s 2018 schedule. The rankings are calculated by taking last season’s average points per game both at home and on the road for every team’s opponents. At the most difficult end of the spectrum are the Montreal Impact, while new club Los Angeles FC has the easiest schedule. Your Lions come in at the No. 12 spot out of 23 total teams, putting them about as smack in the middle as they can be. The actual differences between the clubs, according to these rankings, are slim at best and there’s also no telling how good or bad LAFC will actually play, so at the moment it’s hard to put too much stock in these.

Dwyer Called Up for January

Orlando forward Dom Dwyer has been called up for the USMNT’s January camp. The camp starts tomorrow and concludes with a friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Jan. 28. Once again, the roster is almost entirely MLS players, with 28 out of the 30 playing for the U.S.’s top league. Dwyer will be one of six forwards and will surely be looking to catch the eye with only Juan Agudelo and Jordan Morris having more experience in the January camp than Dwyer. With a little luck he’ll do exactly that, so keep your eyes peeled for that friendly at the end of the month.

Gonzalez to Switch to Mexico

Jonathan Gonzalez, the 18-year-old Monterrey midfielder, has confirmed that he intends to play for the Mexican national team. Gonzalez played for the United States at the U-17 and U-20 levels but was not capped for the senior team. He now intends to file for a one-time switch that would see him become eligible to represent the Mexican national team instead. Recent weeks had seen the two CONCACAF federations vying for the young midfielder’s affections.

U.S supporters had hoped he would decide to represent the Stars and Stripes and he was seen as the possible future of the heart of the midfield, with his ability to shield the back line well documented at Monterrey. However, that future will now have to be found elsewhere and surely questions will be asked regarding how a player who only ever played in the U.S. youth setup was allowed to switch to the federation’s mortal enemy.

U.S. Soccer Denies SUM’s Influence on Venue Decision

U.S. Soccer and USSF presidential candidate Kathy Carter have issued statements denying Kyle Martino’s allegations relating to the decision to host September’s World Cup qualifier at Red Bull Arena. Martino suggested that Soccer United Marketing (the USSF’s marketing partner) decided to place the USMNT’s qualifier against Costa Rica at Red Bull Arena because it was a location that would draw the most Costa Rican fans. In essence, he alleged that SUM prioritized profiting from the game over getting the best possible result for the team.

Both U.S. Soccer and Carter stated that SUM had nothing to do with picking the venue location, and that the USSF alone made that decision. Martino also went on to say that he spoke with Bruce Arena and was told that the coach had personally lobbied to have the site changed, but was told no. Whether there’s any truth to these claims or not, the mere discussion isn’t a good look for a federation in the midst of a massive transition year.

NASL to Switch to International Calendar

The North American Soccer League has announced its intention to switch to soccer’s international calendar. Kickoff is planned for mid-August 2018, with the season to conclude in early June 2019. The planned switch will make NASL the first U.S. professional league to use the international calendar, something that some people have criticized MLS for refusing to do. The change of schedule is still pending, and will be determined by NASL’s appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Free Kicks

  • Eric Lichaj’s wife apparently told him he could get a dog if he scored a hat trick in Nottingham Forest’s third-round FA Cup tie with Arsenal. When Lichaj came up one goal short, he encouraged the world to bombard his wife with all manner of dog-related media in an attempt to change her mind.

A good show for a good cause.

You don’t say?

  • Today’s birthdays include Kate Middleton, Sean Paul, Jimmy Page, J.K. Simmons, and Richard Nixon.

That’ll do it for today’s Links. Keep it here on The Mane Land for more Orlando City content than you can brandish a yellow card at. Ciao.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 8/10/26

Lions and Pride lose, Americans abroad, Latest MLS transfer roundup, and more.

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2 hours ago

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August 10, 2026

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Image of Marco Pasalic dribbling the ball in the attack against Atlanta.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Justin Glatt

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’ve been keeping myself busy at work and getting ready to cover high school sports again soon. Let’s wish a belated happy birthday to former Lion Alex Freeman, who turned 22 on Sunday, and a happy birthday to former Orlando City head coach Oscar Pareja, who turns 58 today. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Lions Fall to Club Leon in Leagues Cup

Orlando City fell 2-1 to Club Leon at home in the second matchday of the 2026 Leagues Cup on Saturday. Marco Pasalic scored for the Lions in the first half as Orlando took a 1-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, Club Leon overturned the one-goal deficit, responding with goals from Juan Guevara and Daniel Arcila to take a 2-1 lead as the Liga MX side edged the Lions for the win. Orlando City will be back at home on Wednesday to face Atletico de San Luis to close out the first phase of Leagues Cup.

Pride Winless Skid Continues with Loss to Racing Louisville

The Orlando Pride fell 3-1 to Racing Louisville FC at home on Friday as the club continues to slide down the NWSL table and has lost back-to-back league matches. Louisville struck first to take a 1-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, Emma Sears scored twice to give Louisville a 3-0 lead. In stoppage time, Kerry Abello scored for the Pride to avoid the shutout, but Louisville secured its third win in its last four games. Meanwhile, Orlando has lost four out of its last five matches. The Pride will be on the road for their next match on Saturday, taking on the Portland Thorns.

Americans Abroad

Orlando City midfielder Colin Guske started and played a full 90 minutes for the U.S. U-20 Men’s National Team against Mexico in the Concacaf U-20 Championships. The U.S. fell 2-0 to Mexico in the final on Sunday. Max Arfsten and Sebastian Berhalter made their debuts for Middlesbrough in Round 1 of the Carabao Cup against Wrexham on Friday. Berhalter notched an assist as Middlesbrough defeated Wrexham 1-0 to advance to the second round. Ricardo Pepi started and played 80 minutes for PSV Eindhoven in a 2-2 draw against Fortuna Sittard in the Eredivisie on Saturday. Austin Trusty and Cameron Carter-Vickers were both in action for Celtic in a 5-1 victory against Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.

Latest MLS Transfer Roundup

The LA Galaxy have been busy making moves of late, signing former FC Barcelona and Como midfielder Sergi Roberto to a contract through June 2028 with an option for the 2028-2029 season. The Galaxy added winger Chucky Lozano from San Diego FC on loan through the end of the season and reached an agreement to transfer midfielder Edwin Cerrillo to Liga MX side Club America. Atlanta United has acquired midfielder Mauricio Amaro from Uruguayan top flight club Defensor Sporting. Amaro will be under contract through the 2028-2029 season with an option for 2029-2030. San Diego FC announced on Saturday that the club has transferred defender Andres Reyes to Atletico Nacional in Colombia.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando City forward Yutaro Tsukada, who is on loan at Rhode Island FC, scored his first goal in the USL Championship over the weekend.
  • Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga scored for Malawi, which defeated Ghana 2-1 on Sunday in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time.
  • Nigeria fell 1-0 to Cameroon in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, resulting in Cameroon qualifying for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Nigeria will face South Africa on Thursday in a play-in match to qualify for the FIFA inter-confederation playoffs.
  • Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho revealed in a documentary that he had signed a contract to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United in 2013, but later backed out of the deal and decided to return to Chelsea after his first stint at Real Madrid.

That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday, and I’ll see you next time.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 8/7/26

Braian Ojeda undergoes foot surgery, Orlando Pride play Racing Louisville tonight, NWSL midseason predictions, and more.

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3 days ago

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August 7, 2026

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Image of Braian Ojeda taking a corner at Yankee Stadium against New York City FC
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Happy Friday, Mane Landers! I’m hesitant to get excited about back-to-back days of Orlando soccer considering how last weekend went, but we have the Orlando Pride in action tonight and Orlando City playing Saturday in a pair of home games. Keep every finger crossed, folks. But for now, let’s get to the links!

Braian Ojeda Undergoes Foot Surgery

Orlando City announced that midfielder Braian Ojeda underwent successful surgery to repair a Jones fracture in his right foot. It’s the same foot injury that Robin Jansson dealt with earlier this year and Ojeda is expected to return in the fall. The Lions traded for Ojeda in January and he has started in 21 games across all competitions this year, recording a goal and six assists. He also represented Paraguay at the World Cup this summer and played in the match against Germany in the round of 32.

Orlando Pride Host Racing Louisville Tonight

The Orlando Pride are coming off of a disastrous 5-0 defeat on the road against the North Carolina Courage and will look to bounce back tonight when they host Racing Louisville. Although Louisville has only won four games this season, two of those victories have come in their past three games and one was at the Pride’s expense. We’ll see if Orlando’s offense will be able to make some noise against a Louisville defense that has conceded a league-high 34 goals this season. Orlando Pride Head Coach Seb Hines spoke on the need for a result tonight at home.

“When we come home and we play in front of our fans, we need to put a show on and we need to really bounce back from a disappointing result against North Carolina,” Hines said. “We let ourselves down, we let the fans down, and we need to respond in the best way and that’s by getting three points this Friday.”

NWSL Midseason Predictions

We’ve reached the second half of the NWSL season and it’s a nice time to take a look at the various award races across the league. While Barbra Banda being away at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations has opened the door for other forwards to make up ground in the Golden Boot race, her absence has at least proven just how valuable she is to her team amid the Pride’s free fall without her. It doesn’t hurt her case for MVP, though she faces stiff competition from Temwa Chawinga, Trinity Rodman, and Mina Tanaka. The Pride likely don’t have any contenders for the other awards given how the season has gone, but anything can happen.

Keeping Up With the Americans Abroad

As we near the return of European soccer, there are plenty of Americans with new teams to keep an eye out for this year. ESPN graded some of the moves by Yanks this summer, with Max Arfsten and Sebastian Berhalter’s moves from MLS to Middlesbrough receiving decent marks. It’ll be interesting to see how Giovanni Reyna does now that he’s in Strasbourg, and we’ll see if goalkeeper Diego Kochen can make an impact with Lyngby Boldklub in Denmark. La Liga starts next weekend, which means we’ll be able to watch Alex Freeman with Villarreal after his strong World Cup performance.

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

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 8/6/26

Orlando City beats Monterrey, Marco Pasalic reportedly staying in Orlando, Zambia ousted from Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, and more.

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4 days ago

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August 6, 2026

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Image of Marco Pasalic saluting the fans.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

It’s Thursday, which means we’re celebrating an Orlando City victory. The Lions have been midweek monsters this season and it’s been a nice boost of energy to get through the week. If any of you are performing some sort of ritual on Wednesday nights, please keep it up. Let’s get to the big win and more in today’s links!

Orlando City Beats Monterrey in Leagues Cup

After a lengthy weather delay, Orlando City beat Monterrey 2-1 at home in its first match of this year’s Leagues Cup. The video review system was put through its paces in this match, overturning a Monterrey goal, a Monterrey red card, and a penalty on Orlando’s Robin Jansson in separate instances. Be sure to check out our recap of the win, which included a nice performance from Tyrese Spicer as a starter and the return of Daryl Dike off the bench. The Lions will be back in action on Saturday against Club Leon before wrapping up this phase of the tournament on Wednesday against San Luis.

Marco Pasalic Reportedly Staying in Orlando

There’s been buzz this summer regarding Marco Pasalic being transferred form Orlando City to Hull City, but the move is reportedly not going to happen according to Croatian sports newspaper Sportske Novosti.

Pasalic had 12 goals and five assists in his first MLS season last year after joining Orlando from HNK Rijeka. While the 25-year-old hasn’t quite had the same impact so far this season, he did play for Croatia in this summer’s World Cup and could benefit from the addition of Antoine Griezmann to the offense. Pasalic came off the bench for a late cameo on Wednesday to help see out the win over Monterrey.

Zambia Eliminated From WAFCON Despite Win

Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda scored in Zambia’s 2-1 win against Malawi in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, but it wasn’t enough for Zambia to avoid elimination. Zambia, Malawi, and Nigeria all finished with six points in the group stage, but Zambia was ousted due to the third tiebreaker of goals scored in matches between the three. It’s a rough way to go out for Zambia, which finished with the best overall goal differential in the group. As a result, Zambia will not take part in the 2027 Women’s World Cup. Banda finished the tournament with five goals and will return to a Pride team in desperate need of help on offense.

U.S. Qualifies for 2027 U-20 Men’s World Cup

The United States U-19 Men’s National Team beat Guatemala 3-1 to advance to the semifinals of the Concacaf U-20 Men’s Championship, qualifying for the 2027 U-20 World Cup and 2027 Pan American Games in the process. Guatemala struck first, but the U.S. found an equalizer right before halftime and went on to win the game with a pair of goals in the second half. Orlando City midfielder Colin Guske was a starter in the match as well. The U.S. will take on Costa Rica in the semifinals Friday at the Azteca.

FIFA Backs Gianni Infantino as Pressure Rises

As the soccer world reacts to FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s failed scheme to sell stakes in the World Cup, FIFA reaffirmed its support for him at a crisis meeting in Morocco over his presidency. There have been many calls for reform due to Infantino’s actions, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stating he does not have confidence in him and Portuguese legend Luis Figo calling for him to step down. FIFA also denied a report that Infantino offered Morocco hosting for the 2030 World Cup final in exchange for support.

Free Kicks

  • Former Lion Nico Lodeiro announced his retirement from professional soccer and Orlando City General Manager and Sporting Director Ricardo Moreira wished him the best with one of his highlights as a Lion.

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

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