Happy Friday, Mane Landers! The Orlando Pride are in action tonight and we also have an Orlando City B game on Sunday to look forward to. It’s been a bit of a hectic week on my end, but it’s at least helped make the U.S.’s World Cup loss feel like old news. Orlando City putting the Tampa Bay Rowdies to the sword in a friendly didn’t hurt either. Let’s get to the links!

Orlando City Reportedly Trading Duncan McGuire

Forward Duncan McGuire is reportedly being traded by Orlando City to the Houston Dynamo in exchange for $1.25 million in General Allocation Money, with another $1.15 million heading Orlando’s way if performance metrics are reached per Tom Bogert of The Athletic.

Selected by Orlando with the sixth overall pick in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft, McGuire has scored 29 goals across four seasons with the Lions. Injuries have plagued him in recent years, but let’s hope he can have a renaissance of sorts with Houston and hit those performance requirements if this move comes to pass. Orlando would be even lighter on options up top, but the money could help the club improve at a few positions.

Orlando Pride Host the Kansas City Current Tonight

Following a 2-0 loss to Angel City FC, the Orlando Pride will look to bounce back tonight when they host the Kansas City Current in the first meeting this season between the past two NWSL Shield winners. The Current are on a three-game win streak, with Michelle Cooper scoring twice in a 3-0 win over the Denver Summit last week. Temwa Chawinga also scored in that match to bring her tally to eight as she closes the distance on Pride forward Barbra Banda in the Golden Boot race. Hopefully the Pride can keep Kansas City’s offense in check and get back on track with a win at home.

Steve Cherendulo Named U.S. U-23 Men’s National Team Coach

U.S. Soccer appointed Steve Cherendulo as the head coach of the United States U-23 Men’s National Team as preparations begin for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Cherundulo is no stranger to success in the City of Angels, leading LAFC to a league title and MLS Cup victory in 2022 before winning the 2024 U.S. Open Cup as well. He represented the U.S. as a player starting at age 18 and played in three World Cups, which should be valuable experience to get these younger players ready to make an impact with the senior team. Tahir Reid-Brown, Justin Ellis, and Colin Guske are a few Orlando City players to keep an eye out for as possible Olympic roster candidates as they develop their games.

France Advances to World Cup Semifinals

France became the first team to secure its spot in the World Cup semifinals, beating Morocco 2-0. After a scoreless first half, Kylian Mbappe scored his eighth goal of the tournament to give France the lead and then provided the assist on Ousmane Dembele’s goal a few minutes later. While the offense is understandably grabbing headlines, the defense has now had a clean sheet in three straight games during this knockout phase. In the semifinals, France will take on whichever nation advances from today’s match between Spain and Belgium.

Free Kicks

• Less than 24 hours after scoring for Orlando City in a friendly, Antoine Griezmann was in Boston for France’s World Cup match.

• The Orlando Pride will have a new sponsor on the back of their jerseys, as Orlando-based company AluCup became the club’s official aluminum cup supplier.
• Christian Pulisic was reportedly diagnosed with a microfracture and bone bruise in his leg and he may miss several weeks as a result. The injury bug refuses to let go of him it seems.
• The Washington Spirit added Cameroonian midfielder Monique Ngock, signing her to a three-year contract.
• American right back Bryan Reynolds is reportedly being signed by Stade Rennais from Westerlo for a transfer fee around $5 million.

• Crystal Dunn, who set records at Florida State University before her storied professional career, joined the Tallahassee Reckoning’s ownership group. The organization aims to provide more opportunities for youth soccer players and improve the pathway towards playing professionally.
• English defender Jarell Quanash was given a two-game suspension for the serious foul play that earned him a red card against Mexico. He’ll miss Saturday’s quarterfinal against Norway and also England’s semifinal if it advances.

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

How’s it going, Mane Landers? After nearly a full month of daily World Cup soccer, it felt a bit weird not having a game to watch on Wednesday. Only eight games remain in this year’s tournament, and each one should be a doozy as some of the top nations square off. We also have plenty of Orlando soccer to get excited about as the summer rolls on. Let’s get to the links!

Orlando City Dominates Tampa Bay in Friendly

The Lions returned to action with a friendly against the Tampa Bay Rowdies and cruised to a 6-0 victory at home. It was Antoine Griezmann’s first game as a Lion and he showed Orlando supporters and Season Ticket Members what he’s capable of with a goal and an assist in the match. The team’s younger players picked up where the starters left off once subbed on in the second half, with Justin Ellis providing three assists to help pile on more goals. Friendlies should always be taken with a grain of salt, but it’s hard not to feel excited for the second half of the season. The Lions will play another friendly on the road against FC Dallas on Wednesday before league play resumes, and that match might give us a more accurate picture than Wednesday’s game.

Maxime Crepeau Named to MLS All-Star Roster

Orlando City goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau was chosen to be a part of the 2026 MLS All-Star roster as a coach’s selection by Charlotte FC Head Coach Dean Smith. Crepeau started in all five of Canada’s World Cup games this summer and has recorded 63 saves as a Lion so far. While Orlando’s defense has done him few favors this season, it’s still a bit surprising to see Crepeau included, considering the Lions have conceded a league-high 44 goals this season. The All-Star Game will take place in Charlotte on July 29 and will once again pit the MLS against the top players from Liga MX.

Anna Moorhouse Nominated for Save of the Week

Orlando Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was up for NWSL Save of the Week for catching a hard shot from Jun Endo at fairly close range in the team’s 2-0 loss to Angel City FC. She ended up finishing fourth in the voting, but it’s still nice to see a Pride player recognized in at least some capacity after a rough result.

The honor ultimately went to the Houston Dash’s Jane Campbell, who made a nice diving save to deny a glancing header following a corner kick. Moorhouse and the Pride will look to turn things around in a home match against the Kansas City Current on Friday.

Gabriel Pec Transferred to Cruzeiro

The LA Galaxy have transferred Brazilian winger Gabriel Pec to Cruzeiro for a club-record transfer fee reported to be around $13.5 million. The 25-year-old joined the Galaxy prior to the 2024 season and was named MLS Newcomer of the Year that year, helping LA win the league title. He’s recorded 42 goals and 28 assists in 101 appearances with the Galaxy, and he now returns to Brazil’s top flight. Along with that hefty transfer fee, Pec’s exit notably opens up a Designated Player spot for the Galaxy as well.

Predicting the USMNT’s 2030 World Cup Roster

The United States Men’s National Team’s 2026 World Cup campaign came to a close a few days ago and the focus has now shifted on what the team will do to improve by 2030. While Mauricio Pochettino’s inclusion is arguably the biggest question mark looming over the team, Ben Wright from SixOneFive Soccer examined what the roster could look like for the next World Cup. Former Lion Alex Freeman was the youngest player on the USMNT this time around and was predicted to return in 2030, while aforementioned Orlando City forward Justin Ellis is in the mix of young attackers on the rise like Julian Hall, Zavier Gozo, and Cole Campbell. Plenty can change between now and then, and it will be interesting to see just how different the two rosters will be.

Free Kicks

• American goalkeeper Matt Turner is returning to the New England Revolution on loan from Olympique Lyonnais once again. The loan will last through the 2026 season, with an option to buy.
• Enjoy this analytical dive into the impact Mauricio Pochettino had on the USMNT’s success and failures at the World Cup.
• The World Cup quarterfinals kick off today with an intriguing matchup between France and Morocco, who squared off in the semifinals of the 2022 World Cup.
• Zlatko Dalic’s time as Croatia’s head coach has come to a close. Under Dalic, Croatia was a World Cup finalist in 2018 and claimed third in 2022.
• Rafael Marquez was officially announced as Mexico’s next head coach for the 2030 World Cup.

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

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers! It’s match day! Orlando City hosts the Tampa Bay Rowdies in a friendly at Inter&Co Stadium tonight. If you are a Season Ticket Member or member of one of the supporters’ groups, you can go. If not, we’ll cover it as best we can for you right here and on Bluesky. Until then, let’s get to the links.

Griezmann’s Dream

While Orlando City signing Antione Griezmann seemed to be a pipe dream sprung from multiple episodes of The Mane Land PawedCast, it was evidently a dream of Griezmann himself to play in MLS. It’s nice to hear that he and his family are settling into life in Orlando, and that he feels he is mentally and physically in very good condition as he joins the club. We may not have to wait long for his first appearance, given the friendly against the Tampa Bay Rowdies, next week’s friendly at FC Dallas, or at least the club’s next MLS match against the San Jose Earthquakes on July 22.

Orlando Pride Notes

I learned yesterday that the Orlando Pride have a league-high 14 players whom are free agents. Seems like a good time for some major personnel changes, given what the on-field results have been so far in 2026. It’s a bit surprising that a major overhaul is needed only two years after winning the double, but here we are. The Pride are sitting on the edge of the playoffs and will need to do better than last week’s result if the team hopes to end the season over the line.

USMNT Leftovers

As much as I wish I hadn’t seen what I saw in the USMNT loss to Belgium, I wasn’t the only one watching. The match was the most-watched soccer telecast in U.S. history. Over 30 million people watched the match with peak viewership reaching 36.8 million people.

We all know the suspension drama surrounding Folarin Balogun, but he wasn’t the only person suspended before the match. Two U.S. Soccer officials were reportedly suspended by FIFA ahead of the game, though neither received suspensions of their suspensions. The personnel in question are reportedly team manager Sam Zapatka and U.S. Soccer Vice President of Security Frank Pannell.

World Cup Results

The World Cup provided two entertaining if somewhat personally disappointing matches Tuesday. In the first match of the day, Egypt jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the defending champions before giving up three goals in the last 12 minutes plus stoppage to lose 3-2 to Argentina. Sadly, I tuned in right when Lionel Messi scored his goal. I’m pretty sick of that guy.

The second match between Colombia and Switzerland went to penalties with Switzerland coming out on top 0-0 (4-3) to advance. This was the first time that Switzerland has won a penalty shootout at the World Cup. The reward for the Swiss is to face Argentina in a quarterfinal match. As you can tell from the score, this was a tight defensive match with very few mistakes made by either team.

Free Kicks

• It seems that FOX is upset with Telemundo for courting some of the English-speaking viewers of the World Cup. FOX is the official English language rightsholder, and Telemundo is the Spanish language rightsholder. Perhaps FOX shouldn’t have aired commercials during the hydration breaks. I know I’m guilty of watching matches on Telemundo.
• Gotham FC will play its home matches in the new Etihad Park beginning in 2028. The team will share the facility with New York City FC but will have its own dedicated locker rooms.
• Per Tom Bogert, San Diego FC is bringing on Gabriel Pirani from D.C. United.

• How crazy is it to think that Alex Freeman won’t be one of the young guys the next time the World Cup comes around. Here is a list of MLS Homegrown Players who might make the jump by then. Spoilers, there are no Orlando players on the list.
• Fireworks mishaps are often a joke around the Fourth of July, but what happened at the Orlando Pride at Angel City match was no joke.

• European Union lawmakers want to investigate FIFA President Gianni Infantino following his phone call with Donald Trump about the Folarin Balogun red card kerfuffle. Do it!

That will do it for today. Check back as we get you ready for the Orlando Pride match Friday night, and follow us on Bluesky for updates of Orlando City’s friendly with Tampa Bay. Vamos Orlando!