Lion Links: 6/5/18

Happy Tuesday, Mane Landers. Another game brought more woes for the Lions over the weekend as the losing streak continued, but the Pride ground out a good result on the road, so it isn’t all bad. There’s plenty to talk about today, so let’s get cracking.

Orlando City Injury News

There was very exciting news from Jordan Culver on Monday, as he reports that Dom Dwyer, Lamine Sané, Chris Schuler and Jonathan Spector were all training yesterday.

While the team has missed all four players in recent games and hasn’t played the strongest starting lineup in well over a month, the absence of Dwyer has been felt most keenly, with the team struggling to score and play well without him. Hopefully this means we’ll be seeing all four of them back on the field soon.

Tarek Not Going to Russia

Egypt has announced its 23-man squad for the 2018 World Cup, and Orlando City’s Amro Tarek will not be on the plane to Russia. The defender was named to the preliminary squad for the team’s warm-up friendlies but did not make the final cut for the tournament.

Personally, it’s difficult for me to decide how I feel about this. On the one hand, it would have been wonderful for Tarek to go to the tournament and potentially get to see him on the world stage, but on the other it will be great to have him back at a time when injuries have forced Orlando to deploy a series of increasingly creative lineups. Either way, we here at The Mane Land are proud of Tarek and will be happy to see him soon.

Kopmeyer Up for Weekly Award

Haley Kopmeyer has been nominated for the NWSL Save of the Week for her 51st-minute save of a wicked Nahomi Kawasumi strike during the Pride’s 0-0 draw with Seattle Reign over the weekend. The shot from distance looked bound for the back of the net until Kopmeyer reacted well to tip the ball over the bar. The save helped keep the game scoreless and preserved the Pride’s streak of five games unbeaten on the road.

Karius Concussed During Champions League Final

Massachusetts General Hospital has confirmed that Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius suffered a concussion during the UEFA Champions League final. Many people have been pointing to a moment during the opening minutes of the second half when Sergio Ramos elbowed Karius in the side of the head — appearing to daze the net-minder — as proof that Karius sustained a concussion. Their fears have proven correct, and may go part of the way towards explaining Karius’ pair of horrific mistakes that largely decided that game.

Of course, this now raises questions about why Karius was allowed to remain in the game without ever being examined by a member of the Liverpool medical staff, and instead played nearly half a match with a concussion.

Free Kicks

• Here is a positively fascinating article regarding how Muslim players deal with fasting during the run-up to the World Cup.
• An American soccer fan will attend his 150th World Cup game and beyond this summer, as he plans to attend 13 matches in Russia.
• Iceland’s Aron Gunnarsson has written about what makes the little country so special when it comes to soccer.

And finally, here’s a clip of Sydney Leroux absolutely cleaning the clock of her young son, Cassius, with a slide tackle that’s about as clean as week-old kitty litter.

That’s all I’ve got for you today. Don’t forget that the Lions have a U.S. Open Cup match tomorrow against Miami United FC at 7:30 pm ET. Ciao.