Lion Links: 6/25/18

Merry Monday morning, Mane Landers! Are you wondering why I think it’s merry after a seventh straight loss? Well, the Pride won on Saturday, the World Cup has been exciting, and Alex Leitao has told us that Orlando is looking for a coach that can work with the current lineup. This edition of links is a bit World Cup heavy, but what did you expect with both Orlando teams playing two nights ago. What’s not to like? I’m sure you’ll let me know in the comments below, but first please read these links the Mane Land has prepared.

Player Fatigue Sunk the Lions Against Montreal

It’s no secret that the Lions looked tired and fatigued in their 2-0 loss to the Montreal Impact Saturday night and it seems the team may have still had jet lag from a busy road trip. According to interim head coach Bobby Murphy, Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup game against D.C. United that went well past 90 minutes gave many Lions tired legs. However, when the time came for Murphy to choose Saturday’s lineup, those players assured him that they would be good to go for the match.

“So much of what I went on was people’s word,” Murphy said. “There’s the empirical data of how much ground they covered and this, that and the other. The other is requiring their honesty in saying, ‘Yes I can do this,’ right? And if someone said that and we had discussions, discussions as late as 11 o’clock this morning, on those things, nothing was set in stone, trying to get people as much time as possible. That went into the selection.

Murphy and Players Speak Out About State of Orlando City

After the Lions’ disheartening loss at home to Montreal, heads aren’t exactly being held highly in the City Beautiful. Murphy was quick to accept blame for the loss and he and his players spoke out about the current mood within the locker room. Although they all agree that Orlando has what it takes to get back to its winning ways, they admit that spirits are low at the moment. Morale may be low, but Jonathan Spector believes Orlando is still in a decent position to make something happen this season.

“We need to find a way to dig deep, to try and get a result here and we just weren’t able to,” said Jonathan Spector. “We need to do whatever it takes to either get back in the playoffs or stay in the playoffs. We’re not in a bad position yet. Obviously, the run of form has been really, really poor but we’re not in a terrible position.”

Orlando Pride Photo Gallery Shows Their Win

If you didn’t catch the action when the Orlando Pride beat the Washington Spirit 1-0 Saturday night and forgot to record it, you missed out on a great match as the Pride extended their unbeaten streak to five. But don’t worry, you can still see everything that went down in this great collection of photos captured at the game.

World Cup Roundup

If you were up early like me, then you got to see England dismantle Panama 6-1 as Harry Kane moved past Cristiano Ronaldo and Romelu Lukaku for the World Cup scoring lead with five total goals so far.

Sadio Mané led the way for Senegal as the African team took the lead twice only to have Japan equalize twice. The third game of the day offered up about the same as the first, as Colombia defeated Poland 3-0 in a rout. That being said, it was still a fun day of soccer.

Is Salah Out After One?

Mo Salah has had an incredible year in the English Premier League and the Champions League. However, it seems that he’s considering retiring from the Egyptian National Team in his mid-20s after a photo with him walking next to Chechnya leader Ramzan Kadyrov became a talking point. I’m going to chalk it up to frustration. It’s funny to entertain, but I seriously doubt it.

Free Kicks

• He may no longer be our coach, but congratulations to Jason Kreis for his 23-year anniversary!

• NYCFC forward David Villa may be out for a game or two after suffering a right knee injury.
• I get that the writer of this story about soccer team names might not get the nuances of how MSL teams have been named over the years, but seriously, the lion is right on the original USL patch. He does however, have a point about Kingston.
• Check out this compilation of World Cup fans who are supporting their countries in Russia right now.
• Let’s face it. There’s nothing I can leave you with that’s better than this:

That’s going to do it for the links today. Every World Cup day is a great day, so I’ll see you next time. Enjoy yourselves!