Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Houston Dynamo: Player Grades and Man of the Match
Orlando City may have failed to score for the third consecutive game, but at least the Lions got a point for this one. A good defensive effort went largely to waste due to a lack of attacking precision but at this point it’s at least better to draw than lose.
It wasn’t a match most people that the supporters will be singing about for years to come and now the Lions have only one win in 20 matches (1-16-3). However, the performance was actually pretty decent and miles better than last Sunday’s game at Chicago.
Let’s get to the grades.
Starters
GK, Adam Grinwis, 7.5 — Grinwis made his MLS debut and got a clean sheet, though truthfully he didn’t have to do a lot. But what he did have to do, he did well. Grinwis made a crucial 1-v-1 save in the 58th minute to stop Romell Quioto. That was easily the most difficult of his three saves on the night. It nearly turned into a nightmare just 15 minutes in. He took a ball played by Houston and tried to play it into the area to pick up. Quioto took it from him and scored into an empty net but video review ruled that the Houston attacker had kicked it out of Grinwis’ hands. He made his first MLS save on a Tomas Martinez shot in the closing minutes of the first half. Even his distribution was good, as he connected on eight of his 10 long balls and passed at an 84% rate.
D, Mohamed El-Munir, 5.5 — Mo had a tough first half in many ways, losing the ball out of bounds and over the end line a few times. It seemed he didn’t trust his speed and several of his attacks slowed down and allowed Houston to get behind the ball. He finished with a decent 87% pass percentage but a lot of the attacks up his side broke down as he couldn’t quite get on the same page with his attacking teammates. He created only one chance in the game. Defensively he was pretty good, making two tackles, leading the team with four interceptions, and adding a clearance.
D, Lamine Sané, 7.5 (MotM) — It was good to see Sané back in the lineup and he helped stabilize the defense. His five clearances were a team high and he did well to help provide cover for the few times El-Munir got caught up field or beaten down the wing. He added two tackles, three interceptions and a blocked shot, but, more importantly, he always seemed to pop up in the right spot with a crucial tackle to prevent Houston’s attack from getting into dangerous spots. He also passed well (94%), hitting three of his four long balls.
D, Jonathan Spector, 7 — Although Baldomero Toledo ruled it a foul, Specs made a vital challenge in the 24th to dispossess Quioto on the break. The play looked clean but there may have been contact in the follow-through. Toledo gave Houston a free kick but it could have been much worse. He made a vital clearance with his head after Grinwis stopped Quioto in the 58th, nodding away a shot by Martinez. His 93% passing rate was good and he connected on four of six long balls. Defensively, he put in a good shift, blocking two shots and notching two clearances. He didn’t register an interception or a tackle, but some of that is due to the overall team defense keeping Houston quiet and the tackle he made was ruled a foul. I vehemently disagree with the call.
D, Scott Sutter, 6.5 — His clearance late in the first half prevented a goal at the back post by Quioto and he overall did a good job of keeping Houston’s assist leader from getting dangerous crosses in, often forcing Quioto to play negative balls. He had a tackle, an interception, and two clearances, but his passing wasn’t quite as sharp (83%) as it could have been. He attempted one shot but it was no trouble for Joe Willis.
MF, Uri Rosell, 6.5 — Although his passing was pretty sharp in the first half (89%), he also put himself in jeopardy a few times by touching the ball into an area where he could be closed down and dispossessed. Uri did a solid job of helping funnel the Houston attacks wide and keeping the middle trouble free for the center backs. He created three scoring chances and finished with an 86% passing accuracy (on the most attempts, with 73). He connected on eight of his 12 long balls. After the match, James O’Connor and Spector each praised Rosell and our next player in the list for their efforts at helping keep a clean sheet.
MF, Carlos Ascues, 7 — The Peruvian international made a nifty drop pass to Sacha Kljestan in the 31st minute that led to Orlando’s first shot on target. His passing was spot on in the first half, finishing the first period at 97% and although there weren’t a lot of difficult ones, he always seemed to pick out the right one. Ascues attempted one shot and created two scoring chances, while passing at a 93% rate and finishing with one tackle, two interceptions, and three clearances. He definitely looks the part at defensive midfielder.
MF, Yoshimar Yotún, 6 — I thought it was a mixed bag for Yoshi on the evening. He once again led the team in touches and his three chances created tied Rosell for the team lead. However, he seemed a bit off in the attacking third, seeing many of his final balls into the area cut out or not be on the same page as his runner. His 82% passing rate could have been better and only two of his 12 crosses were accurate. He made one tackle on defense. After the game, he picked up an unnecessary yellow card. Still, if anything was going to happen offensively on the evening, it looked like it was going to come through Yotún. He just lacked the final quality. Neither of his two shots were on target, although his inside-out attempt didn’t miss by much in the 56th.
MF, Sacha Kljestan, 5 — Kljestan hasn’t quite seemed himself since returning from injury, but he did have two shot attempts and got both on target, forcing a couple decent saves. His passing was decent overall (88%) but he created only one scoring chance. His shot in the 31st forced Joe Willis into into a diving save. Defensively, he had a clearance on a Houston corner. He didn’t get credit for for a shot but he did get his foot on a cross in the 47th minute that skipped just wide of the far post.
MF, Will Johnson, 5 — It was Johnson’s 50th appearance with Orlando and it was a solid, if unspectacular, outing. Will tried for the spectacular in the 32nd with a long-range effort that didn’t miss the near post by much. A minute later, he made a nice midfield steal and then drew a yellow card foul on Andrew Wenger. He sent in a dangerous shot in the 41st that forced save. Johnson led the team in shot attempts (3), getting one on target. Defensively, he had a clearance and a blocked shot. He was accurate on 91% of his passes and he drew five fouls, although he also committed three himself.
F, Dom Dwyer, 5 — Dom has seemed a bit off of late, missing three 1-v-1 opportunities in the last two matches. Tonight he had one such chance and again saw his shot saved although it didn’t matter since he was offside anyway. He was fouled a lot and he allowed the ones that didn’t get called to get into his head a bit and took a yellow card as a result. He attempted two shots, got one on target, and only attempted seven passes, connecting at just a 71% rate. Defensively he registered a clearance.
Substitutes
F, Stefano Pinho (79’), N/A — The Brazilian was the only substitute on the night but he didn’t do much and I’m not sure he had an opportunity to really make an impact so I’m not giving him a grade. He did attempt one shot that got blocked. He was three of five on his passes (60%), was dispossessed once and had two unstable touches. Not much impact, really.
That’s the way I saw it. Tell me what you thought and vote in our poll below.
Polling Closed
| Player | Votes |
| Adam Grinwis | 41 |
| Lamine Sané | 20 |
| Jonathan Spector | 7 |
| Carlos Ascues | 24 |
| Uri Rosell | 1 |
| Yoshimar Yotún | 2 |
| Other | 3 |
Lion Links
Lion Links: 8/11/26
Leagues Cup preview, Americans in midweek action, open letter addressing Gianni Infantino, and more.
Good morning, everyone. It wasn’t a particularly pleasant weekend for Orlando’s soccer teams, but fortunately, opportunities to change the vibes are right around the corner. Orlando City B plays NYCFC II in a few hours, Orlando City plays San Luis tomorrow and FC Cincinnati on Saturday, and the Orlando Pride are in action against the Portland Thorns on Saturday night as well. We’ve got lots to talk over this morning, so let’s get into it.
Leagues Cup Preview
Leagues Cup will begin its final round of group stage games later today, and there are several storylines to keep an eye on. Most prominent among them is the match between Austin FC and Club America, as each team currently sits first in its respective table. Myrto Uzuni’s hat trick helped Austin bury Puebla in its second match, and the Verde and Black are now in great position to advance. Before we get to that match on Thursday though, FC Cincinnati plays Atlas this evening to kick off the last round of games. Cincy sits fourth in the MLS table and therefore has plenty to play for, while Atlas has no points and has already been eliminated from contention. With Cincy visiting the City Beautiful on Saturday, Orlando fans should be hoping for FCC’s key players to rack up a lot of minutes tonight.
Americans in Midweek Action
Plenty of Americans will be taking part in matches during the working week, so make sure you’ve got everything noted down on your calendar. Tanner Tessmann and Lyon kick things off later today as they try to overturn a 2-1 first leg deficit against Sparta Prague in UEFA Champions Leauge qualifying. Things continue with Brenden Aaronson and Leeds playing Manchester United in a friendly on Wednesday, while Malik Tillman and Bayer Leverkusen have a friendly of their own against Nottingham Forest. Things wrap up with some American-on-American violence on Friday, as Johnny Cardoso and Atletico Madrid play Marseille in a friendly, while Folarin Balogun and Monaco face Haji Wright and Coventry in a tune-up game.
Confederations Write Letter Criticizing Gianni Infantino
Concacaf, UEFA, and AFC have written a joint open letter soccer as a whole, in which they accuse FIFA president Gianni Infantino of betraying the trust of the confederations and engaging in deceptive practices. They condemned the plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors, and called both FIFA’s integrity and Infantino’s running of the organization into question. U.S. Soccer put out its own statement on Sunday in support of Concacaf’s stance. The letter also urged FIFA to conduct an independent review of the proposal to sell stakes in the World Cup, while calling for accountability and openness among Infantino and the rest of FIFA’s leadership.
Transfer Rumor Roundup
There are plenty of transfer rumors to catch up on this morning, so let’s get straight into it. We start in England, where Crystal Palace is reportedly finalizing the signing of Zavier Gozo from Real Salt Lake. In Spain, Atletico Madrid has reportedly submitted an offer in the area of €35 million to Lille for winger Matias Fernandez-Pardo. Meanwhile, Endrick will supposedly be staying at Real Madrid this season following discussions between himself, the club, and Head Coach Jose Mourinho. Barcelona ha reportedly rejected a €50 million offer for Ferran Torres from Paris Saint-Germain, as the Catalonian club wants the fee to be structured differently than PSG’s initial proposal. Finally, in a rather unexpected bit of news, Tom Bogert reports that CF Montreal is signing Alexis Sanchez as a Designated Player.
Free Kicks
- The Orlando Pride slid three spots to no.15 in ESPN.com’s NWSL power rankings.
- Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana, and league games have been postponed in Colombia after the country was struck by a 7.4 magnitude earthquake on Monday.
- The would-be World Cup referee that was barred from entering the United States has spoken about the experience ahead of preparing to officiate the UEFA Super Cup.
- A group including Jeff Bezos is reportedly in talks to buy a 30% stake in Liverpool.
That’s all I’ve got for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!
Lion Links
Lion Links: 8/10/26
Lions and Pride lose, Americans abroad, Latest MLS transfer roundup, and more.
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.
Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Club Leon, Leagues Cup: Final Score 2-1 as Lions Blow Halftime Lead in Loss
Marco Pasalic gave the Lions a halftime lead, but the defense got leaky in the second half.
Marco Pasalic put Orlando City ahead in the first half, but two second-half mistakes and what appeared to be a clear foul in the penalty area late on Club Leon led to the Lions falling 2-1 at home tonight on the second matchday of Leagues Cup. Juan Guevara and Daniel Arcila pulled Leon back from a goal down in the second half, and an Orlando City (1-1) side that didn’t rotate much from Wednesday’s game looked a bit leggy in the second half against Leon (2-0).
“I think, of course, very very sad for the result for us, for our people, for everyone,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said after the match. “We were trying to compete in the best way as possible and trying to win, and we couldn’t. Congrats to them; they did a really good job. We were there, trying to to compete. At the end, we were short.”
Perelman’s lineup featured Maxime Crepeau in goal behind a back line of Bernardo Rhein, Robin Jansson, Iago, and Zakaria Taifi. Luis Otavio and Wilder Cartagena started in central midfielders with Ivan Angulo and Tyrese Spicer in the attack and Marco Pasalic and Antoine Griezmann up top.
The start of the game was bereft of action as the teams tried to figure one another out. The Lions nearly created something magical five minutes after kickoff when Pasalic sent in a great ball over the top for Griezmann, who brought it down, but it bounced a bit wide, and when he went to ground to try to shoot, the defender caught up and blocked the effort.
Neither team could do much with a corner kick opportunity over the next 15 minutes and much of the action was played between the boxes. Pasalic earned a free kick in a dangerous spot when he blew past Juan Guevara, who brought him down and picked up a yellow card. Griezmann took the free kick from just outside the area but his delivery hit the wall and came back to him. He got under his second effort and put it out of play.
The first real danger from Club Leon came on a ball over the top in the 28th minute. Crepeau came off his line but couldn’t get there before Arcila, who tried to chip the goalkeeper but he sent it wide left. Sebastian Santos got to it before it went over the end line and tried to shoot from a tight angle with Iago defending but he got under his shot and put it over the bar.
Just moments after the ensuing hydration break, Leon nearly scored on another ball over the top that was just out of Iago’s reach. Arcila got to it first and fired a shot that Crepeau saved. Fernando Beltran picked up the rebound and tried to chip the Canadian, but Crepeau was able to go up and catch the shot to keep the game scoreless.
Orlando tried a ball over the top for itself in the 36th minute. Spicer was first to it but as he swung his foot to shoot the bouncing ball, the defense arrived and bodied him, causing him to whiff on his effort. But the Lions scored anyway two minutes later.
Pasalic and Griezmann worked a nice give-and-go in the attacking half and the Frenchman sent Spicer down the left. Spicer fed Pasalic at the top of the area and the Croatian’s shot took a slight deflection and beat Oscar Garcia to make it 1-0.
“Happy to help in the first half with the goal,” Pasalic said.
After the goal, Leon showed more determination in keeping the ball and building up play. The guests couldn’t do much with a couple of corners over the next several minutes.
Leon created another chance in first-half stoppage time, when Iago was beaten and Jansson couldn’t quite get over in time to intervene. Arcila got there first and fired toward the near post but Crepeau knocked it out for a corner.
Griezmann headed away the ensuing set piece to end the first period.
The late spell of possession after Pasalic’s goal helped Leon lead in that category at the break (54.1%-45.9%). The Liga MX side also led in shots (8-6), shots on target (5-2), and corners (4-2). Orlando City passed slightly more accurately in the opening half (92.7%-91.8%)
Griffin Dorsey entered the game at halftime for Taifi, but it was Club Leon who brought the energy to the start of the second half. In the opening minutes, Crepeau was forced into two great saves. Rhein turned it over in his defensive third, and Arcila’s cheeky backheel of a cross in from the right forced the Canadian international to make a a diving stop. Leon sent the ball back in from the left to a wide-open Jordi Cortizo in front but sent it right at Crepeau for another save.
Orlando’s first chance of the second half came on a Griezmann corner kick. Dorsey headed it across the box and Iago made a flying attempt at a bicycle kick, but he missed the ball and committed a foul in the process.
Leon got back on the front foot after that, with Jansson doing well to block an Arcila shot at the top of the area in the 51st minute. Arcila then got to a cross and stabbed it wide a minute later, but the initial play was offside.
The visitors tied the game in the 54th minute off a long-range set piece near the left sideline. The cross appeared to go in off of Dorsey, who was trying to mark Juan Guevara. Crepeau got to it just after it crossed the line. Dorsey said something to Crepeau after the play, but Guevara was ultimately credited with the goal.
Orlando’s struggles throughout the game came in the attacking third, and it was magnified in the second half. One such play was a nice buildup in the 69th minute that ended up with Rhein on the left, but the youngster made a mess of his cross, sending it out of play. Two minutes later, substitute Justin Ellis headed a pass to Dorsey that he perhaps should have shot. Ellis got it to Dorsey, who didn’t make good contact and sent a weak shot for Garcia to collect.
It was a costly missed opportunity, as Leon scored the winning goal a minute later. Rhein got caught too far upfield after heading the ball forward, and Leon broke in transition down the right side in behind him. Ivan Moreno found Arcila at the top of the area and the striker found space in front of Iago and sent an inch-perfect shot inside the left post to make it 2-1 in the 72nd minute.
Perelman sent Daryl Dike into the game as Orlando chased the match, and the Lions should have gone to the spot in the 84th minute. Ellis sent a fantastic ball to send Harvey Sarajian into the area on the right. Guevara caught up from behind, threw an arm across the rookie forward’s face, and bundled him over from behind, but referee Jose Camacho Espinoza incredibly saw nothing wrong with what the Leon defender did. There did not even seem to be a stoppage for video review, although media were informed that the play was checked.
“Ellis played the ball through. I’m through. I felt contact to the back, and in my opinion, I thought it was a foul,” Sarajian said. “But the referee didn’t agree. So it is what it is. I felt the contact (to the head and neck area).”
“I saw it,” Perelman said of the play. “I think the same thing as (the media).”
Leon was content to put numbers behind the ball and use the dark arts as much as possible to slow things down. The Lions won a lot of set pieces but could not pay them off. Crepeau came up to join the last few, but in the end, the Lions couldn’t find a way through the mass of Leon defenders down the stretch.
With Leon ceding possession and staying compact late, Orlando City finished with more possession (51.7%-48.3%), while also having the advantage in corners (7-5) and passing accuracy (90%-88.2%). Leon attempted far more shots (18-10) and put more on target (10-3). It was the inability to threaten goal that ultimately prevented Orlando from building on its lead or clawing back into the match.
Pasalic spoke to the referee after the game. He had been taken out in the middle of the pitch in first-half stoppage time that not only didn’t earn Leon a yellow card, but it wasn’t even deemed a foul. He came out to try to play through it in the second half, but the earlier contact forced him off before the hour mark and appeared to be one of the more egregious fouls in the match, despite the no-call.
“Suddenly, I get the hit in my knee, so my knee was getting a lump,” Pasalic said. “And I spoke with them in the halftime. I tried it to go out in the second half, but I felt that my knee is not going to help the team. It’s nothing serious, but I just want to be sure that the team has 10 players on the pitch who can play fully. I mean, I don’t want to get fined. No, just I want to speak in a respectful way about (the referee). For me, it’s unacceptable that he don’t give even the foul when I get fouled, and because of this, I was not able to play again in the second half, fully. This was not even a yellow card.”
The Lions will close out the first phase of Leagues Cup Wednesday at home against Atletico de San Luis.
Lion Links: 8/11/26
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