Lion Links: 11/22/18

Happy Thanksgiving to all. It’s a special time of year, where we eat dinner way too early, stuff ourselves so much that it hurts, remember why certain members of our family drive us insane, and watch some really boring NFL games that we don’t really care about.

Seriously though, on most nights my family eats around 6:30 p.m. but on major holidays for some reason we’re finished eating by 3:30 or 4 p.m. I don’t understand this concept, but whatever. No matter how much turkey, potatoes, stuffing and other side dishes I eat, I’m usually hungry again around bedtime, which is just dumb. Can we put a committee in charge of fixing this?

Anyway, just because it’s a holiday, it doesn’t mean we don’t have plenty to discuss, so let’s get to it. And remember, if you ever need to tune out your family for an hour or so, you can always throw in your earbuds and catch our November PawedCast with our interview of Orlando SeaWolves Head Coach Tom Traxler.

Yoshi and Peru Fall to Costa Rica, 3-2

Despite goals from Jefferson Farfan and Edison Flores, Peru lost its international friendly to Costa Rica, 3-2. Orlando City midfielder Yoshimar Yotún featured in the match, as one would expect. Here is a photo gallery from the game with some good pics of Yoshi.

Where Does the USMNT Go From Here?

After a disappointing 2018, spent entirely under an interim coach and with no discernible direction beyond #PlayYourKids, the United States Men’s National Team seems to be in limbo. Jeff Carlisle of ESPN wrote about the uncertainty surrounding the USMNT as we all wait for (presumably) Gregg Berhalter to be announced. Meanwhile, Joe Prince-Wright over at NBC is also asking, “what’s next for the U.S.?” There has never been a more baffling time to be a USMNT supporter but hopefully the tide will turn with the naming of a coach and January’s Camp Cupcake.

Dos A Cero

The U-20 USMNT defeated rival Mexico, 2-0 in the Concacaf Championship in Bradenton last night, capturing the nation’s second straight title in the competition. Alex Mendez scored both U.S. goals to lead the U-20s to victory. Check out the lovely teamwork on the second USMNT goal.

Congratulations to Tab Ramos and the lads. Now go win that U-20 World Cup next year in Poland.

U-17 USWNT Falls to Germany to Close Out World Cup Run

The U-17 USWNT fell behind just four minutes into the match against Germany and despite dominating possession and chances, struggled to finish, hitting the woodwork multiple times, and having a goal waved off. Eventually the Germans doubled the lead on a counter attack against the run of play and went on to win, 4-0, despite being out-shot by a wide margin. The United States is eliminated from the U-17 Women’s World Cup. The Yanks finished 1-2-0 in group play with a win over Cameroon and losses to Korea DPR, and Germany in a disappointing World Cup run. The troubling trend at the youth level continues for the U.S. women.

Oh, FIFA

You can’t even make this up. FIFA ethics committee judge Sundra Rajoo was arrested on suspicion of corruption on Wednesday. Rajoo was part of a revamped ethics committee tasked with cleaning up the organization to restore its credibility. This arrest is not going to help with that.

Sundra Rajoo has been taken off cases while under investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission for financial wrongdoing in his job leading an arbitration service.

″(Rajoo) will not be involved in any further activities of the adjudicatory chamber (while under investigation),” FIFA said in a statement.

The decision was imposed “with immediate effect” by judging panel chairman Vassilios Skouris, FIFA said.

Who will watch the watchers? Who will watch the watchers of the watchers? FIFA won’t clean itself up until it actually has people in charge who want to do just that. This latest episode might just be the most FIFA thing ever.

Free Kicks

• Alex Calder, a fitness coach with Orlando City for the past two seasons, has departed to take a position with the Houston Dynamo as the club’s head of sport science. You may recall that the club brought in Isaac Ramos as director of fitness in August and parted ways with Dave McKay.

• Greg Seltzer at mlssoccer.com made his picks for the player each Eastern Conference team should build around and for Orlando City, he says that player is Dom Dwyer. Is he right?
• The price to #SaveTheCrew is, according to Forbes, reportedly $150 million.
• Didier Drogba appeared to have changed his mind about retiring with a social media post from The Wolf of Wall Street recently but he has apparently changed his mind again and is calling it a career.
• LAFC has signed 21-year-old Colombian defender Eddie Segura on a six-month loan with a purchase option.
• The Bundesliga has decided to scrap Monday games under pressure from fan protests.
• Those born on this date include French general and statesman Charles de Gaulle (1890), Rodney Dangerfield (1921), Monty Python’s Terry Gilliam (1940), tennis legend Billie Jean King (1943), E Street Band guitarist/actor Little Steven Van Zandt (1950), Talking Heads bassist Tina Weymouth (1950), Jamie Lee Curtis (1958), German tennis great Boris Becker (1967), actor Mark Ruffalo (1967), ex-Germany international Torsten Frings (1976), Scarlett Johansson (1984), Belgium/Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini (1987), England/Manchester United defender Chris Smalling (1989), and Miami Dolphins quarterback Brock Osweiler (1990).

That’s all I’ve got for you today. Hopefully you’re not so stuffed with Lion Links that you lose your appetite for your way-too-early holiday dinner. Enjoy your Thanksgiving (if you celebrate that today) and the rest of your week.