Good Wednesday morning, Mane Landers. For long time readers, you might remember me as a staple in your Lion Links but having stepped away on sabbatical. Today, I’m honored to be called off the bench and fill in for Dave. My life has been filled with being a first-time father along with taking over as commissioner of a soccer league and my normal day job. Through all of it, I have stayed true to catching as many Orlando City matches as I can or at least the highlights. TML is my go-to source for all things purple, so I’m glad to pitch in and talk about what is happening around the City Beautiful and soccer once again. So, let’s get into the links!

Lions’ Not-So Secret Weapons

Orlando City is ready to take on Atlanta United on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. According to Andrew Wiebe of MLSsoccer.com, midfielder Martín Ojeda and the home field advantage of Inter&Co Stadium will be the key to victory for Oscar Pareja to finally lift the cup with Orlando. On the other side of the ball, Atlanta United goalkeeper Brad Guzan is in impeccable form and will give the Five Stripes an opportunity to advance again despite being the underdogs.

Seb Hines Wins Major Award

The National Women’s Soccer League announced Pride Head Coach Seb Hines has been named the 2024 NWSL Coach of the Year. Following his stint as a player for Orlando City and coaching at the youth level, Hines became the Pride’s interim head coach in June 2022 before getting the gig full time. This season was his best yet with Orlando, finding 18 wins and leading a team that scored a club-record 46 goals along the way. He learned about his award from his players:

Internationals Take The Pitch

Tuesday gave some Lions the chance to represent their home nations. Orlando City right back Dagur Dan Thorhallsson entered the UEFA Nations League match between Wales and Iceland in the 75th-minute, but Iceland fell 4-1 after scoring first. Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese gained another start for Peru in its CONMEBOL World Cup qualifier against Argentina but couldn’t earn a shutout in a 1-0 loss.

Record MLS Signing Reported

FC Cincinnati has splashed the cash and has reportedly completed the signing of 23-year-old Cercle Brugge forward Kévin Denkey. The transfer fee of $16.2 million is an MLS record, passing the previous $16 million that Atlanta United spent to acquired Thiago Almada in 2022. The signing of Denkey to a four-year contract fills a gap at forward for Cincinnati. The length of the deal appears to make him the centerpiece of the team as only one player on the roster has guaranteed contract years beyond 2026, and only striker Kevin Kelsy has option years into 2028 and 2029, but he is currently on loan.

Inter&Co Stadium Will Host Orlando Cup

Coming in January 2025, the Orlando Cup Pro Series will bring clubs Santos FC, Atlético Nacional, and Fortaleza to our home stadium. These will be preseason matches for the participating teams to help them tune up and grow their brands in the United States.

Free Kicks

• Gerardo “Tata” Martino will address the media in a final news conference on Friday along with Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas as he is expected to step down from his head coach position for personal reasons.
• Instantly linked to the managerial vacancy at Inter Miami is former FC Barcelona player and manager Xavi Hernández.
• Nashville SC acquired 23-year-old former Norway youth international midfielder Edvard Tagseth from Rosenborg BK through 2026 with an option for 2027.
• Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang is set to donate $30 million dollars to U.S. Soccer’s women and girls programs over the next five years.
• The United Soccer League announced that USL Dallas, North Texas’ newest professional soccer team, will join the USL Championship for the 2027 season.
• Manchester United is offering €30 million and a struggling player in a swap deal to gain the services of Victor Osimhen.
• Patrick Vieira is likely to step into the managerial role at Genoa after Alberto Gilardino was unexpectedly fired.
• Miami FC and a professional women’s team could be getting a new 10,000-seat stadium in Homestead.

That’s a wrap on links for the day. I wish you all the best with the rest of you week. Who else is excited for a big Orlando soccer weekend? Vamos Orlando!

Happy Tuesday, everyone! We’ve had a busy few days with the Orlando Pride advancing to the NWSL Championship in style, and games continuing to come thick and fast during the international break. Things aren’t slowing down around here though, as the Pride will play for a trophy on Saturday, and Orlando City faces Atlanta United in the Eastern Conference semifinals on Sunday. Today also marks 11 years since Orlando City was announced as the 21st MLS club. Let’s dive into today’s links!

Pride Players Named to NWSL Best XI

On top of advancing to the NWSL Championship, a number of Orlando Pride players have been honored with places in the league’s Best XI First Team and Best XI Second Team. Emily Sams, Marta, and Barbra Banda made the cut for the First Team, while Anna Moorhouse and Kerry Abello were chosen for the Second Team.

Sams started in all 13 of the Pride’s shutouts, while Marta had 10 goal contributions on the year and Banda bagged 13 goals and six assists in her first year in the league. A big congratulations to all five players!

USMNT Routs Jamaica

The United States Men’s National Team ran riot over Jamaica in the second leg of its Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal series, winning by a score of 4-2 in St. Louis. The Yanks used a dominant first half to put the game away early, with two Christian Pulisic goals and Ricardo Pepi’s second goal in as many games giving the Americans a 3-0 lead at halftime. In the first 45 minutes, the USMNT enjoyed 70% possession and took six shots to the visitors’ two, with the majority of the action being played in Jamaica’s half. The game opened up more in the second half with Demari Gray grabbing a brace, but the Yanks were never truly threatened and advanced to the Concacaf Nations League semifinals.

USWNT Roster Announced

The United States Women’s National Team has announced its roster for upcoming friendlies against England and the Netherlands. Emma Hayes has named a 24-player roster for the two games, both of which will take place overseas. The roster features a familiar face, as the Orlando Pride’s Sams was named to the squad as a center back. The team also features Lily Yohannes, who recently announced her decision to play for the USWNT, and she will face the other team she was eligible to declare for in the Netherlands. To date, Sams has made two appearances for the USWNT and could be in line to double that number. The Yanks will face England at Wembley on Nov. 30, and then take on the Dutch on Dec. 3 at ADO Den Haag Stadium.

UEFA Nations League Roundup

The international break continued yesterday and there are a number of results to catch up on. In Europe, Croatia and Portugal both advanced to the UEFA Nations League quarterfinals after a 1-1 draw, and Scotland used a late goal by Andy Robertson to beat Poland 2-1, with the result sending the Scots to a playoff that will determine if they’ll be relegated from League A, while Poland dropped into League B. San Marino won just its second game in 20 years by beating Liechtenstein 3-1 to move up into League C. Finally, Denmark advanced to the quarterfinals courtesy of a scoreless draw with Serbia.

Free Kicks

• Come meet Duncan McGuire tomorrow and enjoy some chicken to boot.

• The USMNT will kick off its 2025 schedule with a match against Venezuela on Jan. 18 at Chase Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale.
• Honduras must play its next match behind closed doors after Mexico’s head coach was struck in the head by a beer can during Honduras’ 2-0 victory in San Pedro Sula on Nov. 15.
• Sam Kerr and Kristie Mewis have announced that the couple is pregnant with their first child.

That’s all I have for you today. Vamos Orlando!

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I was busy working at Under Armour all week but spent the weekend checking out the Northwestern and Ohio State college football game at Wrigley Field on Saturday. Yesterday, I watched some third-round 2025 U.S. Open Cup qualifying action between Chicago House AC and Wisloka Chicago. Let’s all wish a happy birthday to Orlando City goalkeeper Javier Otero. We have plenty to cover today so let’s get to the links.

Pride Advance to NWSL Championship

On Sunday, the Orlando Pride defeated the Kansas City Current 3-2 at Inter&Co Stadium to advance to the NWSL Championship. The Pride trailed in the first half before Haley McCutcheon buried an equalizer to get them on the board. In the second half, the Pride added to their lead with goals from Barbra Banda and Marta. The Current scored another goal to make it close, but the Pride held on for the win and reached their first-ever final. The Pride will face the Washington Spirit in the NWSL Championship as the top two teams battle for a trophy at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City on Saturday.

Spirit Beat NJ/NY Gotham FC in NWSL Playoffs

The Spirit defeated the defending NWSL Champion NJ/NY Gotham FC in penalties after a thrilling 1-1 draw at Audi Field on Saturday to punch their ticket to the NWSL Championship. Washington trailed 1-0 early in the second half after Esther Gonzalez put Gotham ahead. The Spirit’s equalizer didn’t come until stoppage time, as Hal Hershfelt scored to send the game to extra time. In the penalty shootout, Ashley Hatch, Lena Silano, and Tara McKeown converted from the spot for the Spirit, while goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury made three consecutive saves to seal the win. The Spirit return to the final for the first time since 2021, when the club won its first NWSL Championship.

USMNT Takes on Jamaica in Nations League Tonight

The United States Men’s National Team will be back in action tonight, taking on Jamaica in the second leg of the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals at City Park in St. Louis. The USMNT defeated Jamaica in Kingston last week in the first leg with a 1-0 victory, with Ricardo Pepi scoring the lone goal. The USMNT did what it needed to do to put itself in an excellent position to move on to the semifinals going into the second leg. Jamaica must change its strategy to be more aggressive instead of trying to score on counters or set pieces to have a shot of an upset. Jamaica will be without center back Mason Holgate, who received two yellow cards in the previous match against the USMNT and will be suspended for tonight’s match. The semifinal round of the Concacaf Nations League will kick off in March, with the final set for March 23 at SoFi Stadium.

UEFA and Concacaf Nations League Recaps

We had some notable international soccer action across the globe to recap from the weekend. Spain defeated Denmark 2-1 to secure the top spot in its group in the UEFA Nations League. Portugal cruised past Poland with a 5-1 win, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring twice in the match as his side clinched a spot in the quarterfinals. France defeated Italy 3-1 to win its group on goal difference. England shut out Ireland 5-0 to earn promotion back to the top tier of the Nations League, while Erling Haaland scored a hat trick as Norway dominated Kazakhstan 5-0. Today, we have more UEFA Nations League action with notable matchups featuring Croatia facing Portugal, Serbia hosting Denmark, and Spain taking on Switzerland.

We had other quarterfinal matches over the weekend in the Concacaf Nations League. Canada defeated Suriname 1-0 in the first leg, while Mexico lost 2-0 on the road to Honduras. The second leg of those matches will be tomorrow, while we have another second leg quarterfinal matchup tonight as Panama takes on Costa Rica in the second leg with a 1-0 advantage.

Free Kicks

• Rhode Island FC, led by former Orlando Pride assistant coach Khano Smith, defeated the Charleston Battery 2-1 in the playoffs to advance to the USL Championship final.
• Former Orlando City B player Joe Gallardo was named MVP of the USL League One final, as Union Omaha defeated the Spokane Velocity 3-0 to win its second USL League One Championship.

• The U.S. Men’s Deaf National Team defeated Mexico 4-0 to finish third in the 2024 Pan American Deaf Games and qualify for the Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics.
• Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC defeated the Las Vegas Lights 1-0 in the 2024 USL playoffs over the weekend and will host Rhode Island FC in the USL Championship final on Nov. 23.

That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday and I’ll see you next time.