Lion Links: 11/16/20

Good morning and happy Monday, Mane Landers! Today is a United States Men’s National Team game day and we are now less than a week away from Orlando City’s first ever MLS playoff game. Today is also Brian Rowe’s birthday. Rowe is second in the Lions’ MLS ranks in starts, saves, and clean sheets. Now, it’s time for some links.

New Sculpture at Exploria Stadium

A new solar powered art sculpture was installed at the entrance of Orlando City’s stadium. It was named Gyration and will be a source of renewable energy for the Orlando Utilities Commission and its customers. The sculpture features a design with a soccer ball and is expected to produce 1,264 kilowatt hours of electricity every year.

USMNT Set to Face Panama

The USMNT played to a goalless draw against Wales last week. Today, the U.S. faces Panama and it will be a different sort of challenge. This is a young group of players that needs to start preparing for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

“I think this is a great opportunity for some of the guys that aren’t as familiar with Concacaf opponents to get that experience, so for us we’re really happy with this game,” USMNT Head Coach Gregg Berhalter said. “We’re going to continue to try to build on what we had last game. So it will most likely similar but with some slightly different personnel.”

Today’s match kicks off at 2:45 and will air on FS1.

USWNT Will Take on the Netherlands

Get ready for a rematch of the 2019 Women’s World Cup final. The USWNT will face the Netherlands on Nov. 27 in Breda — a city in the Netherlands close to its Belgian border. This will be the first action for the U.S. women since the SheBelieves Cup. No fans will be allowed in the stadium. Look for a roster drop tomorrow.

“We had to get back on the field for a real game at some point, so it might as well be against one of the best teams in the world,” Coach Vlatko Andonovski said. “We have a lot of work to do before the Olympics and facing a really talented Dutch team will give us a good look at where we are at the end of this very unusual year.”

Nations League Roundup

The Nations League is getting closer to the end. This weekend saw some vital results. England fell 2-0 to Belgium and was knocked out. Meanwhile, Italy still has a chance at winning it all — even with 20 Italian players unavailable because of COVID-19 and injury.

Frank de Boer and the Netherlands beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-1. Wales remained undefeated in League B after a 1-0 win against Ireland and Austria beat Northern Ireland, 2-1.

Free Kicks

• Here’s an inside look at how video review was used to give Nani a red card.

• The FSU Women’s Soccer Team won the ACC Championship. The Seminoles beat North Carolina, 3-2.
• Liverpool is in even more injury trouble after Andy Robertson suffered a hamstring injury.
• Here is an interesting piece from Forbes on data and video analysis in soccer.
• Can Manchester United win the English Premier League? Well, as a biased United fan, I have to say yes. Star midfielder Bruno Fernandes says the club possesses the mentality to do so.

That’s it for today, Mane Landers. Have a great Monday to start your work week.