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Lion Links: 6/25/21

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5 years ago

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How’s it going, Mane Landers? This Friday is better than most because it’s also a game day as Orlando City takes on Inter Miami at 8 p.m. That’s not the only soccer to look forward to this weekend as the Orlando Pride are in action tomorrow at 8 p.m. against the Houston Dash. The knockout stage of the 2020 Euros also begins tomorrow. It’s an exciting time to be a soccer fan, so let’s get right into today’s links.

The Lions Face Miami Tonight

The first Tropic Thunder match-up of 2021 takes place tonight as the Lions are on the road in Miami. The Lions lost twice in Fort Lauderdale last year, but also won twice against their Floridian rivals to split the series. The game is Orlando’s third in just seven days, while Miami has had nearly a full week of rest. That being said, momentum is on Orlando’s side after a 3-2 win against Toronto FC last Saturday and a 5-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Miami is riding a three-game losing streak and will also be without defensive midfielder Gregore and center back Ryan Shawcross after they received red cards in a 1-0 loss to D.C. United.

Nani Named to MLS Team of the Week, Dike Makes Bench

After scoring from the spot and making two great assists in Orlando’s win over San Jose, Nani was named to the MLS Team of the Week. Nani joined the New England Revolution’s Carles Gil and LAFC’s Carlos Vela as star players who shined in midweek games. He was nominated for Player of the Week as well, but that honor went to Gil. It’s Nani’s first time as a starter on the Team of the Week in 2021 after making the bench three times earlier this season.

Daryl Dike made the Team of the Week bench this week after getting on the end of both of Nani’s assists for a brace in his first start of 2021. Benji Michel was snubbed despite also scoring twice and drawing the penalty that Nani scored. If Michel has more performances like the one he had Tuesday then it will become impossible for the league to ignore him.

Orlando Pride Win Social Media Award

At Sports Business Journal’s 2021 Sports Business Awards, the Pride won the award for Best in Sports Social Media. After withdrawing from the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup, the Orlando Pride created a “Pride Stan” persona across their social media accounts to promote the National Women’s Soccer League at a critical time when the NWSL was the first North American team sport to resume competition during the pandemic. Using memes, gifs, and plenty of polls on who to cheer for, the account kept fans engaged with every single match in the Challenge Cup. During the 17 days of the tournament, the Pride accounts totaled over 1.5 million engagements from Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

The NWSL won the award for Sports Breakthrough of the Year as well for increasing viewership, paying its players their salaries and benefits, and partnering with high-profile sponsors such as Google and Verizon.

Young Lions Will Compete in MLS Next Cup Playoffs

The MLS NEXT Cup playoffs kick off today and Orlando City’s U-15 and U-17 sides will be in action. In the U-15 bracket, Orlando will take on Real Salt Lake today at 10 a.m. with a potential match-up with Inter Miami in the quarterfinals. As for the U-17 playoffs, Orlando will play New England tomorrow at 10 a.m. in what should be a good match. Later games in both brackets will be streamed, but each game across all levels will still be filmed and will include a post-game report. Thomas Williams, who recently signed a Homegrown Player contract with Orlando’s first team, was noted as a player to watch in the tournament as he anchors the U-17 team’s defense.

UEFA Changes Tiebreaker Rule

A major change will be implemented in European soccer tournaments this upcoming season as UEFA decided that away goals will no longer break ties in knockout stages. Instead, only extra time and penalties will be used to break deadlocks. Citing changes in the significance of home-field advantage, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin stated the rule dissuaded home teams from attacking since the away team would gain more from scoring. It will be interesting to see the impact this has on matches and if it could possibly be implemented in Concacaf tournaments in the future. What do you think? We’re fairly used to single-elimination formats here in the U.S., but would you like to see this in more tournaments?

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  • Orlando City showed support to all those affected by the deadly collapse of a condo building in Miami.

  • Marta’s stunner from long range in the Pride’s 3-1 win over Kansas City was also appreciated by the folks over at ESPN.

  • New York Red Bulls midfielder Caden Clark signed a three-year deal with RB Leipzig in Germany. The 18-year-old will remain with the Red Bulls through the rest of the 2021 season.
  • Tobin Heath and Christen Press are leaving England after solid seasons with Manchester United in the Women’s Super League. Both players made the United States Women’s National Team’s Olympic roster and their NWSL rights are owned by Racing Louisville FC. The Pride play Louisville three times this year, including home matches on July 9 and Sept. 11 that may be worth circling on your calendar if you haven’t already.
  • The United States Soccer Federation took to Twitter to respond to the “LFG” documentary about the USWNT’s fight for equal pay, saying that there was an inaccurate account of the facts.

That’s going to be it for me today. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend filled with soccer. Go Lions and Pride!

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Lion Links: 8/6/26

Orlando City beats Monterrey, Marco Pasalic reportedly staying in Orlando, Zambia ousted from Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, and more.

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16 hours ago

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August 6, 2026

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Image of Marco Pasalic saluting the fans.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

It’s Thursday, which means we’re celebrating an Orlando City victory. The Lions have been midweek monsters this season and it’s been a nice boost of energy to get through the week. If any of you are performing some sort of ritual on Wednesday nights, please keep it up. Let’s get to the big win and more in today’s links!

Orlando City Beats Monterrey in Leagues Cup

After a lengthy weather delay, Orlando City beat Monterrey 2-1 at home in its first match of this year’s Leagues Cup. The video review system was put through its paces in this match, overturning a Monterrey goal, a Monterrey red card, and a penalty on Orlando’s Robin Jansson in separate instances. Be sure to check out our recap of the win, which included a nice performance from Tyrese Spicer as a starter and the return of Daryl Dike off the bench. The Lions will be back in action on Saturday against Club Leon before wrapping up this phase of the tournament on Wednesday against San Luis.

Marco Pasalic Reportedly Staying in Orlando

There’s been buzz this summer regarding Marco Pasalic being transferred form Orlando City to Hull City, but the move is reportedly not going to happen according to Croatian sports newspaper Sportske Novosti.

Pasalic had 12 goals and five assists in his first MLS season last year after joining Orlando from HNK Rijeka. While the 25-year-old hasn’t quite had the same impact so far this season, he did play for Croatia in this summer’s World Cup and could benefit from the addition of Antoine Griezmann to the offense. Pasalic came off the bench for a late cameo on Wednesday to help see out the win over Monterrey.

Zambia Eliminated From WAFCON Despite Win

Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda scored in Zambia’s 2-1 win against Malawi in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, but it wasn’t enough for Zambia to avoid elimination. Zambia, Malawi, and Nigeria all finished with six points in the group stage, but Zambia was ousted due to the third tiebreaker of goals scored in matches between the three. It’s a rough way to go out for Zambia, which finished with the best overall goal differential in the group. As a result, Zambia will not take part in the 2027 Women’s World Cup. Banda finished the tournament with five goals and will return to a Pride team in desperate need of help on offense.

U.S. Qualifies for 2027 U-20 Men’s World Cup

The United States U-19 Men’s National Team beat Guatemala 3-1 to advance to the semifinals of the Concacaf U-20 Men’s Championship, qualifying for the 2027 U-20 World Cup and 2027 Pan American Games in the process. Guatemala struck first, but the U.S. found an equalizer right before halftime and went on to win the game with a pair of goals in the second half. Orlando City midfielder Colin Guske was a starter in the match as well. The U.S. will take on Costa Rica in the semifinals Friday at the Azteca.

FIFA Backs Gianni Infantino as Pressure Rises

As the soccer world reacts to FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s failed scheme to sell stakes in the World Cup, FIFA reaffirmed its support for him at a crisis meeting in Morocco over his presidency. There have been many calls for reform due to Infantino’s actions, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stating he does not have confidence in him and Portuguese legend Luis Figo calling for him to step down. FIFA also denied a report that Infantino offered Morocco hosting for the 2030 World Cup final in exchange for support.

Free Kicks

  • Former Lion Nico Lodeiro announced his retirement from professional soccer and Orlando City General Manager and Sporting Director Ricardo Moreira wished him the best with one of his highlights as a Lion.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!

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Lion Links: 8/5/26

Orlando City opens Leagues Cup play, the Orlando Pride sign a forward, the USMNT to play in Orlando, and more.

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2 days ago

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August 5, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers! It’s Leagues Cup match day for Orlando City. Are you excited? Me neither, but it is a chance to watch the team we support, so that’s at least something. I prefer the U.S. Open Cup, but here we are. On a more positive note, Ted Lasso returns tonight, so we have that going for us. For now, let’s get to the links.

Orlando City Begins Leagues Cup

Orlando City opens the Leagues Cup campaign against CF Monterrey at Inter.co Stadium this evening. The Lions will likely still be without Martin Ojeda, and we’re yet to see Daryl Dike take the pitch. Orlando will need to deal with former MLS stars Hugo Cuypers and Diego Rossi. I had really hoped the Lions had seen the last of those two. It will be interesting to see how Orlando City approaches the match.

Orlando Pride Sign Nunes

If you listen to the latest episode of SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride Pawedcast later today you’ll hear us talk about how Pride Vice President of Soccer Operations and Orlando Pride General Manager Caitlin Carducci has barely done anything — at least that we have seen. That changed Tuesday when the Pride signed Brazilian forward Gabi Nunes through the end of the 2026 season. It’s no secret the team needs help in the attack, and Nunes is an experienced striker. Hopefully she gets up to speed quickly as the Pride’s playoff hopes are all but gone.

USMNT Returning to Orlando

Inter.co Stadium will host a friendly between the USMNT and Peru on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 4:30 p.m. The match is the first of four starting off the 2030 World Cup cycle. Mauricio Pochettino is still in charge of the program. We might see Wilder Cartagena play, along with plenty of former Lions, like Alex Freeman for the U.S. and Pedro Gallese for Peru. Typically, the USMNT has done well when playing in Orlando. It will be interesting to see which players are called up by Pochettino.

NWSL News

You are welcome to go back and relive last week’s NWSL stories, but I don’t recommend it. Looking forward, the NWSL will start early next season to accommodate the World Cup. USWNT defender Jenna Nighswonger is on her way back to the NWSL to play for Bay FC. The Portland Thorns are signing Tobin Heath to a one-day contract to officially retire with the club.

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That will do it for today. You can follow The Mane Land on Bluesky for match updates and we will also have a recap of the match. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links: 8/4/26

New contract for Mauricio Pochettino, MLS names new commissioner, Americans in midweek action, and more.

Published

3 days ago

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August 4, 2026

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land.

Good morning, everyone. It was a decidedly horrific weekend for Orlando’s soccer teams, as all three outfits fell to defeats in their matches. Fortunately, chances for redemption are right around the corner, as Orlando City plays Leagues Cup games Wednesday and Saturday, and the Orlando Pride play Racing Louisville at home on Friday. We’ve got plenty to discuss today, so let’s get into the links.

New Contract for Mauricio Pochettino

The U.S. Soccer Federation announced on Monday that Mauricio Pochettino has signed a new contract that will see him remain as the head coach of the United States Men’s National Team through 2030. Pochettino has been in the job for a little over two years, and helped guide the USMNT to the Round of 16 at this summer’s World Cup, where the team was soundly beaten by Belgium. The Argentine oversaw the national team emergence of former Lion Alex Freeman and had the team playing attractive, attacking soccer when everything was clicking. The USMNT’s next competitive test will be the 2027 Concacaf Nations League.

MLS Chooses New Commissioner

Major League Soccer has chosen a new commissioner, with LAFC co-owner Larry Berg the man chosen to succeed Don Garber. The league held a closed-door meeting on Monday in New York, with the choice coming down to Berg and former FOX executive David Nathanson. Berg will begin his duties on Jan. 1. Garber will transition to a chairman role while Berg becomes the league’s third ever commissioner. As part of his new role, Berg will be required to divest his ownership stake in LAFC. In addition to his role at the club, the league’s next commissioner has also served as the co-chair of the MLS sporting and competition committee

Americans in Midweek Action

A number of Americans will be playing matches during the working week, so make sure you have everything noted on your calendars. Tanner Tessmann and Lyon take on Sparta Prague later today in the third round of UEFA Champions League qualifying, while Colin Guske and the U-20 USMNT face Guatemala in the quarterfinals of the Concacaf U-20 Championship. Wednesday has Yunus Musah and AC Milan (Christian Pulisic is out injured) play a friendly against Inter Milan, while Weston McKennie and Juventus do the same against Chelsea. Things wrap up on Friday as Sebastian Berhalter, Aidan Morris, and Middlesborough face Wrexham in the first round of the Carabao Cup.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

With the start of most European leagues bearing down on us fast, transfer rumors continue to fly thick and fast. We begin with Atletico Madrid, as the side from the Spanish capital is said to be weighing a move for Jack Grealish, who spent last season on loan at Everton. Staying in Spain, Real Madrid is said to haveoffered Vinicius Jr. a new contract worth $25 million a year in an effort to combat interest from Arsenal and with his contract set to expire in June of 2027. Moving stateside, a club source for Inter Miami has said that the Herons have neither held talks with, nor initiated contact with Kevin de Bruyne, despite rumors indicating otherwise. Finally, Bay FC has reportedly agreed to sign United States Women’s National Team fullback Jenna Nighswonger from Arsenal.

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That’s all I’ve got for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!

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