Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers! With the weekend’s matches firmly in the rearview mirror, it is time to look ahead to the next matches, starting with the Orlando Pride’s season opener at Inter&Co Stadium Friday. As you’ll see below, you definitely want to be there in person if you can.

We also want to wish a very happy birthday to Orlando Pride attacker Ally Watt! We hope she has a wonderful day. Now, let’s get to the links.

Brekalo for Club and Country

Orlando City center back David Brekalo is ready to give his all for the Lions and with the Slovenian National Team in the run-up to the 2026 World Cup. In an interview with FIFA.com, Brekalo spoke about Orlando City, MLS, and his national team. It provides some excellent insight into his motivations for club and country.

Pride Promotions

Friday night, the Orlando Pride will raise the banners from the 2024 NWSL Shield and the 2024 NWSL Championship. The ceremony will take place before the match against the Chicago Stars. Hopefully, these will be the first of many as Seb Hines and his team look to repeat the double.

The banners are just the start of a season’s worth of promotions the Pride will host this year. Other events include Pups of Pride, Kids Night Out, and others. These are some additional great reasons to go support the champs in 2025.

Banda and Marta Shine

Barbra Banda took the league by storm when she arrived last year, but she had some help adjusting to the NWSL from the club and her teammates. Repeating as champions won’t be easy, but Banda knows that she doesn’t have to do it alone. Marta is also coming off a great season, and is a player in the league to keep an eye on. Hopefully, the duo can lead the Pride back to the promised land.

USMNT Roster Announced

Mauricio Pochettino has selected the 23-player roster for the 2025 Concacaf Nations League. The big names are there, including Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Gio Reyna, and Tyler Adams. The U.S. kicks things off against Panama in the first semifinal on March 20 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Given the names on this list, it is obvious that Pochettino is serious about trying to win a trophy.

Free Kicks

• Evidently, the Orlando Pride didn’t do enough to earn the top spot on ESPN’s “ambition” rankings. Perhaps it is because they didn’t need to do too much to improve the best team in the NWSL in 2024?
• Take some time to get to know Orlando City B goalkeeper Carlos Mercado. He might be the third-string keeper for the first team, but he’s number one on OCB’s list.
• Angelina gets some attention from outside of the Orlando community as a critical player for the Orlando Pride this coming season. To this point, we at The Mane Land say, “duh.”
• MLS and Audi are celebrating 10 years of partnership. Audi sponsors the MLS Golden Boot and MLS Cup each year and contributes funds to MLS Club Youth Academies through the Audi Goals Drive Progress program.
• Occasionally, we get to see something that actually makes America great. Well done, sir. The U.S. drew Trinidad & Tobago 2-2 but won the ensuing shootout.

That will do it for today. Check back as we get you ready for this weekend’s matches. Vamos Orlando!

Good morning, everyone. It was a tough weekend for Orlando’s soccer teams, as Orlando City B was the only one of the three squads to pick up a victory. Opportunities to bounce back will be just around the corner, so there’s no sense in spending too much time licking our wounds. Besides, we have plenty of news to discuss, so let’s jump into today’s links.

U.S. Men Announce June Friendlies

The United States Men’s National Team has announced a pair of friendlies in June against Turkey and Switzerland. The Yanks will play Turkey on June 7 at 3:30 p.m. in Hartford, CT, and will then face the Swiss on June 10 at 8 p.m. in Nashville, TN. It will be the last games the team plays before participating in the Concacaf Gold Cup later in the summer and is also a valuable chance to play against battle-tested European opposition.

Americans in Midweek Action

A number of Americans will be playing games during the working week, so let’s run down a few of the big matches. Today sees the free-scoring Josh Sargent and Norwich City take on Sheffield Wednesday in Championship play, while Haji Wright and Coventry City face Derby County. Wednesday has Gio Reyna and Borussia Dortmund traveling to face Lille to try to overturn a 1-0 first leg deficit in the UEFA Champions League, while Richy Ledezma, Sergino Dest, and PSV Eindhoven will have a much more difficult task in the same competition when they travel to Arsenal while in a 7-1 hole after the first leg. Thursday has Johnny Cardoso and Real Betis hosting Vitoria Guimares in the Europa League with the tie balanced at 2-2 after the first leg. Things then wrap up on Friday with Sargent and Norwich again in action as they travel to Bristol City in the Championship.

UEFA Champions League Preview

The UEFA Champions League Round of 16 wraps up this week, and while we’ve mentioned the games relevant to the American players near and dear to our hearts, there are other enticing ties we need to cover. Barcelona holds a slender 1-0 lead over Benfica but will be without Pau Cubarsi after he was sent off in the first leg. Liverpool likewise has a 1-0 advantage over Paris Saint-Germain, and while Liverpool leads the tie, PSG was desperately unlucky to not get anything from a first leg match that it dominated. The other tie with the most intrigue is Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid, as Real holds a 2-1 advantage but was given all it could handle by its bitter rivals in the first leg. Atletico will need to make home field advantage count to get past a Real side that has caused Atleti all sorts of agony in the Champions League in recent years.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

There are a number of transfer rumors to catch up on, and we’ll start with one that could affect Christian Pulisic. Rafael Leao’s agent, Jorge Mendes, is said to be keen on facilitating the Portuguese winger’s exit from AC Milan amid reported interest from Chelsea and Barcelona. As things stand, Leao leaving would make Pulisic the leading attacker in the team, and he’s already had a good 2024-2025 season. Speaking of Chelsea, the Blues are said to be interested in signing Jobe Bellingham from Sunderland after missing out on signing his brother Jude when he was still at Birmingham City. Across London, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jorginho, Kieran Tierney, and Thomas Partey are all reportedly expected to leave Arsenal in the summer in order to help the club build transfer funds.

Free Kicks

• Orlando City dropped nine spots to No. 20 in ESPN.com’s MLS power rankings.
• The Lion Cubs of Orlando City Development Academy had a good weekend.

• Mexico has released the squad that it will be bringing to the Concacaf Nations League semifinals.
• Inter Miami has signed midfielder Baltasar Rodriguez on loan from Argentine club Racing.
• Manchester City Women have fired head coach Gareth Taylor a mere five days before taking on Chelsea in the League Cup final.

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

Hello Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. It’s finally feeling like spring up here in Chicago with warmer weather. I’ve been out covering high school water polo and lacrosse. Our Lions lost and the Pride fought to a draw but fell in penalties in the NWSL Challenge Cup, but OCB managed to pull out a win to close out the weekend. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Orlando City Falls on the Road to New York City FC

Orlando City dropped its first road match 2-1 to New York City FC Saturday at Yankee Stadium. The Lions trailed 1-0 early in the second half before Luis Muriel scored the equalizer, tying the match at 1-1. Minutes later, Hannes Wolf scored the winning goal for New York City FC. Kevin O’Toole received a late second yellow card, and NYCFC went down to 10 men, but Orlando could not capitalize on the man advantage. The loss means Orlando hasn’t beaten New York City FC in their last six meetings. Once again, the club signed midfielder Gustavo Caraballo to a short-term contract prior to the match, and the teenager came on late to try to help find a tying goal. The Lions will be back on the road Saturday for their next match to take on the New York Red Bulls at Sports Illustrated Stadium.

Orlando Pride Lose Penalty Shootout vs. Spirit after 1-1 Draw in Challenge Cup

The Orlando Pride began their 2025 campaign on Saturday with a 1-1 draw against the Washington Spirit in the NWSL Challenge Cup at Inter&Co Stadium but fell 4-2 in penalties. Rafaelle put the Pride in front 1-0 just before halftime. Leicy Santos scored the equalizer in the second half. Kylie Nadaner thought she scored the winning goal late in the second half for the Pride, but the flag went up for offside. After 90 minutes of play, the game went to penalties. Julie Doyle and Angelina converted the first two penalties for Orlando, but Washington converted four straight penalties for the Spirit to win the shootout and the Challenge Cup. The Pride will take on the Chicago Stars Friday at Inter&Co Stadium in their NWSL season opener.

OCB Opens Season with 2-1 Home Win Over Columbus Crew 2

Orlando City B won 2-1 over Columbus Crew 2 Sunday at Osceola County Stadium in its MLS NEXT Pro season opener. The Young Lions got off to a great start in the first half, with Dyson Clapier scoring the opener to give OCB a 1-0 lead. Zakaria Taifi scored to extend OCB’s lead to 2-0 early in the second half. Crew 2 made things interesting with a late goal, but OCB held on for the win. This is the fourth consecutive year the Young Lions have started a season with a win. OCB’s next match will be at home, as the Young Lions face Atlanta United 2 on Sunday.

Orlando City B sign Hayden Sargis

Prior to Sunday’s match, Orlando City B announced the signing of defender Hayden Sargis to an MLS NEXT Pro contract through the 2025 season with a club option for 2026. Sargis was on the bench for Sunday’s match. The 22-year-old defender brings Major League Soccer and USL Championship experience and previously played for D.C. United, Loudoun United, Las Vegas Lights FC, and Sacramento Republic FC. Sargis has one assist and has made 77 appearances in his career.

MLS Weekend Recap

Week three of Major League Soccer ended with some notable results from the weekend. The Seattle Sounders dominated LAFC in a 5-2 victory at home. San Diego FC needed two late goals in stoppage time to pull away with a 3-1 win over Real Salt Lake on the road. The Chicago Fire defeated FC Dallas 3-1 on the road. D.C. United edged Sporting Kansas City 2-1. The Philadelphia Union, FC Cincinnati, Nashville SC, and the Vancouver Whitecaps all won 2-0 matches over the New England Revolution, Toronto FC, Portland Timbers, and CF Montreal, respectively. Rafael Navarro scored the lone goal as the Colorado Rapids defeated Austin FC 1-0, while the San Jose Earthquakes fell 1-0 to Minnesota United. The Columbus Crew and Houston Dynamo ended scoreless, as did Atlanta United vs. the New York Red Bulls. On Sunday, Inter Miami defeated Charlotte FC 1-0, while the LA Galaxy lost 3-0 to St. Louis City. The defending MLS Cup champs have lost three consecutive league matches to start the season.

Free Kicks

• Former Lion Dom Dwyer has signed a contract to join EFL League One side Mansfield Town through the end of the season.
• The National Women’s Soccer League has opened an investigation into Bay FC’s coaching staff after recent reports of the club allegedly creating a toxic culture under Head Coach Albertin Montoya.
• AFC Bournemouth has announced Tyler Adams as the club’s Player of the Month for February.

• Christian Pulisic scored twice to help AC Milan overcome a 2-0 deficit and defeat Lecce 3-2 over the weekend.
• Sergino Dest returned to the pitch for PSV Eindhoven for the first time in 11 months after being sidelined with a torn ACL. Dest came off the bench and played 23 minutes in a 2-1 win over Heerenveen on Saturday.
• Josh Sargent continues his stellar form for Norwich City as he extended his scoring streak.

• The Premier League will stage a four-team summer series preseason tournament in Atlanta, Chicago, and New Jersey from July 26 to Aug. 3. The four clubs competing are AFC Bournemouth, Everton, Manchester United, and West Ham United.

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