Happy Friday! It should be a pretty decent weekend with plenty of soccer to enjoy both in Orlando and abroad. Orlando City’s first preseason game is Saturday against Atletico Mineiro at Inter&Co Stadium. While I won’t be in attendance, I’m looking forward to learning how they do. But for now, let’s jump into today’s links!

Cesar Araujo Will Reportedly Stay in Orlando

There have been rumors and reports swirling around regarding midfielder Cesar Araujo leaving Orlando City this off-season. However, the 23-year-old will reportedly stay in Orlando for the 2025 season according to Tom Bogert. Uruguayan club Nacional has reportedly been trying to sign Araujo while he has a year left on his contract.

It makes all the sense in the world for Orlando to want to keep Araujo in the center of its midfield for 2025. He’s been incredible since joining Orlando back in 2022 and has been integral to the club’s success in recent years. Clubs were always going to come knocking for Araujo’s talents, but I expect it would take a hefty offer for the Lions to let him go before his contract is up.

Takeaways From USMNT January Camp

While the United States Men’s National Team’s January camp usually isn’t too impactful, this year’s edition had some extra intrigue due to some standout performances across the two friendly wins. Zack Steffen had a statement game against Costa Rica, making a few sensational saves to secure a clean sheet. He needed a game like that to stay in the mix for the starting job after a rough season with the Colorado Rapids. Striker Patrick Agyemang played his first two USMNT games this month and scored in both, making the most of his opportunity. Diego Luna taking an elbow to the face and coming back out to assist on the team’s first goal against Costa Rica is also the kind of moment that could earn him more looks in the future.

MLS Transfer News Roundup

MLS teams other than Orlando City continue to make moves ahead of the 2025 season. The exodus from FC Dallas rolls on, as Alan Velasco was officially transferred to Boca Juniors in Argentina for a reported $12 million transfer fee. Dallas also traded center back Nkosi Tafari to LAFC in exchange for $300,000 in 2026 General Allocation Money and an international roster slot.

The Karol Swiderski era in Charlotte is over, as the club transferred him to Panathinaikos for a reported transfer fee of $2 million. Real Salt Lake added a young striker, signing 20-year-old Ariath Piol from MacArthur FC in Australia. Nashville SC signed American goalkeeper Brian Schwake from CD Castellon in Spain’s second division to provide more depth behind Joe Willis. Austin FC’s busy off-season continued by signing Zan Kolmanic to a new contract through 2026. The club is also reportedly closer to signing forward Myrto Uzuni for a club-record fee.

Europa League First Phase Nears Conclusion

Lazio is the only team to guarantee a spot in the Europa League’s round of 16 so far, doing so after a 3-1 win over Real Sociedad. English clubs Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur edged closer to securing a spot. A late winner from Bruno Fernandes gave United a 2-1 victory against Rangers, while Tottenham beat Hoffenheim 3-2 thanks to a brace from Heung-Min Son. The upset of the round belonged to Latvian club FK RFS, which took down Ajax in a 1-0 win at home. Eintracht Frankfurt, Union Saint-Gilloise, and Midtjylland also picked up wins this week. This phase of the tournament will wrap up with 18 games on Thursday.

Free Kicks

• Bay FC bought out Deyna Castellanos’ contract, with the midfielder joining the Portland Thorns as a free agent soon after.
• After a vote approving funds to repair Al Lang Stadium, the Tampa Bay Rowdies announced that they will play there for their upcoming USL Championship season.

• Manchester City defender Kyle Walker will reportedly join AC Milan on loan for the remainder of the season, with an option for the Italian club to buy him after the loan.
• Barcelona extended defender Ronald Araujo’s contract to keep him at the club through 2031.
• Tottenham striker Dominic Solanke will be out for around six weeks due to a knee injury according to Ange Postecoglou.

That’s all I have for you today. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

I hope you all are staying warm as we deal with cold weather across Florida. It’s at least been nice to break out some of my heavier blankets and forgotten hot cocoa packets I’ve had stored away. My cat has also been curling up next to me more, which is always a plus. Still, not shivering while waiting for my car to warm up would be great. Let’s dive into today’s links!

Thomas Williams Signs New Orlando City Contract

Orlando City center back Thomas Williams signed a new contract with the club that lasts through 2026, with an option for 2027 as well. Williams joined the club’s academy back in 2015 and became the youngest Homegrown Player in club history when he signed a first-team contract at 16 years old in 2021. The 20-year-old hasn’t featured much for the first team, and he’ll likely spend most of this year with Orlando City B for consistent playing time. Hopefully Williams can take a step forward in his development and provide the Lions some helpful depth at center back in the event of injuries.

Orlando Pride 2025 Season Schedule Unveiled

The NWSL announced its 2025 season schedule Wednesday, and the Orlando Pride will start their title defense season at home against the Chicago Red Stars on March 14. Their first road game will be the following weekend on March 23 against NJ/NY Gotham FC. Decision Day returns to the schedule this year, with all 14 clubs in action on Nov. 2. The Pride will close out their regular season at home that day against the Seattle Reign, with the postseason set to begin on Nov. 7. There’s also a break in the schedule in July, with no regular-season games scheduled due to international tournaments like the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and Copa America Femenina.

USMNT Shuts Out Costa Rica in Orlando

The United States Men’s National Team beat Costa Rica 3-0 at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando Wednesday night to stay perfect at the home of the Lions and Pride at 7-0-0. Goalkeeper Zack Steffen truly earned his clean sheet, coming up with some great saves to deny Costa Rica. It was also a solid attacking performance from the Yanks, and Patrick Agyemang put a bow on what’s been a great month for him with his second goal in as many games. Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino has some time to assess things before the USMNT plays Panama in the Concacaf Nations League semifinals on March 20

Keeping Up With MLS Transfer News

San Diego FC added another Designated Player ahead of its inaugural season, signing Danish winger Anders Dreyer from Anderlecht for a transfer fee reportedly near $5 million. He recorded 31 goals and 23 assists in 87 appearances across all competitions for Anderlecht and joins San Diego on a three-year deal. Charlotte FC officially added Wilfried Zaha on loan from Galatasaray. He’ll occupy a DP spot and the loan lasts through Jan. 16, 2026, with an option to extend it through June of that year as well.

LAFC made a trade with its rival to strengthen its midfield, acquiring Mark Delgado from the LA Galaxy in exchange for $400,000 in General Allocation Money. The Portland Timbers signed Venezuelan forward Kevin Kelsy from Shakhtar Donetsk as an MLS U22 Initiative player, with FC Cincinnati receiving GAM for his discovery rights. Real Salt Lake, which signed Mason Stajduhar from Orlando City earlier this month, continued to make changes to its goalkeeping group. The club signed veteran goalkeeper Rafael Cabral as a free agent and transferred 19-year-old American Gavin Beavers to Brondby IF in Denmark.

UEFA Champions League Roundup

The penultimate round of the UEFA Champions League’s league phase wrapped up this week. Paris Saint-Germain beat Manchester City 4-2 in the heavyweight matchup of the round, with all six goals coming in the second half. Joao Neves gave PSG the lead in the 78th minute before Goncalo Ramos put the game on ice in stoppage time. City now needs to win its final game against Club Brugge on Wednesday in order to advance.

Real Madrid cruised to a 5-1 win against RB Salzburg to advance, with both Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr. scoring braces. Celtic also booked its spot in the next round after a 1-0 win against Young Boys. Feyenoord pulled off an upset by winning 3-0 against Bayern Munich as well. Elsewhere in the tournament, AC Milan won 1-0 at home against Girona, Arsenal beat Dinamo Zagreb 3-0, and RB Leipzig did well in a 2-1 victory over Sporting CP.

Free Kicks

• American goalkeeper Michelle Betos announced her retirement from professional soccer after a career that included winning the 2016 NWSL Shield with the Portland Thorns and the 2023 NWSL Championship with Gotham. Betos was also named NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year with the Thorns in 2015.
• Arsenal and Chelsea are among the multiple clubs reportedly keeping an eye on American forward Trinity Rodman, whose contract with the Washington Spirit ends after this year.

• Borussia Dortmund fired Nuri Sahin following the club’s 2-1 defeat to Bologna in the Champions League. Dortmund has lost all four of its matches so far in 2025 and is 10th in the Bundesliga standings.
• Some of the notable matches in today’s Europa League action include Manchester United hosting Rangers, Tottenham taking on Hoffenheim, and AS Roma traveling to face AZ Alkmaar.
• Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas has joined Newell’s Old Boys in Argentina. The 38-year-old hasn’t been with a club since departing PSG in May of 2024.

That’s all I have for you today. I hope you all have a great Thursday and rest of your week!

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. Up here in Tallahassee, I’m waking up to snow/sleet, closed schools, closed government offices, and potentially icy roads. Many people will get an extra day off of work, however, I still get to go to work. I’m sure you can imagine how happy I am about that. Enough of my winter grumbling. Let’s get to the links but not until after we wish Orlando City fullback Michael Halliday a happy 22nd birthday.

Orlando City Reportedly Targeting Croatian International

While I can no longer say that Orlando City hasn’t signed any new players, the club is still moving at its traditionally slow speed as compared to other MLS clubs. We had the signing of Nicolas Rodriguez last week. Now, we have Tom Bogert report of yet another winger prospect for the club in Croatian Marco Pasalic from HNK Rijeka, though it is not a done deal. Hopefully the other targets Bogert mentions are of the striker variety.

Pride Preseason Begins

The 2024 NWSL champions are back to defend their title. The Orlando Pride returned to training on Tuesday. The club hasn’t needed to add many pieces, though some of the players already here, like Simone Charley and Grace Chanda, haven’t actually played any minutes for the Pride yet. Most of the chemistry is in place for Seb Hines, but reinforcing those bonds will be the challenge as the Pride look to repeat.

USMNT at Inter&Co Tonight

Hopefully you have tickets to the USMNT friendly match versus Costa Rica at Inter&Co Stadium tonight. The match starts at 7 p.m. and there are television and streaming options if you’re not going in person. Despite the squad having 14 players with three or fewer caps, Mauricio Pochettino does not consider this an “alternative” squad, nor does he want the players to think of themselves like that.

Girma Reportedly Nearing Completion of Chelsea Move

USWNT defender Naomi Girma is reportedly headed to Chelsea FC Women for a record $1.1 million transfer fee. That is a very big chunk of change for San Diego FC to use to try to replace one of the best defenders in the world. The deal is not complete as of Tuesday evening, but according to the original report from The Athletic, it is close to being done. Girma would be the first women’s soccer player to earn a transfer fee of over $1 million.

MLS Transfer Updates

Other MLS clubs keep on putting pen to paper when it comes to new players. The Chicago Fire are bringing in Jonathan Bamba on a Designated Player deal from La Liga side Celta de Vigo. The Luca de la Torre loan from Spain’s RC Celta de Vigo to San Diego FC is also official.

Cucho Hernandez evidently wants to stay with the Columbus Crew, though he is still waiting on a new offer.

Free Kicks

• I know you might think that Orlando City has a lot to do personnel-wise as the preseason begins, but evidently, the Lions didn’t make the Top 5.
• EUFA Champions League is in full swing, with big names Liverpool and Barcelona winning yesterday. There’s also more to come today.
• Former Orlando Pride player Alanna Kennedy signed a one-year contract with Angel City FC.

• Keep your eyes peeled later today for the NWSL schedule drop.

That will do it for today. Stay warm out there, my friends. Vamos Orlando!