The Orlando Pride are still off for a couple of weeks, but the soccer rarely stops. We’re back to touch on the United States Women’s National Team’s trip to Brazil to face three Pride players and their Brazilian teammates. It was kind of an ugly pair of games for the USWNT, which struggled to score goals and connect in the final third. The second of those two matches was a wild affair that devolved into a parade of red cards near the end.

We touch on the reports out of Zambia on Barbra Banda’s injury, which seems to be more promising than expected when she went down with a knock against Bay FC. We’ll have to wait to see when she can return, but if she’s expected to play in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, that is a good sign.

This week’s mailbagbox asked a couple of questions about Banda. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We’d also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we’ll find them easily and read them on the show.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how Episode 126 went down:

0:15 – The USWNT went to Brazil to play and didn’t play as well as we’re used to seeing.

13:06 – The mailbagbox goes through some interesting twists and turns and then we just ramble for a little bit (who, us?).

Orlando City B is the lone team still playing through the World Cup and by golly we’re going to reward them for that by talking about the Young Lions. This week, they took to the road to face Huntsville City in Alabama and brought all three points back with them after a 2-1 comeback win. For the second straight game, the Young Lions started the game a bit lethargically and fell behind. But OCB is nothing if not resilient. The team kicked it into gear in the second half and grabbed a hard-fought three points on the road.

We discuss the match, including how Matthew Belgodere suddenly can’t stop scoring and Parker Amoo-Mensah has earned his shiny new MLS NEXT Pro contract.

After our OCB-Carolina Core rewind, we discussed the USMNT’s 4-1 beatdown of Paraguay in the team’s World Cup opener. Former Lion Alex Freeman was one of several players who shone brightly in the opener, which hopefully will provide some momentum going up against Australia this week. We discussed the unexpected joy of watching the U.S. playe like one of the world’s soccer super powers, even if it was only one game.

We also look ahead to Sunday’s OCB match at home against Philadelphia Union II. Sunday’s visitors don’t score a lot, but they also don’t concede many goals. If OCB can keep things rolling, it would be a big step toward getting a decent postseason seed, although there is a lot of soccer yet to be played. I was supposed to do the mailbagbox next but it’s out of order. It’s fine. You’ll figure it out.

Our mailbagbox is timely, asking about which Lion will ultimately finish their career with the most caps for their national team. Our vote was split. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.

Be sure to rate and review our show wherever you get your podcasts. Remember, we’ll read any five-star reviews we get on Apple Podcasts on the next show.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how No. 538 went down:

0:15 – OCB won on the road despite a poor start, and the U.S. started and ended strong against South American competition.

24:02 – OCB is back at home Sunday, looking to add more points to its 2026 total.

29:04 – Our mailbagbox asks us to predict the future.

Orlando City is still off for the World Cup break, but OCB is not. We open this week’s show with a little-longer-than-usual look at the Young Lions’ 3-2 comeback win over Carolina Core FC on Sunday. It wasn’t easy, and it certainly wasn’t OCB’s best performance of the year, but the job ultimately got done.

We discuss the lethargic start, the red card/penalty that changed everything, and a second half that wasn’t looking like it would be good enough until it ultimately was.

After our OCB-Carolina Core rewind, we discussed the USMNT’s 2-1 loss to Germany. The Yanks hung around, but this is a team that is supposed to be about more than hanging around. At some point, you must beat a good European team just to be taken seriously, never mind winning a World Cup. But hey, that was quite a goal by Antonee Robinson, wasn’t it?

Our mailbagbox is super full this week, asking us to wager (nothing) on a parlay, select Orlando City preferences, and pick the hardest shooter, among other things. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.

After the mailbagbox, we look ahead to Saturday’s OCB match on the road at Huntsville City. The Nashville affiliate poses some challenges, and the teams look to be evenly matched. Can the Young Lions stop bleeding goals while continuing to score them? We’ll see.

Be sure to rate and review our show wherever you get your podcasts. Remember, we’ll read any five-star reviews we get on Apple Podcasts on the next show.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how No. 537 went down:

0:15 – OCB got three points that might not have been earned against a full-strength squad, and the USMNT continues to have a defense prone to breakage as World Cup matches loom.

25:34 – Our mailbagbox is all over the map…including the greater Seattle area.

49:26 – OCB won but should still try to bounce back from a bit of a lethargic performance for most of its win on Sunday when it travels to Huntsville.