Lion Links: 7/10/22

Hello, Mane Landers. I hope your Sunday is off to a great start. It’s been a great weekend for Orlando soccer fans as the Pride and Lions both won at home. Tonight, the Young Lions look to make it a clean sweep as they face Inter Miami II. Let’s take a look at what’s going on in the world of soccer.

Lions Get a Late Winner Against Inter Miami

It was a long wait for the match to get underway at Exploria Stadium as storms delayed the start for over two hours. Eventually, the teams took the field to continue the Tropic Thunder rivalry. It looked to be headed for a scoreless draw before an own goal gave the Lions the win in stoppage time. It’s the second night in a row that the club had a 1-0 result due to an own goal after the Pride had the same experience Friday night. It might not have been pretty, but a win’s a win and Orlando City took all three points.

Young Lions in Action Tonight Versus Inter Miami II

The Young Lions of Orlando City B are set to take on Inter Miami II in a rivalry match of their own later tonight. Tonight’s match between the two Florida teams will be the third meeting between the two sides this year and the last one of the season. This game will also have a great impact on the MLS NEXT Pro Eastern Conference standings, as OCB sits just five points behind Inter Miami II. The Young Lions are pushing for a top-four spot. Jack Lynn and the rest of the squad will defend the home pitch as the match is set to kick off at 7 p.m. at Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee. Follow The Mane Land on Twitter for live updates and check back in for our postgame coverage of tonight’s match.

USWNT Looks to Win Group A

The United States Women’s National Team is set to take on Mexico in the final match of its group play in the 2022 Concacaf W Championship tomorrow night. Before the match, make sure to prepare yourself with the scouting report on our southern neighbors and five things to know about Mexico’s women’s national team, including the series history between these two sides, recent form, and the latest players on the roster. Mexico’s squad for the tournament is mostly made up of players who play domestically in the Liga MX Femenil. One player to watch for is forward Alicia Cervantes, who has led the league in scoring each of the last two seasons for Chivas.

Saturday’s Results Around MLS

In addition to Orlando City’s win over Inter Miami, there was a full slate of MLS games last night. In the earlier games, New York City FC beat the New England Revolution on a baseball field, the Portland Timbers hammered the Seattle Sounders in the Cascadia Derby, and Austin FC handed Atlanta United a 3-0 home loss.

After dark, Charlotte FC had a surprising 4-1 win over Nashville SC while FC Cincinnati drew with the New York Red Bulls. Sporting Kansas City had a 2-1 comeback win over CF Montreal, the San Jose Earthquakes found a late equalizer against Toronto FC, and the Columbus Crew beat the Chicago Fire in a goal-filled rivalry game that included a goal and an assist from former Lion Chris Mueller. The late games saw the Houston Dynamo draw FC Dallas in a rivalry match in Texas and Colorado score a late equalizer against Real Salt Lake.

Free Kicks

• Orlando soccer fans will see two fewer international stars this summer as it was announced that N’Golo Kante and Ruben Loftus-Cheek will miss Chelsea’s United States preseason tour.
• According to a source, Wayne Rooney has held talks about becoming the next head coach of his former MLS club, D.C. United.
• The current interim coach for D.C. United apologized to fans after an “embarrassing performance” in its 7-0 loss to the Philadelphia Union.
• Continuing with apologies, New England Revolution Head Coach Bruce Arena feels an apology is needed after three penalty kicks were awarded against his club.
• Before scoring twice for NYCFC to beat the Revs, Taty Castellanos reiterated that he wants to move to Europe to continue developing his game.
• The women’s European Championship featured a pair of draws as the Netherlands and Sweden played to a 1-1 result while Portugal mounted a comeback for a 2-2 result with Switzerland.
• USMNT midfielder Richie Ledezma could reportedly be loaned out, with Vitesse named as a potential destination.

That will wrap it up for me. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your Sunday and I’ll see you next time.