Lion Links: 11/29/22

Happy Tuesday, everyone. In case you’ve been living under a rock, the United States Men’s National Team has a seismic clash against Iran later this afternoon. The Yanks need a win to advance out of the group stage, and it’ll be a tough test against a well-drilled Iranian side that will likely be playing for a draw. There’s lots to discuss today, so let’s get into it.

Alexander Alvarado Leaves Orlando City

In a piece of news that slipped through the cracks of Thanksgiving and the World Cup, LDU Quito made Alexander Alvarado’s loan at the club permanent last Friday, meaning that the forward has left Orlando City. He signed a deal that will keep him at the club for the next five seasons. Alvarado made 12 appearances during his time as a Lion, and this piece of news is one that was fairly expected. It doesn’t really change anything for Orlando, as he wasn’t going to factor in the club’s plans moving forward, and his departure was always a case of when, rather than if. We wish him the best of luck!

Off Field Drama Continues Ahead of USMNT vs. Iran

Just when you thought the off-field drama couldn’t increase more ahead of the United States Men’s National Team’s match against Iran later today, that’s exactly what happened. First there was the tweet from U.S. Soccer that we covered in Monday’s links, which understandably drew the ire of Iranians, and bled over into yesterday’s pre-match press conference. The presser saw Iranian journalists ask Gregg Berhalter about the negative affects of inflation in the U.S., why he hasn’t asked the U.S. government to remove a naval ship from around Iran, and they asked Tyler Adams how he felt representing the USMNT given the country’s treatment of Black Americans, among other things. It’s going to be incredibly interesting to see how things play out later today.

World Cup Results Roundup

Monday was a busy and exciting day of World Cup action. Things started hot as Cameroon and Serbia played out a massively entertaining 3-3 draw, with Cameroon coming from two goals down to secure a point. The second match was equally exciting and saw Ghana blow a two-goal lead to South Korea before finding a winner with just over 20 minutes remaining. A Neymar-less Brazil snuck past Switzerland by a score of 1-0, and a Bruno Fernandes brace meant Portugal took all three points in its clash with Uruguay. Orlando City’s Facundo Torres again went as an unused sub for Uruguay. The results mean Brazil and Portugal will advance from groups G and H, respectively, with no one yet eliminated from either group. Group H will have a particularly tasty match-up on the final day of group play, as Ghana will have a chance to eliminate Uruguay and Luis Suarez 12 years after his handball against them in South Africa.

Juventus’ Entire Board of Directors Resigns

In a stunning piece of news Monday afternoon, Juventus’ entire board of directors has resigned. President Andrea Agnelli, and Vice President Pavel Nedved are now gone, with Agnelli leaving after over a decade in his previous role. On the face of things, the timing is extremely strange, and while Juventus put out a statement Monday afternoon, it’s filled with heavy legal and financial jargon and is a bit hard to sort through. It seems that the board’s departures are related to ongoing investigations into the club’s finances — specifically into false accounting during the pandemic. Either way, the board is now gone and an already difficult season for Juve just got even tougher.

Free Kicks

• The good people over at Stars and Stripes FC have you covered with what you should watch for in today’s do or die match against Iran.
• This was Gregg Berhalter’s response when asked about Eric Wynalda’s claims that the coach lied about Gio Reyna’s lack of playing time.

• Check out this oral history of the USMNT’s loss to Iran back at the 1998 World Cup.

That’s all for me today. Y’all stay safe out there.