Lion Links: 6/19/23

Merry Monday morning, Mane Landers. I hope you all had a great weekend, and a great Father’s Day for all the fathers, step-fathers, and anyone father-like. I was incredibly lucky, as not only did I get to see both of my grown sons, but I also received the Ted Lasso Party Game, and Queen’s Greatest Hits I, II, & III. It was a nice surprise, and I might have teared up a bit — from the visit, not the gifts. Let’s get to the links.

Lions Frustrated with Loss

Going on the road against New England without Pedro Gallese, Wilder Cartagena, and Facundo Torres was always going to be difficult, but Oscar Pareja and the players are still disappointed. One could point to the weather and the turf — I guess you don’t have to be soccer-specific if your name is Kraft — but Pareja declined to explicitly do so. Ultimately, Duncan McGuire’s goal was the only bright spot in the scoring for the Lions. Good on the rookie for making the most of the opportunity to get his fifth goal of the season, tying him for the lead with Torres.

Pride Lacking Consistency

Seb Hines said that the Orlando Pride were not themselves against the North Carolina Courage in the 3-0 loss. It was a lack of sharpness away from home that once again haunted the Pride as the team looked to follow up the win over the Portland Thorns the week before. Despite having numerous offensive options, the Pride were not able to get many quality chances, only putting one shot on target. The Courage did a good job of pressing and taking advantage of the numerous chances created. The Pride take on the Kansas City Current this coming Saturday at Exploria Stadium.

USMNT Wins Concacaf Nations League

The USMNT scored twice in the first half and held off Canada in a 2-0 Concacaf Nations League final victory in Las Vegas. The Yanks had to play without Miles Robinson, who picked up a knock against Mexico, as well as Weston McKennie and Sergino Dest, who were both sent off in the semifinal. Their replacements were Walker Zimmerman, Luca de la Torre, and Joe Scally. Even though Christian Pulisic wasn’t as dangerous against the Canadians as he was against Mexico, the U.S. were dangerous, especially on set pieces, and covered well for each other defensively. Chris Richards and Folarin Balogun each opened their USMNT account to provide the offense. Gio Reyna had a fantastic first half but was forced out of the game at halftime after being fouled from behind by Stephen Eustaquio and then being caught on the leg inadvertently by Alistair Johnston while he was falling.

FIFA Do Something Right…Kind of

This doesn’t happen very often, so excuse me it it takes a minute to type the words. FIFA maybe did a good thing — it’s complicated and now I need a shower. During the 2022 World Cup, the organization used AI to track abusive comments made by those in attendance. I say it’s complicated, because I’m split on the issue. On one hand, I think those that make such abusive, homophobic, racist, and violent comments should be held accountable. On the other hand, I’m not feeling real good about the big brother aspects of this. My worry is that those that engage in such abhorrent behavior will simply go underground with their hate.

Free Kicks

• If you didn’t see Pablo Ruiz’s 68-yard golazo in Real Salt Lake’s match against DC United…take a look, because it will be a contender for goal of the year.

• Brazil dominated Guinea 4-1 in a friendly match in which the team wore black for the first half as a part of an anti-racism campaign.
• Hany Mukhtar became the third MLS player to score 50 goals and record 30 assists in a three-year period. I wish that so many of them weren’t against Orlando City.
• Spain defeated Croatia 0-0 (5-4) on spot-kicks to win the EUFA Nations League for the first time. It was heartbreaking for Croatia, which only days earlier defeated the Netherlands in extra time to make the final.
• FIFA needs to stop playing nice with Mexico in relation to the homophobic chants heard so often and as recent as the match against the U.S. last Thursday. I could not agree more.

That will do it for today. Don’t forget that the Lions play Wednesday night against the Philadelphia Union in Exploria Stadium. Vamos Orlando!