Lion Links: 6/27/23

Happy Tuesday, everyone! We have a busy week on our hands as the Orlando Pride play NJ/NY Gotham FC in the NWSL Challenge Cup, Orlando City B plays Philadelphia Union II, and the United States Men’s National Team plays Saint Kitts and Nevis all in a span of a few hours tomorrow night. That much action means that there’s a lot to discuss. But first, let’s all wish a happy birthday to Orlando City winger Gaston Gonzalez.

Orlando Pride Want to Get Back on Track

The Orlando Pride want to get back to winning ways after the team lost its past two games, and Haley McCutcheon knows that it’ll take a group effort to right the ship. At training on Monday, she spoke about how it’ll take everyone from starters down to rotation players to get the Pride back in the win column. She also highlighted tomorrow’s NWSL Challenge Cup game against Gotham as a chance for Orlando to build momentum, as the Pride enter a congested part of the schedule before having a break from July 7 to July 29.

USMNT Prepares for Saint Kitts & Nevis

The United States Men’s National Team will take on Saint Kitts & Nevis in its second match of the Gold Cup tomorrow night. This will be the first time the two nations have ever faced each other, and this is also the first time that Saint Kitts & Nevis advanced beyond the Gold Cup tournament. They typically play in a 4-3-3 formation and place emphasis on long throw-ins when in the attacking half to try to generate headers in dangerous areas. The USMNT should have little trouble picking up a victory against the small Caribbean nation, but goal difference could prove important in getting out of the group, so the score will be worth closely watching.

Toronto FC Fires Bob Bradley

Toronto FC announced that it has parted ways with Bob Bradley, the club’s head coach and sporting director. Bradley was brought in back in November of 2021 and led the Reds to a record of 14-26-19. Terry Dunfield has been named interim head coach, as Toronto also fired Mike Sorber as assistant coach and technical director. After helping establish LAFC as one of the best clubs in the league during his four seasons as head coach, Bradley was not able to replicate that success in Toronto. Despite bringing in the high-octane reinforcements of Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi, Toronto finished second-to-last in the Eastern Conference last season and currently occupies the same position.

Canada Soccer’s Financial Issues

Jason deVos, who was named Canada Soccer’s interim general secretary in April, has painted a brutal picture of the federation’s financial situation. He stated that both the men’s and women’s teams may not play during international windows this fall, and that the federation may need to explore filing for bankruptcy. Despite receiving public funding, the federation appears to be in serious trouble, and things are made more complicated by the current negotiations for new collective bargaining agreements for both the men’s and women’s senior teams. Men’s Head Coach John Herdman highlighted Canada’s financial problems after losing to the USMNT in the Concacaf Nations League final last week.

Free Kicks

• Indy Eleven re-signed former Orlando City striker Stefano Pinho.
• Hartford Athletic fired Tab Ramos as its head coach. The USL Championship side has lost 10 of its first 16 games this season.
• Real Madrid is hopeful the club might be able to complete a summer deal for Kylian Mbappe.
• Luka Modric signed a one-year-deal that will keep him at Real Madrid until June of 2024.
• Ilkay Gundogan has officially signed for Barcelona as a free agent.

That’s all I have for you today. Y’all stay safe out there.