Lion Links: 7/1/23

Welcome to July, Mane Landers! I’m personally looking forward to this weekend as I have a cookout with friends tonight, an old roommate coming to town Sunday, and of course the firework festivities across the next few nights. There’s just something about a hot dog fresh off the grill, legs hanging off the side of a pool, and ice cold brew in my Orlando City Sea Cows koozie that puts a smile on my face unlike any other. Of course wins tonight for both the Pride and Lions would likely bolster that smiling summertime mood as well.

Before we head off into the links, let’s wish a very happy birthday to Orlando Pride defender Emily Madril. Best of luck in the birthday match, Emily!

Lions Primed to Extinguish Chicago Fire

Just five points and five places in the Eastern Conference standing separate Orlando City and Chicago, as the Lions are in seventh place and the Fire in 12th. Tonight’s match is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. in Exploria Stadium. Orlando City enters off a scoreless draw at Seattle last Saturday and is unbeaten in its last five home games. The Fire have been in good road form lately with victories in their last two, beating Portland and Sporting Kansas City. German forward Fabian Herbers scored the deciding goal against Sporting KC in the 47th minute while Homegrown goalkeeper Chris Brady produced his third career shutout with the Fire. The past three meetings between the sides have produced only two goals in total, both by Orlando City in 1-0 victories at home.

Duncan McGuire Nominated for ESPY

Orlando City rookie forward Duncan McGuire has been nominated for a 2023 ESPY as part of the Best College Athlete, Men’s Sports category. McGuire was selected as the sixth overall pick in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft following an illustrious career at Creighton University. In his final college season, McGuire was awarded the 2022 MAC Hermann Trophy and led the NCAA Division I scoring list with 23 goals. You can show your support for McGuire by voting here.

Get to Know Mauricio

Mauricio Pereyra is definitely not new to Orlando City fans at this point. On July 30, 2019, Orlando City announced the signing of the Uruguayan midfielder as its latest Designated Player. He officially made his debut for the team 18 days later on Aug. 17, 2019 against Minnesota United. Since then Pereyra has seen his contracted extended multiple times — although he no longer occupies a DP slot — and he has even been named team captain following the departure of former captain Nani. Check out the full interview and get to know Pereyra as he speaks on his childhood, soccer career, and his most memorable moment in purple.

Orlando Pride Travel to Washington Spirit

Orlando enters tonight’s 7 p.m. meeting with the Spirit hoping to make it back-to-back victories over Washington. In the last fixture, the Pride won 2-1, giving the Spirit their first loss of the season on May 20. Marta scored from the penalty spot in that match and later earned an assist for Kylie Strom’s game winner. Marta is now the Pride’s all-time leader in appearances in all competitions, having collected her 95th last Saturday. The Brazilian is coming off yet another match where she scored from the spot and received an international call-up to what will be her last FIFA World Cup with fellow Pride forward Adriana. The Orlando Pride have since signed forward Maliah Morris and goalkeeper McKinley Crone to National Team Replacement Player contracts with the departure of the Brazilian duo.

Christian Pulisic Reportedly Agrees to Milan Deal

For USMNT captain Christian Pulisic, the question all season has been what would he do this off-season. This has now seemingly been answered as he reportedly has an agreement in principle for a long-term deal to leave Chelsea and move to Serie A powerhouse AC Milan. However, the clubs have yet to agree on a specific transfer fee. Pulisic seems keen to leave Stamford Bridge, as he is willing to take a substantial pay cut to make the transfer work with only minor details still to be worked out before a full agreement on personal terms can be reached. Chelsea will be wanting €25 million ($27.3 million) while Milan is budgeting more in the €15-€18 million range.

New 2023-2024 Kits Unveiled

For clubs entering their 2023-2024 seasons, that means it’s time to update jerseys and make those sales. Many new deals begin today with sponsors and athletic companies, and there have already been a slew of kits confirmed and released by top clubs. Personally, I love checking out what teams all over the world have to offer each year. So far, we have seen Liverpool’s ode to the 90s, Newcastle repping a controversial green away shirt, and numerous other English Premier League teams dropping their latest swag. Let us know in the comments down below what your favorite so far is and who you have an eye on coming up soon.

Free Kicks

• Minnesota United announced the signing of MNUFC2 midfielder Emmanuel Iwe.
• The Portland Timbers have signed center back Miguel Araujo from Dutch side FC Emmen.
• The upcoming Fourth of July El Tráfico between the LA Galaxy and LAFC at the Rose Bowl is shaping up to become a historic game that is expected to break MLS attendance records.
• Austin FC has a new sporting director in Rodolfo Borrell.
• The anti-discrimination “One Love” captain’s armband banned at the men’s World Cup in Qatar will be worn in an amended version at the Women’s World Cup.
• Paris Saint-Germain is hoping to acquire Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix‘s services.
• The countdown to the 2023-2024 Bundesliga season has begun with the release of the fixture list for the upcoming campaign.

Well, that’s a wrap on today’s edition of links. I hope you all enjoy catching a match or two today and catching up with friends and family this Fourth of July. Please stay safe if you’re playing with fireworks this weekend.

And before I get out of here, I want to personally wish former Orlando City and current Chicago Fire winger Chris Mueller a speedy recovery. I had your jersey printed on draft day, and I’ll be repping it tonight. Vamos Orlando!