Lion Links: 7/5/23

Hello, Mane Landers. I hope you all had a good Fourth of July holiday with your family and friends and got to see some fireworks. I’m sure you all are fired up after our beloved Orlando City got another win at home last night. There is plenty to get to today, so let’s get right into the links.

Orlando City Shuts Out Toronto FC in Win

Orlando City defeated Toronto FC 4-0 at Exploria Stadium last night to get back-to-back wins at home and extend its unbeaten streak to four games. There were four different scorers for the Lions, with Dagur Dan Thorhallsson scoring his first goal as a Lion. Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese also got his seventh clean sheet of the season. This was Head Coach Oscar Pareja’s 150th win in an MLS regular-season game.

As for Toronto, it hasn’t won a road match this season and extended its winless streak to 14 matches. Orlando City will go on the road to play Real Salt Lake this Saturday.

LA Galaxy Wins El Trafico in Front of Record-Breaking Crowd

Orlando City wasn’t the only team in action on Tuesday, as there were four other MLS matches scheduled for the Fourth of July. The LA Galaxy faced LAFC at the Rose Bowl in a match that established a new MLS single-game attendance record of 82,110. Tyler Boyd and Riqui Puig each had a goal and an assist to give Galaxy fans a memorable victory.

Elsewhere, Inter Miami and the Columbus Crew battled to a 2-2 draw. Darlington Nagbe scored a stunning goal in the first half, but Josef Martinez came off the bench and scored the equalizer in the 90th minute to salvage a point for Miami. D.C. United defeated FC Dallas 1-0 thanks to a goal from Taxiarchis Fountas. The match between the Colorado Rapids and Portland Timbers was postponed after a scoreless first half due to weather. There is one MLS matchup tonight as New York City FC takes on Charlotte FC.

Weston McKennie Linked With Borussia Dortmund

USMNT midfielder Weston McKennie has reportedly been linked with a move to Borussia Dortmund, with negotiations making progress recently. McKennie is still under contract with Juventus through 2025, but spent last season on loan at Leeds United. Juventus is reportedly looking to offload players and revamp its squad after a disappointing seventh-place finish in Serie A last season. McKennie was on loan with Leeds for six months, but the club was unable to stay up and was relegated from the Premier League. McKennie played in Germany previously with Schalke 04. A possible return to Germany with rivals Dortmund also means McKennie could be teammates with USMNT teammates Giovanni Reyna.

Concacaf Gold Cup Quarterfinals Are Set

Canada needed a win to avoid elimination in the group stage of the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup after coming away with just two points against Guadeloupe and Guatemala. The Canadians defeated Cuba, securing a 4-2 win to finish second in Group D. Canada will play the USMNT in the quarterfinals as a result, with the winner facing the victor between Panama and Qatar. Guatemala came back from a 2-1 deficit to beat Guadeloupe 3-2 and win Group D. Goalkeeper Nicholas Hagen made a huge save in the 87th minute on a penalty kick from Matthias Phaeton to keep Guatemala ahead as it hung on for the win. Guatemala will play Jamaica in the quarterfinals, with the winner facing either Costa Rica or Mexico.

Free Kicks

• Former Orlando City B goalkeeper Christian Herrera and former USL Lion Aodhan Quinn have been named to the USL Championship Team of the Week.
• Attendance at Exploria Stadium for Orlando City games has gone up compared to last season according to Pro Football Focus.

• Neymar was reportedly fined more than $3 million after violating environmental rules by illegally building an artificial lake for his mansion in Brazil.
• USMNT midfielder Brenden Aaronson is reportedly close to finalizing an agreement to join Bundesliga side Union Berlin on loan from Leeds United.
• The New England Revolution have reportedly signed midfielder Ian Harkes on a free transfer. Harkes had previously played over four seasons in Scotland with Dundee United.
• Paris Saint-Germain has reportedly fired Christophe Galtier as its manager and plans to announce former Spain National Team manager Luis Enrique as its new manager.
• La Liga side Osasuna won’t play in next season’s UEFA Europa Conference League due to a match fixing scandal during the 2013-2014 season. The club plans to appeal the ruling to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
• Luton Town has reportedly passed on signing USMNT goalkeeper Ethan Horvath following his loan from Nottingham Forest.

That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Wednesday and I’ll see you next time.