Lion Links: 8/1/23

Happy Tuesday, everyone! There’s already been a ton going on in the soccer world this week, and that’s not about to change with Orlando City taking on Inter Miami in the Leagues Cup Round of 32 tomorrow. Without further ado, let’s get stuck into today’s news.

Orlando City B Suffers Defeat

Orlando City B was handed a 2-1 loss by New York Red Bulls II during the team’s game on Monday night. The Young Lions were coming off back-to-back wins, but went behind in the 33rd minute after a Wikelman Carmona shot from range beat Javier Otero. The youngsters kept fighting though, and Moises Tablante took the ball around goalkeeper AJ Marcucci and stuck the ball in the back of the net to level things up just two minutes into the second half. The comeback story wouldn’t have a happy ending though, as Alex Freeman fouled Omar Valencia in the box and Ibrahim Kasule put the ensuing penalty kick down the middle to restore New York’s advantage. That proved to be the winner, and OCB moved to 10-8-2 on the season.

USWNT Advances to Round of 16

A scoreless draw with Portugal was just enough for the United States Women’s National Team to finish second in its group and reach the knockout stage of the Women’s World Cup. Portugal nearly eliminated the Americans in the dying moments of the match, as a shot from substitute Ana Capeta hit the post in stoppage time. Although the USWNT finished without a loss in the group stage, the offense struggled yet again. In the Round of 16, the USWNT will likely face Sweden at 5 a.m. on Sunday. Midfielder Rose Lavelle will be unavailable for that match after picking up her second yellow card of the tournament in the draw with Portugal.

Columbus Crew Transfer Lucas Zelarayan

There’s plenty of transfer news to catch up on in Major League Soccer and the first one is a doozy. We start with Lucas Zelarayan departing the Columbus Crew for Al Fateh of the Saudi Pro League. It’s a move that came absolutely out of nowhere, and the fee was not disclosed as the Crew lose their best player and an MVP candidate midseason.

Staying in Columbus, the Crew sent $400,000 in General Allocation Money to CF Montreal in exchange for defender Rudy Camacho. Camacho reunites with former head coach Wilfried Nancy and joins Yevhen Cheberko, another recent signing, on the back line.

Finally, the New York Red Bulls signed Juan Jose Mina from Deportivo Cali. The 19-year-old defender is on a deal through the 2026 season, with an option for 2027 as well.

Women’s World Cup Roundup

Australia avoided the same fate as fellow host nation New Zealand by thumping Canada 4-0 to advance to the knockout stage and eliminate Canada from the tournament. Japan equaled that result, giving Spain a 4-0 beatdown to secure the top spot in Group C. It was the first time Spain has conceded four goals in 11 years, and the Japanese used a familiar tactic to pick up the win.

Nigeria’s 0-0 draw with Ireland ensured that the African nation finished second in Group B behind Australia and will likely face England in the next round.

Even though both teams had already been eliminated from the competition, Zambia beat Costa Rica for its first ever win at a Women’s World Cup. Zambia finished third in Group C behind Spain in a respectable first appearance at the tournament.

FA Announces New Supporter, Player Rules

The English FA has announced new rules regarding the behavior of players and supporters during games. A big rule of note is that instances of multiple players surrounding or confronting a match official will now result in at least one red card, and the FA has the ability to levy further punishment against the offending team. New rules have also been introduced to deal with offensive chanting, gestures, and messages based on soccer tragedies such as the shirt a fan wore to last season’s FA Cup final referencing the Hillsborough disaster. Anyone found guilty of those infractions may be subjected to stadium bans and even criminal prosecution.

Free Kicks

• Inter Milan is reportedly interested in Folarin Balogun.

• Chelsea is said to be open to the possibility of a swap deal with Juventus that would send Dusan Vlahovic to London and Romelu Lukaku to Turin.
• Fabinho has left Liverpool to join Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante at Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia.
• Dani Alves will be indicted in Spain after investigations into a sexual assault case.

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