Lion Links
Lion Links: 8/21/23
Orlando City defeats Chicago Fire, the Orlando Pride decimate the Red Stars, Spain wins the Women’s World Cup, and more.
Merry Monday morning, Mane Landers. What a welcome back weekend it was. You have to love a six-point Sunday and that is exactly what we got. I shouldn’t be surprised, given that my birthday is this Thursday, so some wins are the perfect present from the club. No, I won’t be telling you how old I’m going to be. Suffice it to say it’s plenty of trips around the sun. Let’s get to the links.
Orlando City Wins at Chicago Fire
Orlando City traveled to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Fire and came away with a 3-1 victory. Two quick goals following Chicago’s opening strike in the second half gave Orlando City the lead, and the Lions never looked back. Facundo Torres came alive in a match that also saw the return of Junior Urso and Michael Halliday. Despite facing the likes of Kacper Przybylko, Xherdan Shaqiri, and Kei Kamara, the Lions were able to bring back all three points on the road.
Orlando Pride Dominate Chicago Red Stars
The Orlando Pride defeated the Chicago Red Stars 5-0 in the first match back for the Pride players who participated in the Women’s World Cup. The Pride benefited greatly from the return of the international players, as Rafaelle and Mariana Larroquette both scored their first goals for the Pride on their debuts. Those two goals, along with a brace from Rookie of the Year contender Messiah Bright and one from Mikayla Cluff were more than enough to give the Pride their biggest margin of victory of the season and equaling their best in club history.
Spain Wins Women’s World Cup
Spain defeated England 1-0 to win the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup on a goal by Olga Carmona. It is Spain’s first women’s world title. Spain is a young team that can challenge for years to come, though if the Royal Spanish Football Federation and Head Coach Jorge Vilda don’t do a better job of taking care of the women’s side, it will be much tougher. England had some chances early, but Spain dominated the match and England was unable to find an equalizer. In a bit of sad news, Carmona received news that her father had passed away a few hours after her World Cup-winning goal. Our thoughts are with her and her family.
USMNT Players Abroad
Bournemouth officially acquired Tyler Adams from Leeds United for an estimated $30.5 million. The USMNT captain had been linked to Chelsea, but will now return to the English Premier League with the Cherries. Over in Serie A, Tim Weah made his debut for Juventus, and Weston McKennie came on for him at the half. Both players acquitted themselves well in the match, and will hopefully have a good season with Juventus.
Free Kicks
- It shouldn’t be surprising, but it still hurts that the USWNT is lower down the pecking order in world soccer. These are not the official FIFA rankings, but where is the lie?Chelsea’s woes continue after losing 3-1 to West Ham United. Even worse, West Ham was playing with 10 men from midway through the second half.
- Evidently, Lionel Messi gave DeAndre Yedlin the captain’s armband for the trophy celebration. I don’t care if it’s “classy” or not.
That will do it for today. If you aren’t already following SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride PawedCast, you really should, as we’re going to have a special guest this week. All you have to do is subscribe on your favorite podcast provider. Vamos Orlando!