Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. The Orlando Pride are finally back in action this weekend, and we’ll get to watch it — unlike the preseason. It’s a good thing too, since Orlando City has been hard to watch. Speaking of the Pride, you won’t want to miss this week’s episode of SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride Podcast and our special guest. Until then, let’s get to the links.

Trio of Missing Lions

Crepeau, Jansson & Gerbet sounds like a law firm specializing in personal injury cases. That is definitely the case when it comes to Robin Jansson and Joran Gerbet, as the two work back from their respective injuries. Fortunately, there’s some progress on that. Both are training off to the side. Hopefully, their recoveries go well and they can return to help Orlando City.

Maxime Crepeau will be absent from Orlando City’s next match thanks to the red card he earned against New York City FC Saturday afternoon. He was also fined by the MLS Disciplinary Committee for not leaving the field in a timely manner. I’d like to say he had a good argument against the sending off, but I can’t, and I’m not the only one.

NWSL Season Approaches

We are days away from the Orlando Pride season opener — and the rest of the NWSL will kick off over the weekend as well. That means it’s time for speculation about the various clubs and how ambitious each was based on its off-season moves. The Pride were not very ambitious, but perhaps the club did not need to be. Despite the supposed lack of ambition, the Pride are still a team to watch, even if others don’t consider the club “must watch” tv.

U.S. National Team Player News & Notes

The fact that there are USMNT players competing in the Champions League is great news in a World Cup year. Johnny Cardoso’s Atletico Madrid beat Tottenham Hotspur 5-2 with some help from a guy name Antoine Griezmann. Mauricio Pochettino said he also respects MLS players like Sebastian Berhalter. Speaking of Berhalters, former USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter said the USMNT is poised for success in the World Cup. We know the team won’t be wearing the denim kit despite Adidas bringing it back.

Free Kicks

• The Lions are not at the bottom of the ESPN MLS power rankings. I am pleasantly surprised.
• Orlando City and the Orlando Pride have renewed the sponsorship with Publix to a new multi-year deal.
• The club also announced a series of single match ticket promotions.
• The Premier League’s new financial rules have others in UEFA a little nervous. It’s not surprising in the arms race for the top players in the world.
• The NWSL announced the formation of the NWSL Health Advisory Council that will take a holistic approach to player health and wellbeing.
• MLS Next has announced a host of new clubs will be joining both tiers of the league.
• Former USWNT player Lauren Holiday is calling for the various women’s leagues to align their seasons much like MLS is doing with the rest of the world.
• The Houston Dynamo are bringing back Ibrahim Aliyu in a trade with the Columbus Crew.

That will do it for today. Check back as we get you ready for the Orlando City and Orlando Pride matches this weekend. Vamos Orlando!

Good morning, everyone. It was a mixed bag for Orlando’s soccer teams over the weekend, as Orlando City took a brutal beating on the baseball diamond at Yankee Stadium, while Orlando City B knocked off Chicago Fire II at home to pick up its first win of the young season. We’ve got a busy week ahead of us, as the Young Lions take on Carolina Core on Saturday afternoon, OCSC is at home against CF Montreal later that night, and the Orlando Pride kick off the season against the Seattle Reign on Sunday. We’ve got a lot to discuss this morning, so let’s get into the links.

MLS Bans Two Players for Life

Major League Soccer has given lifetime bans to Derrick Jones and Yaw Yeboah for violating the league’s gambling policy. The pair “engaged in extensive gambling on soccer,” with the kicker being that they placed bets on games in which their own teams were involved. The bets took place during the 2024 and 2025 seasons, with a particular instance highlighted in the Columbus Crew’s 3-2 victory over the New York Red Bulls on Oct. 19, 2024, in which both players bet on Jones to be given a yellow card, which he received in the 35th minute. Neither player is currently under contract with an MLS team.

Americans in Midweek Action

There are a number of Americans who will be playing matches during the working week, and the knockout rounds of continental competitions are once again in the spotlight. Things get going this afternoon when Yunus Musah and Atalanta host Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League, while Johnny Cardoso and Atletico Madrid play Tottenham Hotspur in the same competition. Wednesday has Malik Tillman and Bayer Leverkusen playing Arsenal in the UCL, while former Lion Daryl Dike and West Brom take on Southampton in the Championship. Thursday sees Tanner Tessman and Lyon travel to play Celta Vigo in the Europa League, while Chris Richards and Crystal Palace take on AEK Larnaca in the Conference League. Things conclude on Friday when Alex Freeman will hope to break a streak of four games as an unused substitute when Villarreal travels to Deportivo Alaves in La Liga.

Sergino Dest Injury Update

Sergino Dest went down in the 55th minute of PSV Eindhoven’s league win over AZ Alkmaar on Saturday and had to be helped off the field while putting minimal weight on his left leg. PSV coach Peter Bosz confirmed that it was a hamstring injury, and while the club has made no official statement about how much time he might miss, the fullback said in a statement that he is confident he’ll be fit again near the end of the season. His injury means that the right back situation for the USMNT is suddenly a more interesting one, as Freeman hasn’t been playing much with Villarreal, and guys like Joe Scally will be keen on seizing any potential opportunities.

Iranian Soccer Players Granted Asylum

Five members of the Iranian women’s soccer team have been granted humanitarian visas to remain in Australia after they escaped from the people assigned to keep an eye on them following the team’s final match in the Women’s Asian Cup. The group, which includes team captain Zahra Ghanbari, had been in contact with Australian officials for a number of days, who made it clear that the remaining members of the team would also be welcomed by the country if they chose to stay. The five players that chose to leave are now protected by the Australian Federal Police and consented to have their names and faces published. It is not currently known when the remainder of the team is set to depart from Australia.

Free Kicks

• Marco Pasalic has been called up to represent Croatia.

• United States Men’s National Team Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino is reportedly on the shortlist to replace Real Madrid boss Alvaro Arbeloa before next season.
• The FA Cup quarterfinal draw is complete, with highlights of the next round including Manchester City hosting Liverpool and League One side Port Vale travelling to take on Chelsea.

That’s all I’ve got for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!

The less that is written about Saturday’s game the better, but Orlando City was walloped 5-0 on the road at New York City FC, in what is becoming an annual tradition for the Lions to lose in New York City against their expansion brethren. An early red card put the team under tremendous pressure, and Orlando City was unable to overcome the waves and waves of attacking Pigeons.

I have my purple pen out (it probably should have been red for this one) and I am ready to issue some grades, so here we go. Let’s take a look at how Orlando City’s players rated individually in an Eastern Conference matchup.

Starters

GK, Maxime Crépeau, N/A — The Canadian inexplicably lost track of where he was on the field and handled a ball outside of the box in the 16th minute. That poor decision completely changed the game, as the Canadian received a red card for denying a goal-scoring opportunity and left his team to play down a man for more than 80 minutes (including first-half stoppage time). During the few minutes he was on the field, Crepeau completed three of his eight pass attempts, but those were his only contributions in a game he and the rest of the team will want to forget.

D, Tahir Reid-Brown, 4.5 — Reid-Brown got his second straight start at left back, but while his performance against Miami was decent, that was not the case on Saturday against NYCFC. Reid-Brown looked like a young player in his first-ever road start, and while these minutes will be helpful for him in the future, they were a rough 45 minutes while he was on the field. Reid-Brown often looked tentative and a step slow, especially on NYCFC’s second goal, when he allowed Maxi Moralez all the time he wanted to set up to play a cross into the box. The Lions were playing a man down at the time, so he did not want to rush in on Moralez immediately, but he allowed the NYCFC man far too much space to tee up a cross into the danger zone and the Lions paid for it. This game will be another learning experience for the Homegrown defender, as he saw on Saturday what it takes to perform every week at the MLS level. Reid-Brown completed 68.8% of his passes and made one interception on defense, and as he had also picked up a yellow card for a silly challenge early in the first half, he was taken off at halftime for Adrián Marín.

D, Nolan Miller, 5.5 — Miller played the best defense among all of Orlando City’s back line players, leading the game in defensive contributions with eight. Like everyone else on the back line, he did not finish the match unscathed, as Tayvon Gray intercepted a lofted pass attempt from Miller and was able to turn that interception into an assist when he crossed the ball to Keaton Parks for NYCFC’s fourth goal. Miller’s partnership with his fellow center back David Brekalo was that in name only, as they did not seem to be on the same page throughout the game. The former Michigan Wolverine was the steadier of the two, with a 93.1% completion rate on 29 pass attempts and his stat-stuffing eight defensive contributions, which were composed of one tackle, one interception, one block, and five clearances.

D, David Brekalo, 4.5 — Last season, we thought Brekalo was a center back playing left back, but after watching Saturday’s game, it is possible that he was really a left back masquerading as a center back all along. Brekalo looked completely out of sorts in the middle. It is difficult to be under pressure for nearly the entire game, but the Slovenian looked timid and slow all game long. He was late to react to passes and to step in front of runners, and there were multiple times when it was clear that he and his partner Miller were not on the same page with how they were supposed to play together. Robin Jansson cannot return soon enough, as it is clear that despite having the most experience among anyone on the back line, Brekalo is, at least to this point, unable to lead that group. He completed 69.2% of his passes and added two tackles, one block, and three clearances on what was a rough afternoon for the Slovenian.

D, Griffin Dorsey, 5 — The man with the bun once again looked lively going forward, but his accuracy failed him on Saturday. He created several opportunities down the right flank but none of his crosses found their mark, and he had a great chance to put an uncontested shot on goal from about16 yards out but skied it well high and wide of the net. On the defensive side, he contributed one tackle and five clearances, but his failed clearance attempt in the second half led directly to NYCFC’s final goal, as he was unable to put a lot on the ball and played it directly to Parks, who stepped into the pass almost like a jump shooter in basketball and put a left-footed shot into the opposite corner of the net. That was the story of the day for Dorsey, as he completed only 57.9% of his passes, though he had one of only two key passes for the Lions on the afternoon.

MF, Iván Angulo, 6 (MotM) — In a game devoid of any truly outstanding Orlando City players, Angulo stood out the most, as he delivered 90 minutes of high-level work rate while going a perfect 20 for 20 on his pass attempts. He also added a game-high three tackles and two clearances while winning seven of his 12 duels, but my award of Man of the Match to the Colombian is partly due to to his efforts but also due to the fact that so few other players did anything noteworthy during this match. Angulo has a stranglehold on the left wing spot now, and deservedly so after how well he has played ever since he came off the bench during the season opener.

MF, Braian Ojeda, 6 — Defensive Ojeda started alongside his third different central midfield partner in three games, and he once again was solid in the middle. The Paraguayan led the team in completed passes with 29, completing them at a solid 87.9% rate, and his heatmap showed touches all over the defensive and middle thirds of the field. He delivered a high work rate in trying to help a defense that was under pressure all game long. In an interesting twist, each Ojeda took one corner kick during the game, but Braian showed why we call him Defensive Ojeda with his corner, as he put it behind all of the attackers and it did not lead to anything for the Lions. It was a solid-but-unspectacular game for the midfielder, and unfortunately for Orlando City, that made it one of the better performances by any player on the afternoon.

MF, Luis Otávio, 5 — The young midfielder made his debut performance on Saturday, and while he showed some flashes of his potential, he will remember this game more for the poor decision to go to ground late in the first half. The Brazilian was trying to track back to prevent a transition attack and decided that the best idea was to try to slide tackle, but even though he got the ball, he did so by going through Nicolas Fernández Mercau. The Pigeons converted the penalty kick, which killed the game off for all intents and purposes, and when the halftime whistle blew a few minutes later, that was it for Otávio, as he made way for Duncan McGuire. During his 45 minutes he completed 92.3% of his passes and had one tackle and one clearance on defense, and while he did not look overwhelmed in his first game, he will need to improve quickly if he wants to jump over anyone on the central midfield depth chart.

MF, Marco Pašalić, 5.5 — Despite Orlando City barely having any possession (31.7%) Pašalić was able to make some attacking runs, but he never really got anything that created real danger. His most threatening play came from a right-footed (!) cross that found McGuire’s head in the middle of the box, but unfortunately, McGuire was not moving forward enough to generate more than a medium-powered header on goal that did not trouble Matt Freese. Aside from that, the Croatian completed 87.5% of his passes and had one clearance on defense, but it was another game of very little contribution for the Designated Player, who came off for Tiago after 78 minutes.

F, Martín Ojeda, 5.5 — Offensive Ojeda scored a goal on Saturday afternoon, but alas it was NYCFC’s Agustín and not Orlando City’s Martín who put the ball in the back of the net. The Argentinean was starved of service throughout the match, as he ended up with most his touches in the defensive half of the field and only completed two passes in the attacking half. He connected on a total of 12 passes in the game at an 85.7% completion rate, and he added one clearance on defense, but for the most part, he was invisible and came off after 62 minutes for Eduard Atuesta.

F, Tyrese Spicer, N/A — Spicer paid the price for Crépeau’s poor judgment, as he was sacrificed for Javier Otero due to the goalkeeper’s red card. Prior to that, it was clear that he had a hybrid role of protecting Reid-Brown as a defensive wingback while using his speed to range forward into the attack when Orlando held the ball. Spicer did not have many chances to contribute during his brief time on the field, though during one of Orlando City’s few forays forward he took the team’s only shot of the first half, though it was far from accurate. He did not complete any passes or make any defensive contributions, and it was just bad luck for him that his afternoon was cut short almost right after it began.

Substitutes

GK, Javier Otero (19′), 3.5 — Yankee Stadium was once again a house of horrors for Orlando City’s backup goalkeeper, as he came in for Crépeau and was under attack for the rest of the game. Otero gave up five goals in the match but can be excused from two of them, a well-placed header that snuck just inside the far post and a penalty kick that went into nearly the exact same place. On both goals Otero read the play well and was at full extension but just came up inches short of making the save. The other three shots were more questionable, as he was seemingly wrong-footed on a ball that was driven into the ground and bounced over his head but looked saveable; a well-played cross that he was indecisive on if he should come out to get or not and so he came out late, didn’t get there, and was beaten from close range; and a shot from the top of the box off the weaker foot from an attacker that went to the opposite side than he was expecting, and so he was unable to recover after an initial step in the wrong direction. All three shots were struck well by NYCFC and would have been difficult saves, but Otero saved none of them, and in fact made zero saves throughout his time on the field, just as he did (or did not) two years ago when he came off the bench to replace an injured Mason Stajduhar. It was a rough outing for Otero, who had to come off the bench to play behind a defensive line that is nearly brand new and was playing down a player, but the Venezuelan will need to shake it off because Crépeau will be suspended for Saturday’s home game against CF Montréal.

F, Duncan McGuire, (46′), 5.5 — Another game, another shift with little to no service for McGuire, who came on at halftime but primarily brought hustle to the party and nothing else. He completed all five of his pass attempts and took two shots, one a hopeful attempt from extremely long range that was deflected out for a corner, and the other a header off a cross from Pašalić, which ultimately was the best chance the Lions had at a goal and the only shot on target all afternoon. Big Dunc deserves credit for going full bore whenever he is on the field, but there was little else for him to do but run around as NYCFC dominated the ball throughout the game.

D, Adrián Marín, (46′), 5 — The Spaniard came on in a like-for-like swap with Reid-Brown at left back but did little to distinguish himself during his 45 minutes on the field. The MLS website says he was a perfect 9/9 on his pass attempts, but they miscredited several passes he played that were not completed, and aside from those few completed passes, he did not add much during his shift, contributing one interception and one clearance.

MF, Eduard Atuesta, (62′), 5.5 — We do not know the full extent of Atuesta’s fitness but he looked healthy enough during his shift that he probably could have come on sooner or perhaps even started the game before making way for Otávio in the second half. The Colombian looked in control during his shift and partnered well with Braian Ojeda in the middle, completing 80% of his passes and making one interception on defense.

MF, Tiago, (76′), N/A — The Brazilian came on for Pašalić with 14 minutes to go but only touched the ball twice and did not complete his one pass attempt.

That’s how I saw the individual performances in Orlando City’s disastrous 5-0 loss at NYCFC. Yuck. Let us know what you thought of the game in the comments below, and don’t forget to vote for your Man of the Match.