PawedCast Episode 389: USMNT, Ricardo Moreira Interview, Columbus Crew Preview, and More

After an unbelievably long gap in the playoff schedule, Orlando City is back this weekend with an Eastern Conference semifinal match at home against the Columbus Crew. And because it’s a special week, we’ve got a special show for you.

We open our discussion this week with a quick look at the United States Men’s National Team’s two-leg performance against Trinidad & Tobago. The games couldn’t have been more different and, although the second leg went off the rails when Sergino Dest lost his mind and got himself sent off for no good reason, the Yanks at least survived and advanced.

After that, we welcomed Orlando City Technical Director and Assistant General Manager Ricardo Moreira back to the show to talk about the team he and Luiz Muzzi put together for the 2023 season. We also asked him about his future plans beyond this season, the club’s unusual season in terms of Designated Players, whether Ivan Angulo and/or Wilder Cartagena might be back next year, and much more. Big thanks to Ricardo for taking time out to talk with us.

The mailbagbox only had one question in it this week, but it was a doozy. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC.

Finally, we looked ahead to Saturday’s showdown with the Columbus Crew, making our score predictions and giving our thoughts on where the match could be won or lost.

Here’s how No. 389 went down:

0:15 – We open the show with a short discussion of the USMNT’s series against Trinidad & Tobago and Sergino Dest losing his mind.

9:26 – Ricardo Moreira joins us and we ask him about his future, team building, and a bunch of other stuff.

31:55 — A quick dip into the mailbagbox and our key match-ups and predictions for Saturday’s match against the Crew.