Lion Links: 1/26/24

Happy Friday, Mane Landers! It’s been a hectic and stressful week for me, but I’m looking forward to the weekend. The Gasparilla Pirate Festival is this weekend here in Tampa and the weather is looking pretty nice for some dressing up and enjoying rum cocktails outside. Orlando’s friendly with Flamengo is tomorrow as well, so it’s shaping up to be a great next few days. Before we dive into today’s links, let’s all wish Orlando Pride midfielder Angelina a happy birthday!

Orlando Pride Learn Their 2024 NWSL Season Schedule

The 2024 NWSL schedule is out and the Orlando Pride will open their season on the road against Racing Louisville on March 16 at 4 p.m. Their home opener is set for Friday, March 22 at 8 p.m. against Angel City FC in what will also be the first regular-season game shown on Amazon Prime Video as part of the league’s new broadcast deal. Including the season opener, the Pride will have 14 games shown on NWSL+, which is a new direct-to-consumer streaming service free to those in the U.S. On paper, the Pride have a difficult stretch to end the 2024 regular season. Orlando will take on the Portland Thorns and then NJ/NY Gotham FC in road games on Oct. 11 and Oct. 20, respectively, before hosting the Seattle Reign on Nov. 2 to close out the Pride’s regular season.

Tahir Reid-Brown Praises Orlando City’s Academy

Orlando City defender Tahir Reid-Brown took the next step in his career earlier this week by becoming the 15th player to sign a Homegrown contract with the club. The 17-year-old, who joined Orlando City’s academy at 14, spoke on what this signing means to him, staying humble, and his excitement to make his debut for the first team. He also talked about how well Orlando’s academy has prepared him for the future, and it’s nice to see that the club’s efforts to improve at the youth level over the past few years are bearing fruit.

“Since the days of being in the Academy, it’s been the culture,” he said. “You feel like you’re professional from the moment you step on the field and just being able to migrate through all the different teams, you feel that professionalism from the coaching staff, from the senior players and even the young players, so it’s always been a professional feeling from the day I was in the Orlando City Academy, but now signing with the first team, it feels just surreal to have it official.”

David Brekalo Speaks Out Against Viking FK

With Antonio Carlos now in Brazil, the Lions remain on the hunt for a center back. It was reported earlier this month that the club has its eyes on Slovenian center back David Brekalo, who plays for Viking FK in Norway. Orlando reportedly had a bid around $2 million rejected last week and reports suggest the club made a second bid of $2.8 million. Brekalo has since had some fairly strong words about his club that do not make it seem like negotiations are going smoothly between Orlando and Viking.

It’s not a great situation for any involved party, as Orlando City’s center back search is in a limbo, Brekalo isn’t getting the move he wants, and Viking isn’t receiving playing time from the center back it evidently values quite highly. Hopefully things get ironed out and Brekalo comes to Orlando for a reasonable fee and he plays like a man possessed. The transfer window closes at the end of the month, so there’s at least some time left for Orlando to either sort this out or pull the trigger on a backup plan.

NWSL Off-Season Grades

Sandra Herrera of CBS Sports graded how each NWSL team did this off-season and the Orlando Pride received a B+. The Pride retained their back line, added plenty of midfielders, and have considerable potential heading into the 2024 season. Players like Swedish midfielder Evelina Duljan and first-round pick Ally Lemos join a growing list of young talent that can make a difference this year. Personally, I think the Pride also nailed doing right by their players this off-season when making trades and other decisions. As for other NWSL teams, Gotham received top marks for acing free agency and the Kansas City Current received the lowest grade.

Asian Cup Round of 16 is Set

The 2023 AFC Asian Cup’s group stage has concluded and we now know the bracket for the rest of the tournament. While there weren’t as many surprising exits as the Africa Cup of Nations, the Asian Cup has been competitive and many teams are capable of a deep run. South Korea, which finished second in its group after conceding a late equalizer in a 3-3 thriller against Malaysia, will face off against Saudi Arabia in what looks to be the most intriguing round-of-16 matchup. Australia will take on an Indonesian side that’s ranked 149th in the world but survived a formidable group with Iraq, Japan, and Vietnam. Elsewhere in the bracket, Qatar hosts Palestine, Iran will play Syria, and Japan will take on Bahrain.

Free Kicks

• Portland Timbers left back Claudio Bravo suffered a knee injury and will miss out on the start of the MLS season.
• Christen Press was named to Angel City’s preseason roster but is not training just yet as she is still working her way back from injury.

• Minnesota United bolstered its defense by signing Swedish defender Victor Eriksson. The center back joins MLS from IFK Värnamo in Sweden’s top flight.
• LAFC loaned 21-year-old winger Stipe Biuk to Real Valladolid in Spain’s second division through June.
• Fabian Otte was chosen as the United States Men’s National Team’s goalkeeping coach. He is currently the goalkeeping coach for Borussia Mönchengladbach and will join the USMNT this summer.
• Canada Women’s National Team Head Coach Bev Priestman agreed to a new contract that will keep her at the helm through the 2027 World Cup. She helped Canada win the gold medal in the 2021 Olympics, but Canada failed to make it out of the group stage in last year’s World Cup.
• Atletico Madrid booked its spot in the Copa del Rey semifinals after beating Sevilla 1-0, thanks to a goal from Memphis Depay. The draw is today and Atletico Madrid joins Mallorca, Athletic Club, and Real Sociedad in the semifinals.
• A judge found that former Spanish soccer president Luis Rubiales kissing Jenni Hermosa was not consensual and he will face trial, with the trial date to be determined.
• Here’s a cool dive into the soccer nicknames of many African national teams. My favorite is definitely Equatorial Guinea’s Nzalang Nacional, which is Fang for National Thunder.

That’s all I have for you today. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!