We still have a long way to go until opening day of the 2026 Major League Soccer season, and a lot of work needs to be completed on Orlando City’s roster between now and Feb. 21, but there have been some encouraging developments so far.

For starters, the club inked captain Robin Jansson to a new deal. That takes care of at least one of the starting center back positions, potentially two if David Brekalo partners him, with Adrian Marin or someone else sliding in at left back. Aside from filling an obvious positional need, it also returns a veteran who (if Kyle Smith isn’t re-signed) is the longest-tenured player on the team and is someone who has experience coming out of his ears. For a roster that is going to experience a fair amount of overhaul this offseason, having a constants is important, especially when it comes to leadership both on the field and in the locker room.

That brings to an end the confirmed news when it comes to incoming/returning players, but there have been plenty of rumors gaining traction when it comes to Orlando City making signings. Tom Bogert has had a lot to say about incoming Lions transfers this week, and all of them should be encouraging to Orlando fans. Mr. Scoops reported that OCSC is finalizing a deal to sign 20-year-old Brazilian winger Tiago as an MLS U22 Initiative player, while also mentioning that a deal to sign 18-year-old midfielder Luis Otavio is still in the works.

Those would both be welcome signings, as Orlando needs capable bodies in central midfield behind presumable starters Eduard Atuesta and Wilder Cartagena. The fact that the Lions are reportedly shelling out $3.5 million to land Otavio suggests that if he can adapt well to his new surroundings, he might well push for more than just backup minutes before too long; and with Cartagena set to turn 32 in September, it’s good that Orlando is looking to find a young (eventual) replacement.

Then there’s Tiago, who will reportedly cost $4 million and is set to take up a valuable U22 Initiative slot. It’s no secret that the Lions badly needed more offensive production from the left winger position in 2025, and if/when Tiago does arrive, it presumably spells the end of Ivan Angulo’s time in Orlando while leaving the Brazilian and Tyrese Spicer to duke things out for a starting role.

That brings us to departures from the club. This week alone has seen young center back Thomas Williams traded to Nashville SC for the Coyotes’ first-round pick in the upcoming MLS SuperDraft, while Dagur Dan Thorhallson was traded to CF Montreal on Wednesday. The Lions got a tidy $500,000 in General Allocation Money for Dagur Dan, and while there was no player who immediately came the other way in the deal, that GAM will be very helpful in getting the club roster compliant for 2026. It’s no secret that the Lions are in the market for a new goalkeeper, and although Dayne St. Clair is probably too expensive, a guy like Carlos Coronel is a good fit on paper with Orlando City’s overwhelmingly South American stylings, but GAM will be needed to pay down a new face between the sticks.

It of course hurts to lose Thorhallsson, who was a capable and versatile servant during his time in Orlando, but the signing of Otavio and growth of Colin Guske, combined with what the (injured) Joran Gerbet showed in 2025, means that he was going to be a backup. Likewise, the emergence of Alex Freeman means he wasn’t going to be the starting right back, and even if Smith isn’t re-signed to be a backup fullback/utility man, the front office may feel that Zakaria Taifi is primed to take a step forward. We also can’t forget that the club has a whopping four first-round draft picks to play with this year and may look to find depth in that manner as well.

If you didn’t closely read the Bogert social media post earlier in this article, you may have missed the blurb at the end about OCSC closing in on a sale of Rodrigo Schlegel to Liga MX side Atlas. The fee is said to be in the neighborhood of $600,000, which means that Orlando will turn a profit on the center back. It’ll be a bittersweet parting if/when his departure becomes official. Schlegel has been an extremely capable backup center back for this team and has showed flashes of consistent starter-level play during the last several seasons, not to mention that save in a penalty shootout so many years ago.

The hard facts though, are that at 28 years of age, the Argentine defender isn’t likely to reach a significantly higher level of play than he’s at now, and his current level of play isn’t consistently at the required quality for a team with true championship aspirations. While it’ll be hard to say goodbye, the right decision at this point is probably to collect on your investment, and try to find either a young player that can be developed or an established veteran that’s a known MLS quantity.

Bogert has also stated that Orlando is in the mindset of wanting to move on from Luis Muriel. If the club is able to do so, it’ll free up a Designated Player spot while bringing an end to an experiment that showed plenty of promise, and wasn’t without its high points, but ultimately can’t be considered a successful one. After his hot start to 2025 faded into more of the inconsistency he displayed in 2024, it became clear that new blood at striker is needed, and it’s good to see that the front office feels the same way.

This isn’t all to say that the off-season has been a resounding success so far. After all, very little has actually been officially done to reshape the roster as of this writing. But there seem to be a number of moves nearing completion, and we’re hearing all the right things when it comes to areas of the field like goalkeeper and striker. Even if the players that get brought in don’t all work out, it’s just good to see that changes are in fact being made. The roster was mostly left intact after the 2024 season, and a lack of depth in several areas, combined with some unfortunate injury luck, doomed a once promising season.

It’s far too early to know whether or not the 2026 campaign will be better or not, but the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results. So far, the early signs point to Lions’ fans not needing to worry about any such insanity this off-season. Vamos Orlando!

Orlando City’s 2026 schedule has been out for a little over two weeks now, and I’ve had ample time to look over it, analyze it, and zero in on some games that I’m really looking forward to next year. There are always the usual suspects in the mix like home rivalry matches against the likes of Atlanta and Miami, but I didn’t want to focus on those obvious ones, so they won’t be included here.

Saturday, Feb. 21 vs. New York Red Bulls

Orlando City’s streak of playing a home match to open the season will somehow reach 12 seasons in a row when the Lions kick off the 2026 season against the New York Red Bulls. It’ll be our first chance to see OCSC in a competitive game during the new season, and after an off-season that will likely contain a fair amount of turnover, I for one will be even more anxious than usual to get a look at what sort of product we’ll be seeing on the field. The Red Bulls will also look different, as they’ll have a new manager and a good amount of new players after missing the postseason for the first time since 2009. This is probably my most obvious choice of the bunch, but I think it’s hard to fault me for being excited about a new season!

TBD U.S. Open Cup Match

There’s only a 50% chance that this will be a home game, but personally I’m just glad to see Orlando City in the U.S. Open Cup again. There’s obviously some good history with the club in the competition, but aside from that, I just generally think that the tournament should get more love and a bigger platform than it currently does. While I’d have obviously been thrilled if OCSC had managed to win Leagues Cup in 2025 and come away with a trophy, I’d have much preferred the Lions to make a deep run in the Open Cup, considering the rich history of the competition as a whole, in addition to what it means to Orlando specifically. The fact that defending champion Nashville SC isn’t in the field is mind boggling to me, but I’m damn happy that the Lions are.

Saturday, Sept. 12 vs. Toronto FC

Now I can understand why you might be surprised by this one, as Toronto isn’t exactly considered one of Orlando City’s rivals. This year’s Decision Day match left a bad taste in my mouth though. Was it less about what Toronto did on the field, and more about OCSC basically neglecting to show up to the field to begin with? Maybe. Do I care? No. Do I want vengeance and the ability to erase a pitiful performance from my mind all in one fell swoop? Absolutely. I need the scales to be balanced and for my own personal demons from the final day of the season to be exorcised, and the fact that I’ll be able to be in the stands to have that chance is all the more appealing.

Saturday, Nov. 7 vs. New England Revolution

Decision Day is (usually) a fun affair regardless of whether the match is home or away. Wild swings in the standings from minute to minute, nerves, and hopefully reason to celebrate when it’s all over. There’s just something about having all that happen at home, though. I’ve been in The Wall for plenty of Decision Days at this point, and the energy is just a little different than a normal regular-season game. Similar to home openers, the air almost crackles with the excitement of possibility and anticipation of what things are going to look like when the dust settles. Of course, there’s always the possibility of things going wrong and the Lions ending up low in the playoff standings or out of the postseason altogether, but we’ll cross that bridge if/when we come to it.

What games are you especially looking forward to next season? Be sure to let us know down in the comments. Vamos Orlando!

As is always the case with this time of year, I’ve been thinking about what I’m thankful for, and when it comes to Orlando City and the Orlando Pride, there’s a nice list of things that have me feeling very grateful. So in the spirit of the holiday, let’s sit down and dig in.

Inter&Co Stadium

If we’re sticking to the Thanksgiving theme, then the purple palace is the dinner table where everything happens. There might be more elaborate soccer-specific stadiums that have been built since the stadium opened in 2017, but Inter&Co was the first to have the safe-standing supporters section, and it’s no coincidence that the trend very quickly caught on. Ownership has done well to bring in a variety of local food vendors, has made concerted efforts to upgrade the concourses with televisions, and the way the roof is constructed does a great job of keeping noise in, even when the stadium isn’t at full capacity. I’ve been to a few different MLS stadiums, but I still think that there’s no place like home.

Haley Carter

The Orlando Pride’s former vice president of soccer operations and sporting director will be sorely missed. There’s a saying that you don’t really know what you have until it’s gone, but that couldn’t be further from the truth when it comes to Carter. She masterminded the acquisition of Barbra Banda that was vital to the Pride’s double-winning 2024 season. She also made other savvy additions that helped fill out a roster that’s been competitive for a couple seasons in a row now. It’s a damn shame that she won’t be with the club any longer, but considering the success that she had with the Pride, she’ll almost certainly be headed for big things.

The Wilf Family

Since taking ownership of OCSC and the Pride in the summer of 2021, the Wilfs have shown a willingness to open the wallet and invest in both teams. For the Lions, there have been the acquisitions of Facundo Torres, Martin Ojeda, and Marco Pasalic, while the Pride have seen the arrivals of Banda and Jacquie Ovalle for big transfer fees. There’s also the aforementioned investments to the stadium, as well as the continued commitment to improving the training facilities for all three of the club’s teams. The Lions and Pride are both at points where the rosters need to be revamped a bit, so the readiness to spend is a trend that will need to continue, but based on what we’ve seen in past seasons, it’s reasonable to assume it will.

Playoff Streaks

Orlando City owns the longest active postseason streak in Major League Soccer, as the Lions have made the playoffs in six straight years. The Pride have made the NWSL playoffs in back-to-back years and have made the semifinals two years in a row. In the case of the Lions, it would be great if they could consistently make deep playoff runs and come away with some silverware, but it would be foolish to not be grateful for the streak of postseason appearances. D.C. United and Toronto FC have six-year and five-year playoff droughts, respectfully, so it’s important to remember that things could be worse. That doesn’t mean we should be content and complacent, but once you get your foot in the postseason door, anything can happen, which we saw with the New York Red Bulls last year. Long may the postseason streaks continue!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend filled with good food, time with family and friends, and a little rest and relaxation thrown in. We’ll be back cheering on Orlando’s soccer teams before we know it, and hopefully we have lots to be thankful for in the 2026 season!