How’s it going, Mane Landers? I’ve been spending most of this week plotting out some holiday shopping to make things a little less stressful for myself over the next few weeks. A big weekend filled with Orlando soccer awaits us, so make sure to get any errands or obligations out of the way sooner rather than later. Let’s dive into today’s links!

Spotlight Falls On Marta in NWSL Championship

There are plenty of storylines heading into Saturday’s NWSL Championship between the Orlando Pride and Washington Spirit, including Marta’s opportunity to put an exclamation point on what has been an excellent season for the Pride. Orlando has been enjoying the fruits of its labor this season after a rebuild over the past few years that’s included plenty of change in the City Beautiful. Marta has been a constant, however, enduring some difficult seasons since joining the Pride and adapting her game She’s scored in both of the Pride’s playoff games so far and has a chance to author a storybook ending on Saturday.

Ann-Katrin Berger Named NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year

NJ/NY Gotham FC goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger was named 2024 NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year, beating out the Pride’s Anna Moorhouse and Utah Royals FC’s Mandy Haught for the honor. It was Berger’s first year in the NWSL and she’s the first European player to win the award. She only conceded 16 goals across her 22 matches for Gotham this season and was a key reason behind her team’s success. I’m not too surprised that Moorhouse did not win, considering how solid the Pride’s defense was as a whole, but this won’t take anything away from a record-breaking season for her.

Wilfried Nancy Named MLS Coach of the Year

Columbus Crew Head Coach Wilfried Nancy was voted 2024 MLS Coach of the Year after a historic season in which the Crew set club records in both points and goals. The Crew also won the Leagues Cup this summer and their 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup campaign included advancing past Tigres and Monterrey en route to the final. This is Nancy’s first time being named Coach of the Year and he has been a finalist for the award every year since 2021. The Frenchman received 40.02% of the vote, winning the award over Inter Miami’s Gerardo Martino and Colorado Rapids Head Coach Chris Armas.

2025 SheBelieves Cup Details Unveiled

The 10th annual SheBelieves Cup will take place next year and the tournament will return to its usual format where each of the four teams plays each other once. The United States Women’s National Team will host Japan, Colombia, and Australia in February in what should be an exciting tournament. The U.S. will take on Colombia on Feb. 20 in Houston before facing Australia in Arizona on Feb. 23 and finishing the tournament on Feb. 26 against Japan at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego. These games will also be the first domestic games of 2025 for the USWNT as it prepares to qualify for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.

Eric Quill Named FC Dallas Head Coach

FC Dallas announced that Eric Quill will become the team’s next head coach. Quill joins Dallas after a great year with New Mexico United that included trips to the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals and USL Championship Western Conference semifinals. It’s also a reunion of sorts for Quill, as he previously coached North Texas SC and was named USL League One Coach of the Year with the club in 2019. Dallas missed out on the playoffs this season, with Peter Luccin coaching the team on an interim basis after the firing of Nico Estevez in June.

Free Kicks

• District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser challenged Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer to a bet involving this weekend’s NWSL Championship, with embarrassing lightshows on the line.

• Atlanta United interim head coach Rob Valentino, who was an Orlando City B assistant coach in 2015 and played for the USL Lions, spoke on Atlanta’s Cinderella run this postseason ahead of his team’s clash with Orlando City on Sunday.
• CF Montreal signed Canadian center back Joel Waterman to a contract extension that will keep him with the club through 2027 with an option for 2028 as well.
• D.C. United signed goalkeeper Jordan Farr from the Tampa Bay Rowdies on a two-year deal. Farr had 11 shutouts with the Rowdies this year and joins a D.C. side that declined the contract options for both Tyler Miller and Alex Bono last month.
• American forward Catarina Macario had an assist for Chelsea in a 3-0 win against Celtic in the Women’s Champions League.
• Spanish midfielder Juan Mata joined San Diego FC’s ownership group ahead of the club’s inaugural MLS season next year.
• Costa Rican club Alajuelense, which is the highest-ranked team in Central America, has hired a legal firm regarding FIFA allowing both Pachuca and Club Leon to take part in the 2025 Club World Cup despite having the same owner.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!

Good Wednesday morning, Mane Landers. For long time readers, you might remember me as a staple in your Lion Links but having stepped away on sabbatical. Today, I’m honored to be called off the bench and fill in for Dave. My life has been filled with being a first-time father along with taking over as commissioner of a soccer league and my normal day job. Through all of it, I have stayed true to catching as many Orlando City matches as I can or at least the highlights. TML is my go-to source for all things purple, so I’m glad to pitch in and talk about what is happening around the City Beautiful and soccer once again. So, let’s get into the links!

Lions’ Not-So Secret Weapons

Orlando City is ready to take on Atlanta United on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. According to Andrew Wiebe of MLSsoccer.com, midfielder Martín Ojeda and the home field advantage of Inter&Co Stadium will be the key to victory for Oscar Pareja to finally lift the cup with Orlando. On the other side of the ball, Atlanta United goalkeeper Brad Guzan is in impeccable form and will give the Five Stripes an opportunity to advance again despite being the underdogs.

Seb Hines Wins Major Award

The National Women’s Soccer League announced Pride Head Coach Seb Hines has been named the 2024 NWSL Coach of the Year. Following his stint as a player for Orlando City and coaching at the youth level, Hines became the Pride’s interim head coach in June 2022 before getting the gig full time. This season was his best yet with Orlando, finding 18 wins and leading a team that scored a club-record 46 goals along the way. He learned about his award from his players:

Internationals Take The Pitch

Tuesday gave some Lions the chance to represent their home nations. Orlando City right back Dagur Dan Thorhallsson entered the UEFA Nations League match between Wales and Iceland in the 75th-minute, but Iceland fell 4-1 after scoring first. Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese gained another start for Peru in its CONMEBOL World Cup qualifier against Argentina but couldn’t earn a shutout in a 1-0 loss.

Record MLS Signing Reported

FC Cincinnati has splashed the cash and has reportedly completed the signing of 23-year-old Cercle Brugge forward Kévin Denkey. The transfer fee of $16.2 million is an MLS record, passing the previous $16 million that Atlanta United spent to acquired Thiago Almada in 2022. The signing of Denkey to a four-year contract fills a gap at forward for Cincinnati. The length of the deal appears to make him the centerpiece of the team as only one player on the roster has guaranteed contract years beyond 2026, and only striker Kevin Kelsy has option years into 2028 and 2029, but he is currently on loan.

Inter&Co Stadium Will Host Orlando Cup

Coming in January 2025, the Orlando Cup Pro Series will bring clubs Santos FC, Atlético Nacional, and Fortaleza to our home stadium. These will be preseason matches for the participating teams to help them tune up and grow their brands in the United States.

Free Kicks

• Gerardo “Tata” Martino will address the media in a final news conference on Friday along with Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas as he is expected to step down from his head coach position for personal reasons.
• Instantly linked to the managerial vacancy at Inter Miami is former FC Barcelona player and manager Xavi Hernández.
• Nashville SC acquired 23-year-old former Norway youth international midfielder Edvard Tagseth from Rosenborg BK through 2026 with an option for 2027.
• Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang is set to donate $30 million dollars to U.S. Soccer’s women and girls programs over the next five years.
• The United Soccer League announced that USL Dallas, North Texas’ newest professional soccer team, will join the USL Championship for the 2027 season.
• Manchester United is offering €30 million and a struggling player in a swap deal to gain the services of Victor Osimhen.
• Patrick Vieira is likely to step into the managerial role at Genoa after Alberto Gilardino was unexpectedly fired.
• Miami FC and a professional women’s team could be getting a new 10,000-seat stadium in Homestead.

That’s a wrap on links for the day. I wish you all the best with the rest of you week. Who else is excited for a big Orlando soccer weekend? Vamos Orlando!

Happy Tuesday, everyone! We’ve had a busy few days with the Orlando Pride advancing to the NWSL Championship in style, and games continuing to come thick and fast during the international break. Things aren’t slowing down around here though, as the Pride will play for a trophy on Saturday, and Orlando City faces Atlanta United in the Eastern Conference semifinals on Sunday. Today also marks 11 years since Orlando City was announced as the 21st MLS club. Let’s dive into today’s links!

Pride Players Named to NWSL Best XI

On top of advancing to the NWSL Championship, a number of Orlando Pride players have been honored with places in the league’s Best XI First Team and Best XI Second Team. Emily Sams, Marta, and Barbra Banda made the cut for the First Team, while Anna Moorhouse and Kerry Abello were chosen for the Second Team.

Sams started in all 13 of the Pride’s shutouts, while Marta had 10 goal contributions on the year and Banda bagged 13 goals and six assists in her first year in the league. A big congratulations to all five players!

USMNT Routs Jamaica

The United States Men’s National Team ran riot over Jamaica in the second leg of its Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal series, winning by a score of 4-2 in St. Louis. The Yanks used a dominant first half to put the game away early, with two Christian Pulisic goals and Ricardo Pepi’s second goal in as many games giving the Americans a 3-0 lead at halftime. In the first 45 minutes, the USMNT enjoyed 70% possession and took six shots to the visitors’ two, with the majority of the action being played in Jamaica’s half. The game opened up more in the second half with Demari Gray grabbing a brace, but the Yanks were never truly threatened and advanced to the Concacaf Nations League semifinals.

USWNT Roster Announced

The United States Women’s National Team has announced its roster for upcoming friendlies against England and the Netherlands. Emma Hayes has named a 24-player roster for the two games, both of which will take place overseas. The roster features a familiar face, as the Orlando Pride’s Sams was named to the squad as a center back. The team also features Lily Yohannes, who recently announced her decision to play for the USWNT, and she will face the other team she was eligible to declare for in the Netherlands. To date, Sams has made two appearances for the USWNT and could be in line to double that number. The Yanks will face England at Wembley on Nov. 30, and then take on the Dutch on Dec. 3 at ADO Den Haag Stadium.

UEFA Nations League Roundup

The international break continued yesterday and there are a number of results to catch up on. In Europe, Croatia and Portugal both advanced to the UEFA Nations League quarterfinals after a 1-1 draw, and Scotland used a late goal by Andy Robertson to beat Poland 2-1, with the result sending the Scots to a playoff that will determine if they’ll be relegated from League A, while Poland dropped into League B. San Marino won just its second game in 20 years by beating Liechtenstein 3-1 to move up into League C. Finally, Denmark advanced to the quarterfinals courtesy of a scoreless draw with Serbia.

Free Kicks

• Come meet Duncan McGuire tomorrow and enjoy some chicken to boot.

• The USMNT will kick off its 2025 schedule with a match against Venezuela on Jan. 18 at Chase Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale.
• Honduras must play its next match behind closed doors after Mexico’s head coach was struck in the head by a beer can during Honduras’ 2-0 victory in San Pedro Sula on Nov. 15.
• Sam Kerr and Kristie Mewis have announced that the couple is pregnant with their first child.

That’s all I have for you today. Vamos Orlando!