Lion Links: 6/28/24

Happy Friday! I hope the work week went easy on you as we gear up for a weekend filled with soccer to enjoy. There’s action both here in the U.S. and abroad, and it starts tonight with Orlando City’s match in New York. Let’s go ahead and dive into today’s links!

Orlando City Plays New York City FC Tonight

The Lions are on the road tonight for a match against New York City FC. While not exactly rivals, both teams joined the league together in 2015 and there’s no MLS team Orlando has played more than NYCFC, with tonight’s match serving as the 25th meeting between the two. The Lions have never won at Yankee Stadium, but they are coming off of a solid 4-2 win against the Chicago Fire and Facundo Torres seems to be hitting his stride. Luis Muriel also has a goal contribution in his past three games and Mason Stajduhar made some big saves against Chicago while Pedro Gallese is with Peru. As for milestones to watch for, midfielder Cesar Araujo will make his 100th appearance across all competitions for Orlando if he plays tonight.

Orlando Pride Prepare for Angel City

The Orlando Pride are also on the road this weekend. They’ll put their 14-game unbeaten streak on the line when they take on Angel City FC Sunday at BMO Stadium. It’s the second game between the two teams this season, with Marta’s late equalizer salvaging a 1-1 draw for the Pride back in March. Angel City has only won one of its past five games, but Pride Head Coach Seb Hines spoke about how the Californian club has performed better than its record suggests. Consistency has been key for the Pride’s success this season, along with staying focused to stay near the top of the NWSL standings.

USMNT Falls to Panama

Well, the path for the United States Men’s National Team to advance out of the Copa America group stage got much more difficult after a 2-1 loss to Panama. A red card to Timothy Weah in the 18th minute doomed the Yanks early on, despite a great goal by Folarin Balogun a few minutes later. There was some questionable officiating, and Matt Turner had to exit due to injury, but the USMNT just did not do well enough to overcome the adversity and get a result. The Yanks now have a difficult match against Uruguay left to close out their group play on Monday.

MLS Transfer News Roundup

The New York Red Bulls made a move and transferred midfielder Frankie Amaya to Toluca FC in Liga MX. The 23-year-old has been with the Red Bulls for the past four seasons and was solid lost year, recording five goals and five assists. Amaya was selected with the No. 1 overall pick by FC Cincinnati back in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft and was traded to the Red Bulls in 2021 for a hefty sum of General Allocation Money.

In other MLS news, the Colorado Rapids have made forward Rafael Navarro’s move from Palmeiras a permanent one, inking him to a deal through 2027 with an option for 2028. The Designated Player joined Colorado on loan in July of last year and has scored 11 goals this season. FC Dallas transferred 21-year-old forward Jose Mulato to Spartak Subotica in Serbia, freeing up an MLS U22 Initiative slot in the process. Reinforcements are coming for Charlotte FC, as Head Coach Dean Smith confirmed that Designated Player Karol Swiderski is returning to the club after his loan with Hella Verona and can play once the transfer window opens on July 18.

Free Kicks

• New England Revolution Designated Player Tomas Chancalay is out for the rest of the season due to a partial ACL tear. The forward scored six goals for the Revs last year after joining on loan in the summer, but he has just two goals during this difficult season for New England.
• Here’s a nice primer for tomorrow’s Copa America match between Canada and Chile that will take place at Orlando City’s stadium. Inter&Co Stadium will also host the group stage game between Bolivia and Panama on Monday.
• Japan, Australia, and Saudi Arabia were all drawn together in one of the three groups of six nations for AFC World Cup qualifying. The top two teams of each group will qualify for the World Cup, while the third- and fourth-place finishers will still have a chance to qualify in later rounds.
• CBS Sports ranked the remaining teams in Euro 2024. There are a few interesting placements, such as Austria in third, Turkey in fifth, and Denmark in last.

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