Lion Links: 9/24/24

Happy Tuesday, everyone. It was a mixed bag of results for Orlando’s soccer teams over the weekend as the Orlando Pride won but Orlando City lost. The Lions still had a good showing on the road against one of the best teams in the league. Regardless of the results, life goes on, and that means we have plenty to talk about this morning. Let’s get into the links.

Orlando City B Wins to Claim Playoff Spot

Orlando City B cruised to a 3-0 victory over Chicago Fire FC II on Monday night, with the Young Lions clinching a playoff spot as a result. The first half was scoreless, but things blossomed for Orlando after halftime. Jack Lynn got things started in the 61st minute when he latched onto a header from Alex Freeman. Yutaro Tsukada doubled the lead 10 minutes later, and Favian Loyola finished things off with a great strike from distance to put the game well and truly out of reach. OCB now gets some time off before its final match of the regular season when it will face FC Cincinnati 2 on the road on Oct. 6.

U.S. Soccer Names Nations League Quarterfinal Venue

U.S. Soccer has announced that the United States Men’s National Team will play the home leg of its upcoming Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal in St. Louis at CityPark , the home of St. Louis City FC. Kickoff is slated for 8 p.m. on Nov. 18, and it will be new manager Mauricio Pochettino’s first competitive home game with the USMNT. We won’t know the Yanks’ opponent until the conclusion of the October international window, but the USMNT has a strong track record when playing in St. Louis regardless.

Americans in Midweek Action

Speaking of the USMNT, there are a number of American players who will be taking part in games this week. Patrick Schulte earned his first minutes with the team during the last international window, and he and the Columbus Crew will face Club America in the Campeones Cup tomorrow. Thursday has Johnny Cardoso and Real Betis in La Liga action against Las Palmas, while Tanner Tessmann and Lyon will face Olympiacos in Europa League action. Things wrap up on Friday as Christian Pulisic will try continuing his torrid run of form as he, Yunus Musah, and AC Milan face Lecce in Serie A play.

Everton Set for Takeover

Everton’s ownership is set to change, with the club announcing on Monday that the Friedkin Group will take over Farhad Moshiri’s 94.1% controlling stake in the team. It will be the consortium’s second foray into soccer club ownership, as it also has a controlling stake in Roma. The news will almost certainly come as a massive relief to Everton fans, who have watched their club struggle increasingly after Moshiri first bought stakes back in 2016. The team has barely escaped relegation on several occasions during recent seasons, and is currently 19th with one point in five matches.

Free Kicks

• The Orlando Pride unsurprisingly retained the top spot in the most recent edition of ESPN’s NWSL power rankings.
• Meanwhile, Orlando City slipped one spot to 10th in the same outlet’s latest MLS power rankings.

• Bob Bradley has left his position with Norwegian club Stabaek after a third straight defeat left the team in seventh with seven games to play.
• Rodri reportedly suffered an ACL tear in his left knee during Sunday’s match with Arsenal, and will likely miss the rest of the season.

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